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| Reviews Summary for Kenwood TM-733A |
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Reviews: 31
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Average rating: 4.5/5
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MSRP: $730
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Description: 2 Meter/440 Dual Band.
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Product is not in production.
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More info: http://
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KE4JSX
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 16, 2012 12:43
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It's been fun while I had it
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Thanks eHam. My VHF side is on the way south and I found on here that I'm not alone. That being said, I have loved this radio for 8 plus years. Maybe I'll keep it for the UHF and add a straight 2m rig in the shack. Sorry I sold off the separation kit, but it was awesome to have while it was in the truck.
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KE6BQW
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 1, 2011 12:00
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WORK HORSE
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Ive had mine since mid 90's stationed in Japan. Im the original owner. It's been on at least 5 of trucks thourgh the years. It also has done Home Base duties. Never faltered and still putting out full power on its three settings.
Great Rig!
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DD4DA
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 6, 2011 03:34
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Works pretty
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I purchaised the TM733E (European version, what ever the hell the differents are) in 1996 and used them about a decade without any trouble. In 2006, the 2m TX max power is decreased if the unit is getting warmer. Instead 50Watts, the TX reached max 25Watt and less. I decided me to check'em and find out, that the Power Module has got hair fine cut an the ceramic pcb. The used SAV-17 is not available as spare part becaus ist was end of life since abt. 6 Years.
The surplus resellers price was horrible so i replaced them with a different module from Mitsubishi M67741L with less power (35Watt) and since that fault, the trx works pretty fine.The newer mosfet power modules available with up to 60 Watts needs a different control voltage range (max 5V for 60 Watt instead max 12V for 50 Watt) as the SAV-17 and M67741L Modules.
There is not enought space for buil a conversation unit.
The rubbished RJ45 Connector for the microphne need replaced a couple of times.
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VE3PWR
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 27, 2010 14:14
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My # 1 Work Horse.....
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I purchased my first Kenwood TM 733 back in December 1993.... Since then ... I've purchased 2 more and NEVER had a problem with one of them....
All 3 of my 733's I purchased new...
Since then.. I've sold 2 of them this year because I wanted to upgrade radio's with ones that have more than 70 memory channels in total...
I still use my very first original one purchased as my base radio and it's never let me down...
I don't ever want to part with it....
If you find one that has been looked after at a Flea Market or on Ebay .. Try It.. You might like it... It was a Gem back in the 90's...
I just wish it had more than 70 memory channels... Then I wouldn't have sold the other 2....
73 Martin VE3PWR
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W0EAJ
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 3, 2009 15:09
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Good, but tired
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Not to be the ONLY naysayer, but although mine has served me VERY WELL, the VXO died in it a few years back - sent it off to KENWOOD, and they replaced it - worked for about a year, then same problem. I know it's thermal, but it's a bugger to get to, and the assembly is ceramic, so difficult to resolder.
I always wished the "tiny" little sub-menu titles were bigger (hey guys, I'm not 14 here), as sometimes you accidentally put it on that "bell" mode when you're driving, and have to pull over, and get out the reading glasses to get it back "home". Good sensitivity and no other problems.
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KC5UWS
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 16, 2009 22:27
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A solid performer
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I finally got my trusty old Kenwood TM-733A back in my truck after a three year hiatus due to many other busy things taking priority. It's nice to be back on the air and it's nice to be there with a trusted old friend. The 733 is definitely a product of the 90s with a reasonable set of features but somewhat limited memories (100 plus two call stations). There are no menus, all features being accessed either through function keys (six plus two levels of shift for a total of 18) or sometimes obscure combinations of keys. The most common functions are relatively accessible though. After three years away, it only took a few dozen minutes with the radio before my fingers remembered most of the key sequences necessary to operate this radio.
Like an old friend, the 733 isn't perfect, but it's good and reliable. I've had mine for 13 years now and it just keeps working. It would be nice to have a newer radio with a few more memories, memory banks for organization and alpha-numeric labels on the memories, but the 733 is good enough that my thoughts on getting a new radio remain just thoughts. When I do finally get a new radio, the 733 is going to become a base station in my office. I'll run it forever or as long as it lasts.
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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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KN4X
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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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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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