Kenwood's NX-5000 series now supports DMR, together with NXDN and P25

Kenwood has added DMR (digital mobile radio) support and compatibility to its NEXEDGE (NX)-5000 series of portable and mobile radios. The NX-5000 series is now compatible with three different digital protocols: NXDN, DMR (Tier II conventional mode) and P25 – Phase 1 and Phase 2 (trunked).

A single NX-5000 radio can simultaneously support two digital protocols plus FM analogue, offering the following combinations: FM/DMR/NXDN, FM/NXDN/P25, and FM/DMR/P25.

The NXDN air interface can fit into a 6.25 KHz bandwidth using FDMA (frequency division multiple access) technology. Jointly developed by Icom and Kenwood, it supports trunking, either with (Type-C NXDN trunking) or without a control channel (Type-D NXDN trunking). There is also NEXEDGE Gen 2 which was released last year which allows up to 100 consoles to link to a single IP gateway "so a single network can connect a maximum of 1,000 consoles.

DMR is energy efficient and thanks to two-slot TDMA (time division multiple access), it allows two talk-paths within a 12.5 KHz bandwidth.

P25 is used by public safety agencies in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

NX-5000 series portable radios comply with MIL-STD-810 C/D/E/F/G environmental standards and IP67/68 immersion standards, offering a maximum of two hours of protection at a depth of one metre. They support Gen2 and NXDN Type-C trunking protocols. Buyers can choose between a numeric keypad (16-key model) or one without. They offer built-in Bluetooth, integrated GPS, an SD card slot and man-down detection.