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| Reviews Summary for Kenwood TH-F6A |
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Reviews: 237
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Average rating: 4.3/5
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MSRP: $425.00
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Description: Compact triband H.T. (144/220/440) with dual receive, wideband receiver (Longwave through 1.3 Ghz), SSB/CW rcv. Bar antenna for A.M. broadcast reception. 5 watts all bands.
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More info: http://www.kenwood.net/ama_page.cfm
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write your own review of the Kenwood TH-F6A.
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K1SEZ
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Rating: 3/5
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May 29, 2009 07:27
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Somewhat disappointed...
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Time owned: months
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My 2 week old Kenwood HT was returned to KJI Electronics for repair. It turned out to be a defunct speaker. To add insult to injury, the wrong speaker replacement was sent to KJI from the Kenwood parts depot, adding a week more to the process. But, all's well that end's well... Gene's tech did a nice job of installing the new speaker, and it's finally back at the home QTH.
Although I think the TH-F6A has nice operational specs and is pretty easy to program from the nicely done manual, the sound is rather "tinny" and it is hard to hear in a mobile environment. I have it mountable on a small holder in my car and it drives a 35 w "brick" amp in the trunk.
I just purchaed the external speaker/mike which seems to have the same minimal voice and tinny audio sound.
So, at this point, with only a few weeks of operational time, I'm rating it a 3, OK, but I miss the more gutsy, natural sounding Yaesu HT-60R which it replaced.
73 de K1SEZ
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VY1PG
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 10, 2009 20:54
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Good little HT
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This is my second HT, my first being a Yaesu FT-530. I enjoy using this unit, and the fact that it's half the size and half the weight of my first unit is a bonus. The manual was a bit difficult to understand at first, but programming the radio is fairly easy. The menu system is quite adequate and easy to understand. My biggest problem is that I can't figure out how to do satellite splits with it, programming a transmit frequency on 2m and a recieve frequency on 70cm. There may be an easy way to do it, but even the software I have to program the radio doesn't let me do it. I would encourage anyone looking for a 3 band radio to compare this radio with any other they're looking for. I've owned this radio for since October, 2008, having purchased it from Burnaby Radio in Vancouver. (Thanks, guys)
VY1PG
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K1SEZ
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Rating: 2/5
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Apr 9, 2009 14:12
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No audio after 2+ weeks!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is only my 2nd HT, the first being a Yaesu FT-60R, which gave up the ghost with an intermittent on/off switch after about 4 years of frequent use. I just purchased this neat little Kenwood TH-F6A several weeks ago and everything worked FB until today, 19 days of use!
The audio just ceased working; everything else still seems to work OK, so it's something putzed in the speaker or audio amp circuitry.
That sure is a small speaker, about 1" diameter!
It's going back to Kenwood via KJI Electronics of NJ this weekend for repair or replacement, and I'll let everyone know how quickly that happens.
Has anyone else experienced audio/speaker failure of this HT?
73 de K1SEZ
Paul Ciezniak
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W4LTX
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 28, 2009 16:24
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Terrible manual
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This radio was purchased for its wide band and receive modes other than AM and FM) After finally figuring out how to do basic programming on this radio I give it a 4.
But, I have nothing good to say about the stupid instruction manual! It finally tells you things in the later pages that should have been in the first few pages, such as the restrictions on what memories can be normally programmed. One learns about the "I" (Info) pre-programed weather channels AFTER programming memory channels.
Pros (once I figured out basic repeater programming): Nice compact tri band transceiver with decent battery life (which was good, considering the time it took to figure out how to enter basic data).
Cons: B side is not as sensitive as the A side. The local weather broadcast comes in loud and clear with four bars using the A VFO but the squelch must be turned almost off using the B receive.
Accidentally hit a wrong button and it is very confusing getting what you want back.
This is my fourth portable; A Yaesu VX-7R (which has much better dual receive but no SSB), A Yaesu VX-170, and an Icom (commercial) IC-F33.
Unless you REALLY want the SSB mode, get a VX-6R instead!
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N2CYY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 11, 2009 18:38
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Superb all around performer
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I've had this one for about 6 months ........... I had sold a previous one and regretted it almost immediately. This is one heck of a versatile performer. It has the 3 bands I wanted and needed 2 / 220 /440 . I never wanted 6 meters in an HT. Receiver is hot and I get excellent audio reports on transmit. Since I take this rig with me on the train as I go to work each day, I really appreciate it's excellent ability to reel in local AM & FM stations as well. Programming software makes programming a breeze. I also participate actively in local RACES & ARES activities, I can highly recommend the TH-F6A for these activities. While the TH-F6A may not have all of the newer bells and whistles like blue-tooth, it is a solid meat and potatoes radio that is rugged enough to get the job down reliably.
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N0MUD
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 23, 2008 15:24
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Excellent HT
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My last item was October 2005 and it was a 5/5 then and it's still a 5/5 today. I bought my HT back in 2001 and have enjoyed it ever since. I've owned a Yaesu VX5r and got rid of it and I have a Vx7r and still have it along with Alinco DJ580 dual band. I can grab any of the three and be satisfied with which ever HT I pick up. I have NOT had any problems with my Kenwood Thf6a other than an operator problem but I was slapped and woken up and I haven't made that same mistake since. I still use the same battery but I do want to buy another battery. I use W&W Batteries and have never had any problems with them in the past. Quick service and you pay for what you get, great quality service. Any ways you can't go wrong with your Kenwood THF6a HT. I have replaced the antenna with a Midol Tri-band. Even tho there is no 220 activity here in Colorado when I go back to California to visit there is a 220 system all the way up and down the entire state of Cal. so I am glad my HT does 220. I also have several friends that talk only on 220 so again another reason for that band. I use the other two bands here in Colorado. I carry my HT with me when I am hunting up in the high country as there are several repeaters that I can hit in an emergency if needed. Mine had the Mars mod completed so again in an emergency I can contact any Law Enforcement agency up where I hunt and with not so good health having the Kenwood with me makes me feel a bit safer.. I highly recommend buying one of these Kenwood HT's you just can't go wrong.
73's and Merry Christmas to everyone....
Mike, N0mud
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KC9BEP
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 23, 2008 11:24
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Have Carried this for almost 7 years
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have carried and used my TH-F6A for almost 7 years. I have carried it everywhere, with me on business trips and on lots of harsh outdoor adventures such as hiking, camping, mountain biking, off roading etc. I used it for years in my truck as my only mobile rig also.
All I can say is after all that - it is sitting on my desk still working just fine being used as a scanner at the moment. I am sure it has lots of use left in it yet and it will get used as my hiking or other outdoors adventure HT, scanner, or even at work AM broadcast station (local only!) receiver for many years yet.
I recently replaced the rubber part that holds the PTT button in and forms the buttons on the monitor and light buttons on the left hand side. That part had cracked apart in cold weather recently. Other than that, the original battery still works although is getting weak and I use higher power replacements most of the time anyway.
So... I can say that after years of use and with reasonable care you can expect a lot of use from these radios. The only thing I have ever not liked about it is - without an extra antenna of some kind you can not hear much below 30mhz most of the time, only very close and high power AM broadcast stations. Of course I know the technical reasons behind that, but when I first bought it I figured I could listen to the ham bands or shorwave broadcast while traveling... So other than that, it is perfect.
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KC7YCL
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 19, 2008 22:43
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Yaesu VX-8R? Nope, Kenwood still the best on the market
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've owned about 10 of these radios so far. I have taken them apart, fiddled, tinkered, used, and abused them. I have owned a lot of other radios too. The Yaesu VX-8R is out finally, and the Kenwood TH-F6A is still the best radio on the market. It's easy to use, and has amazing battery life. Here's some things everyone should know about this radio before choosing one to buy:
* The older units have 1550mAH batteries, and the newer ones have 2000mAH batteries. That's 30% more battery power than the older units for the same price!
* The newer units come with a tiny AC charger, and the older ones come with the biggest HT charger I've ever seen.
* The older keypads are tough, but not quite as tough as the newer ones. The old ones have a "rubbery" feel that makes it stick to things and not slide in and out of a pocket quite so easily. The new ones have a harder plastic keypad that just slides in and out of a pocket with ease.
I love this radio. It's not perfect. The ideal radio would be one of those military bricks that are bullet proof, waterproof, and everything proof, and operate 30mhz to 600mhz all modes, including digital, and cost $8000.
Another gripe I have is that it's too thick. I wish it were longer but thinner, and had batteries available that get bigger lengthwise with higher capacity, instead of fatter. This radio follows the old paradigm of shrinking radio size in the length direction, while keeping the thickness the same, which is silly, because most of the length is is the antenna anyway. On top of that, pretty much everybody buys a longer antenna eventually anyway. A couple of extra inches in length makes no difference when your antenna is 10 times as long. The Yaesu VX-3R and VX-8R are moving towards the new thin paradigm.
Get a Diamond SRH320A for this radio, it's the best on the market. Anything else is not as good.
Another thing that the VX-3R has that I wish all radios had is cheap replacement batteries. The Kenwood batteries are expensive to replace, but the VX-3R uses generic camera batteries that you can buy 10 of for less than the cost of one ordinary radio battery. I'm not sure if the VX-8R uses a standard lithium battery or not, but I hope the next Kenwood follows that route.
The Kenwood radios have no bugs that I know of. Yaesu radios ALWAYS have bugs. I like my VX-3R, but if I save a memory in AM mode, it changes ALL my memories from FM to AM. That's a terrible bug! No such problems with the TH-F6A or the TH-G71A - both are great Kenwood radios with no bugs, good receivers, and easy operation. The quality is reflected in their high resale value, which is pretty good for being an older radio.
There's no other radio on the market that gives you 2M, 1.25M, and 70cm (144Mhz, 220Mhz, and 440Mhz) in one quality package. The VX-8R, as neat as it is with all of it's cool features, doesn't even come close.
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WH7LH
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 15, 2008 01:30
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Great for Me!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The only complaints I have is that I have to read the manual a lot. I had to read it about 5 times. I made a cheat sheet to help me out. The radio will not do store odd offset like 1.31 to contact the ISS. You have to use the Off-Split frequencies. I really like this radio once I have used it for a while and read the manual.
My cheat sheets are located at the following URL:
http://www.freewebs.com/wh7lh/thf6akenwoodpage.htm
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W8STU
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 24, 2008 17:26
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THE BEST HT I HAVE EVER OWNED. AND I HAVE OWNED "A LOT!"
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is the best HT I have ever owned. It is so simple to program. I have great audio reports and the receive audio is great also. I have no problems with the receive signal either. Great signals. I even listen to the AM broadcast stations on it once in a while. I think it is a great all around HT especially in cases of emergencies. I would highly recommend this HT and I am in the process of buying another one, so I can rotate them between charges. 73, Stuart W8STU
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