Kenwood USA recently introduced new portable radios — the 2-watt TK-2400/3400 (400 series) and the 5-watt TK-2402/3402 (402 series) — that operate in the VHF and UHF bands and feature twice the audio power for use in high-noise environments, according to a company official.

"These new products are quite exciting," Gary Wooten, director of sales and marketing for the business-radio division of Kenwood USA, said during an interview with Urgent Communications. "We've added quite a few very nice feature sets as a replacement for the 300 and 302 series."

Some of the new features include full 5-watt power for the UHF 402 radio, compared to the 4-watt power available in the 302 model, Wooten said. But the biggest difference is in the audio of the new radios, which include noise-cancellation technology to improve voice quality and provide greater volume, he said.

"We did a lot of study and found that, in high-noise environments, not only the sound quality but the loudness is quite important," Wooten said. "What we did was we doubled the power to the audio output — from a half-watt to a full watt — and increased the speaker size."

All of the new radios come in 16-channel configurations, but the 2-watt 400 radios also are available in a 4-channel configuration. In addition, all of the new radios can be integrated into a fleet-management system with the addition of an optional GPS microphone. In addition, the 5-watt radios employ a mechanical stopper to prevent "blind channel selection," according to the company.

Available immediately, the list price for the new Kenwood portable radios range from $250 to $300, depending on frequency, power and channel configuration, Wooten said.