The company was established in 1946 as the Kasuga Radio Co. Ltd. in Komagane City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. In 1960, the company was renamed Trio Corporation. In 1963, the first overseas office was founded in Los Angeles County, California, USA.^[2]

In the early 1960s, Trio's products were rebranded by the Lafayette Radio Company, with a focus on citizens' band radio.

https://web.archive.org/web/20010217024239fw_/http://www.cbgazette.com/laf3.html

The Lafayette Radio Company was established in 1921 . Lafayette offered a number of different models during the late 50's and 60's. However, no model in the line stands out as a stellar performer. The Lafayette chain of radio stores faltered and eventually collapsed in the late 1970s. They had bet heavily on 4 channel, quadraphonic sound as the next wave in home audio. This mistake and keen competition from Radio Shack contributed to their demise.

https://people.ohio.edu/postr/bapix/LafArt_60_3.htm

A&A Trading Co. was an importer of Japanese-made electronics for RadioShack, and a bilingual Japanese-speaking manager from A&A, William "Bill" Kasuga, partnered with George Aratani and Yoichi Nakase to establish a company that would be the exclusive importer of Trio products.^[3]

The name Kenwood was invented by Kasuga as being the combination of "Ken", a name common to Japan and North America that had been tested and proven acceptable to American consumers in the name of Kenmore appliances, and "Wood", referring to the durable substance as well as suggesting a relation to Hollywood, California.^[3] The brand recognition of Kenwood eventually surpassed that of Trio, and in 1986 Trio bought Kenwood and renamed itself Kenwood. George Aratani was the first chairman of Kenwood USA Corporation and was succeeded by Kasuga.^[2] In October 2008, Kenwood merged with JVC to form new a holding company, named as JVCKenwood.

Kenwood Founder George Aratani Dies

Kenwood's forerunner company, Kasuga Musen Denki Shokai Limited, was founded in 1946. In 1952 the first communications grade receiver was produced. This was the 6 tube Trio model 6R-4. In 1955 the company began the mass production of audio, communications and test equipment. The Trio model 9R4J was a nine tube receiver kit that featured an S-Meter, BFO and covered from 550 to 30000 kHz. In 1960 the Trio Company changed its name to Trio Limited. The assembled model 9R-59 General Coverage Receiver was introduced in 1961. Trio successfully manufactured this and other models for other private label firms such as Lafayette. In 1963 the overseas brand name of Kenwood is established for hi-fi equipment in Los Angeles. In 1975 Trio-Kenwood Communications Inc. was established in Gardena, California to market amateur radio equipment in the United States. In 1986 the company changed its name to Kenwood Corporation. Kenwood hitthree home runs in a row with the R-1000, R-2000 and R-5000 receivers.

Trio 9R-4J 1959-1963

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/9r4j.htm

Trio 9R-59 1961-1962

Bandspread for 80 - 1 O meters. The Trio 9R-59 appears to possibly be the same as Lafayette model HA-230.

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/9r59.htm

Trio 9R-59DE

Ranges: .55-1.6, 1.6-4.8, 4.8-14.5 and 10.5-30 MHz. Bandspread on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 1 O meters. Variants: Model 9R-59DS.

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/9r59de.htm

Trio 9R-59DS 1968-1969

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/9r59ds.htm

1963-1964

1961

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/jr310.htm

1969

TRIO JR-500 et 500SE

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/jr500s.htm

1971

Trio JR-599 Custom Deluxe

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/jr599customdeluxe.htm

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/jr599customspecial.htm

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/jr599customspecialx.htm

KENWOOD

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/qr666.htm

1974 to 1976

Note 1. Stability: 2 MHz <10 kHz, 5 MHz <1 5 kHz, 12 MHz <20 kHz, 24 MHz <25 kHz. Ranges: .17-.41 , .525-1.25, 1.25-3, 3-7.5-18 and 18-30 MHz. Amateur bandspread: 3.5-4, 7-7.5, 14-14.6, 21 -21.5 and 28-30 MHz. May be run from eight D cells. An optional SWL bandspread drum was also offered.

R300

1976-1979

Ranges: .17-.41 , .525-1 .25, 3-7.5, 7.5-18 and 18-30 MHz. Two different bandspread drums were developed. The amateur version was shipped to some areas and the shortwave version to other areas. Amateur bandspread: 3.5-4, 7-7.5, 14-14.6, 21- 21 .5 and 28-30 MHz. Shortwave bandspread: 3.82-4, 7-7.5, 9.4-9.8, 11.7-12, 15- 15.5, 17.6-18, 21 .4-21.8 and 25.6-26.2 MHz. The R-300 may be run from eight D cells. These cells are accessible through a trap door on the bottom of the receiver

R999 they are four RX

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/kenwoodselect.htm

1970 to 1972

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/r599.htm

Comments: Matches T-599A Transmitter. Dial accuracy ±1 kHz. Original ranges: 1.8-2.3, 3.5-4.0, 7-7.5, 14-14.5, 21-21.5 and 28-29.7 plus the CB band of 26.8-27.4. After March 1978 the CB band was removed and labled AUX. Variants: The model R-599A changed the dial skirt from 25 kHz/rev. to 100 kHz/rev. , had VFO light and Noise Blanker. The cyrstal filters was changed form 4 to 8 pole. The later U.S. model R-5590 1976 $459-500 and European model R-599S were darker in color. The R-5590 was reviewed CQ March 1978.

1955 – History: Kenwood (USA) was founded as an American subsidiary of Trio Electric Inc. of Japan, the company name became "Trio Kenwood". In 1980, the company emphasized using the "Kenwood" designation only; in 1986, the company name was permanently changed to "Kenwood". In 1946, Kasuga Radio Co. Ltd. was founded in Komagane (Nagano Province). founded, renamed Kasuga Radio Industry Corporation in 1950. After the first 6-tube communication receiver, mass production of home electronics, communication and measurement technology began. In January 1960 the name was changed to Trio Electronic Inc., in September 1962 the first transistor amplifier was brought to market. In December 1963, Kenwood USA was founded in Los Angeles as the first overseas hi-fi equipment sales company. The first European branch was founded in May 1968 as Trio-Kenwood in Belgium. The American subsidiary Trio-Kenwood in Gardena - CA began selling heavy-duty amateur radio equipment from 1975. In June 1979, the first overseas production plant was established in Singapore. Around 1980 the Kenwood brand name was used more widely, in 1986 the company was renamed Kenwood Corporation, and in 1996 the addition "Trio-" was dropped altogether. The branch of Kenwood Corporation's test and measurement instruments division was spun off from the parent company in July 1996 as Kenwood TMI Corporation. Trio's first shortwave receivers were also sold in Europe under the Jennen and Lafayette labels. The 9R-59DS shortwave receiver, introduced to the market in 1968, quickly became very popular and the R-1000, R-2000 and R-5000 shortwave receivers set new standards. In the amateur radio segment, the "Twins" R-599 receivers / T-599 transmitter still have many fans as oldies, many amateur radio transceivers uphold the Trio–Kenwood reputation to this day. In 1980, Kenwood launched the first car radios on the market, followed by navigation systems, mobile phones and, from 1997, computer peripherals such as DVD and MP3 players. Kenwood also offers a wide range of professional radio equipment. This includes analog and digital (Nexedge/DMR) portable radios and vehicle devices, as well as repeater systems. Since 2015, the company name is JVCKENWOOD Corporation.

KENWOOD R-600

1982-1985

A communications receiver for the casual listener. Operates with thirty 1 MHz bands. Lacks stability found in models R-1000 and up. Some European production units cover 150 - 26000 kHz.

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/r600.htm

KENWOOD R-620

1978-1979

Supplied amateur band coverage: 1.8-2, 3.5-4, 7-7.5, 14-1 4.5, 21-21.5 and 28-30 MHz. Supplied shortwave broadcast band coverage: 5.9-6.4, 9.4-9.9, 11.5-12, 15- 15.5 and 17.7-18.2 MHz. Matches the TS-820S transceiver. An excellent receiver but inexpensive on the used market because it is not general coverage

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/r820.htm

KENWOOD R-1000

1979-1985

A solid performer. Very stable after warm-up and even suitable for quality RTTY reception. The AVC release time is a bit long. The somewhat ugly carry handle may be swivelled down to angle the receiver, or swung up over the top of the receiver. Shown above with optional SP-100 Speaker. A good receiver.

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/r1000.htm

KENWOOD R-2000

1993-1992

A good value. A popular modification was the removal of the tone control in favor of an R.1.T. to decrease the VFO tuning increment from the supplied 50 Hz. This made the R-2000 very suitable for RTTY reception. No keypad entry. Memories store: frequency and mode. The optional VC-10 Internal Converter covers 118-17 4 MHz in all modes with full frequency read-out. Variants: Sold as Trio R-2000 in the U.K.

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/r2000.htm

KENWOOD R-5000

1987-1996

The 2 x 5 keypad format takes getting use to. Memories store: frequency, mode and antenna input. The supplied 6 kHz AM filter is only marginal. The optional VC20 internal converter covers 108-174 MHz in all modes with full read-out. The nonU.S.A. version operates from 120/220/240 50/60 Hz.

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/r5000.htm

1988-1992

KENWOOD RZ1

This receiver is designed for mobile operation. An under-dash car bracket is supplied. Only double conversion in FM-W mode. FM reception is stereo to the line outputs. Scanning is manual, timer or carrier operated. Memories may be lock-out of the scan sequence. Tuning steps: 5, 12.5, 20 or 25 kHz. The NTSC television video output is 1 Vp-p. and is only on the USA version. A lithium battery backs-up the memories. As with most wideband receivers, the shortwave band is not exceptional. However, the RZ-1 has sufficient performance to monitor the major worldband broadcasters while on the road. It also provides VHF-UHF coverage and even TV audio. If a monitor is connected the TV video may be viewed.

https://www.rigpix.com/kenwood/rz1.htm