Montana Radio Cloning Issues 2026

On April 20, a federal fire vehicle with a Kenwood mobile radio installed was driven to an initial-attack incident. This mobile radio did not have programming/user guide or a cloning cable to go between BK and Kenwood radios. Furthermore, fire personnel were not familiar with the platform of this recently installed Kenwood mobile radio.

Because of this situation—and with time being an important component—the decision was made to not use the mobile radio, but to rely on easily-cloned handhelds. All of the handhelds on this incident were BK. Fortunately, during this particular incident, this radio communication alternative worked out fine.