I first learned of the Kenwood TK-3140 radio long ago, while working for the security department of a major US corporation.  One of my projects was upgrading the radios for a surveillance team dedicated to fighting organized retail crime.  At the time, digital radios were brand new.  This "FleetSync" was an entirely new concept, a radio that functioned as an analog radio, but it had a built-in text message capability.  This meant that for a surveillance team, they could communicate without raising a radio to their mouth.

Now, today, that's not all that uncommon, as DMR radios have increased in popularity and come down in cost.  However, it is generally the realm of amateur radio operators, as most types of DMR require a license number (call sign) to access the system.  Not so for the Kenwood FleetSync radios, at least for digital DATA, like text messages.

Recently, rule changes to GMRS have made short text messages legal over GMRS.  The problem with that is that most modern DMR radios require an entire channel to operate as digital to do this.  The FleetSync digital protocol on these TK-3140 radio doesn't require it, and it's secure.  We'll talk about that farther down the article, for supporters only (become a supporter to learn the spicy stuff ya noob).

I recently got contacted by someone who knew I had used these and offered to sell me a complete sytem of 15 TK-3140 radios, two gang chargers, and some spare batteries for $600.  Knowing that when I bought these for a company before they were each over $1500 new, I jumped at the chance.  I mean, this made each unit $40, roughly the equivalent of a Baofeng radio. What a steal!

They are very compact and concealable radios, making them excellent for surveillance or clandestine communications.  They are 5 watts, so just as powerful as most handheld radios.  The units allow 250 channels, organized into zones with no limit on the number of channels per zone (motorola and others limit you to 16 channels per zone).  They are certainly more rugged and more water-resistant than the Baofeng.

In fact, my students used these during my recent Fieldcraft class and they worked solidly.

The main drawback is that you need Kenwood's "Field Programming Unit (FPU)" software to program these, but it's widely available (even for free if you look) and a proprietary cable.  I buy my cables from BlueMaxer 49 on Ebay, as his handmade cables work and are under $50 each.  He also provides copies of the software as long as you buy a cable.  He's also great about helping you through programming issues.  

Another drawback is that you can buy these either as UHF (GMRS-style) or VHF (MURS/Marine Radio) but never both.  The Baofeng is a dual band radio and these are not.  I look at these as specific radios for clandestine work like intelligence gathering and surveillance, and Baofengs as tactical radios.  They are different tools for different jobs.

Now, let's talk about using these for clandestine comms.

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FBI Miami has reached out to the public for help in locating and arresting Majid Farahani, an Iranian intelligence agent.  They claim he is recruiting folks to kill current and former administration officials for the killing of Suliemani.  They specifically mention Mike Pompeo, but Donald Trump would obviously be a target as well.  

As this public announcement is HIGHLY unusual, let's do some

quick analysis.

Amazon Affiliate Link: NOLS Wilderness Medicine

Ironically, I didn't get this book until after I had published my TW-05 First Aid Manual.  This book came highly recommended, so I decided to check it out and see what value it had.

The book is available on Amazon and is under $16, so it's very affordable.  It's part of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) series of books.  NOLS is a largely college-based group and is focused on young people learning to get outdoors.  They have books on several subjects that we are going to review here.

I thought Wilderness Medicine was a good a fit for our purposes, as we focus on things in an austere environment, rather than one in which medical care is just a few minutes away.

However, my main issue with this book is that, like most modern first aid books, it focuses only on field treatments that consist mostly of packaging a patient for evacuation and then calling for a helicopter or ambulance.  It does indeed discuss litter-carrying casualties out of the backcountry, but it does focus on handing the patient off to a higher level of care, which is only part of the solution for us.

The book is solid in it's discussion of acute treatments though, don't get me wrong.  There is a lot of good wilderness treatment and decision making guidelines in here and it's a serious first-responder level book.  It's a great guide for EVERY member of your team to study, it's just not meant for long term field management of treatment (prolonged field care).  Your group should have more advanced medical practitioners anyway.

This book is an excellent first aid and field medicine immediate action guide, but it is not a full preparedness long term manual.

The book covers patient assessment protocols, traumatic injuries, environmental injuries, medical emergencies, dental emergencies, and non-urgent medical issues.  It's a good guide from that standpoint.  A great feature is the "Quick Index" at the front of the book that enables you to quickly find the pages that relate to whatever a patient's issue is in the field.

Now, it being geared towards college aged folks, there is a certain amount of nonsense in the book.  Things like respecting pronouns and listening to quiet voices are mentioned in the leadership chapters.  There is also a reference at one point to "patients who possess ovaries and a uterus".  Never in my life of dealing with injured folks have I ever had to make that inquiry, for the record.  Just ignore it, because it is a good field guide.

Overall, it's a solid field guide.  It's focus though on rapid evacuation and deciding to evacuate early doesn't really fit with the Partisan or Guerrilla on day 3 of 5 day patrol, but just keep that in mind.  It's worth having as a reference.

For new folks, I didn't make this a supporter exclusive because I wanted you to see what types of content we offer here.  We conduct intel breifings, have more detailed analysis and book reviews, conduct training seminars, and generally have fun here.  Consider becoming a monthly supporter.