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| Reviews Summary for Kenwood TM-733A |
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Reviews: 26
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Average rating: 4.6/5
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MSRP: $730
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Description: 2 Meter/440 Dual Band.
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More info: http://
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write your own review of the Kenwood TM-733A.
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KC9LCS
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 19, 2008 12:32
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Great Performance But Lacking Ease of Use
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I really like this radio!!! The radio does not have anyway to name channels. The instruction manual is very difficult to understand. I have good reports on this radio. I would recommend this radio to anyone. The issues I have pointed out are minor and don't effect the great audio quality.
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K4JDN
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 21, 2007 22:15
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Energizer Bunny, Keeps Going, and Going, and Going!!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Used mobile almost every day since 1996. Best audio. Many great features. Those willing to spend the time and get fully up-to-speed are well rewarded with is radio. Probably not the simplest radio in teams of user interface, but you're not much of an operator if you cannot read, try features and follow a simple manual. If you see one for sale that tests ok, snap it up. Put it in your shack for a week or two to get familiar with all of the features. Then mount it in your commuter vehicle and enjoy. I bought a lightly used 733a 3 years back to replace my everyday unit (if it ever fails), but the original just keeps on going, and the backup is waiting on it's day to shine ... and no, it's not for sale:)
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KA7OEI
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 28, 2006 11:01
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Pretty good radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my original '733 for over 10 years now - being one of those produced after they took care of the "PL Problem" and started putting the proper amount of heat sink compound on the RF power modules.
I've had a few minor problems - the most notable has to do with the contacts on the control head getting a bit flaky from time-to-time. A drop of contact cleaner (tuner cleaner - or I use Stabilant 22s) seems to fix it for a year or more.
I originally had some obnoxious intermod on 70cm - even with AIP on - but was able to do some simple mods (described on the web) that pretty much took care of the problem without sacrificing sensitivity to any significant degree.
It's quite a complex radio to run and it seems that all but the most basic features require that the manual be handy.
One of the "fun" features that I have used is the ("officially" undocumented) remote control where I was backpacking some distance from the vehicle for a weeklong trip. Unfortunately, I have, on more the one occasion, caused it to "jam" (become unresponsive to commands) via remote control: Fortunately, I had an "alternate" radio/controller that allowed me to turn the radio on/off to save the batteries (otherwise it wouldn't have been legal) - and I was fortunate enough to "jam" it on a usable channel, so I could continue to use it, albeit without the remote control features.
One problem that I have found with this '733 (and another '733 that I have since acquired as well as other radios of this and older vintage) is that the panel lights burn out. I have since replaced them with very bright yellow surface-mount LEDs mounted in the light bulb's wells, but the catch is that the display is now "stuck" in a "medium-bright" setting as the brightness control - while it works for tungsten lamps, doesn't have much of an effect with the LEDs owing to their lower current requirements.
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K5THR
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 1, 2006 08:52
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Problem Fixed
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The previous problem with the tone board has been repaired and now is running great. Really have enjoyed this radio. Great Audio and Signal reports!
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This is an awesome radio all excepts for I have tone board problems on 440 especially, I am keying up a repeater one time, and it next time I am not when it says I am. Other than that its awesome on simplex! This is the 2nd 733 I've owned.
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N4RAP
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 1, 2005 22:00
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Love them all
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I'll keep this one short. Great mobile dual and. I love this radio. I have 6 yeah that's right...six of them. If you have one for sale....CALL ME NOW!!! You can clone them over the air. Easy for out of band modification and have great Kenwood Audio. The black mic, like the one in this picture, is the best. The newer backlit mic has terrible "tinny" sounding audio and is too big for my hands. I have one in almost every car and truck and one at work and one at the house.
N4RAP is clear.
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KB9VGR
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 19, 2005 10:09
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love it
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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this is the best radio iv ever had and my second mobile i bought it at dayton 2004 with a 440 antenna an external speaker and the remote mount kit my only problem is the head unit lights dont work am looking for a parts rig to replace the head unit lights would probably buy another if price and timming were right has all the features i need and not too complex although the mic just pooped out on me i can still cross band with my ht nice sturdy radio has awsome coverage i accessed the muncie in repeater from i70 near the state line
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AC6VV
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 15, 2004 16:41
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Lockup, displaying "on"
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After using my TM-733A for ten years, I still love it. It has everything I need (an alpha display would have been a nice extra). I'm posting in case anyone else encounters a lockup condition with the word "on" displayed. It's happened twice in ten years, apparently due to a key sequence during powerup, perhaps with an intermittent power feed(?)
Don't give up! All is not lost! If it happens to you, you will need to open the radio and disconnect power from the memory for a while. Don't mess with the battery. Just disconnect the ribbon cable from the panel at the upper ckt board. This requires lifting gently on the white plastic tabs at the ends of the connector on the upper board. After it moves up to the disengaged position, simply pull the ribbon out of it to isolate the memory, which is in the front panel. I left mine out overnight to be sure the memory was zeroed out. When the ribbon was restored, and the radio connected, it came back to life.
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N3GOO
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 5, 2004 22:02
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Good radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Good dual bander. Mine didn't have the CTCSS tone problems the early ones had, in fact have had for 8 years with no repairs. Only issue is when using detachable front panel, make certain that the panel contacts make good contact with the cable, or the rig can lock up and lose some memory channels. I traced this problem to some excess plastic (mold flash?) on the DFK kit, removed it with a sharp knife and have not had any problems since. Very convenient radio, especially in small cars where mounting the rig in the trunk and only putting the control panel up front is the best approach.
Cross band works ok, but bear in mind it's against the rules unless you can set up some way to ID on the frequency back to you.
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918
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 25, 2004 23:22
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Outstanding
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have only had my TM-733A for a short time I am realy enjoying it. I need to work with the radio some more but that should be fun. I do have one problem, I can not find the Cable to use the removable face any where. If some one out there has one or can connect me with some one that has one I would be a happy Firefighter.
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PU1-MLL
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 16, 2004 11:06
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Excellent Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I originally purchased this rig in 2002-used of course. I donīt have anything bad to talk about it, but, crossband function is so confused to activate, only. If you wanna a dual, TM-733 is so good.
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