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write your own review of the Kenwood TH-7E.
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SAPPHIRE
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 8, 2012 12:44
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Very Good
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Great laptop with unique characteristics, a good battery life. Very easy to use with great intuition.
Disabling an internal antenna and connecting stylus loaded HF SSB receives well.
There is a laptop in the world with similar characteristics. Very sensitive to the signal VHF end UHF band A.
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ZS1JAP
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 20, 2011 11:38
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Best all-rounder
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have just ordered my 2nd one. 1st one got a dose of seawater and shut shop. After a year or two of looking around I have decided its the best thing that meets my needs in a handheld. I use it for a bunch of stuff - neighbourhood watch, rescue services, ham stuff, scanner, and WFM listener. (ok i did wideband it - as I am licensed on a variety of other frequencies) - it really is a one fits all thing.
For travelling - it is a very small item you can take around and get all your radio entertainment in one place. No its not perfect - but its pretty capable on 2m/70 like the rest of 'em. The HF side is less than perfect - but suprisingly good with a piece of wire. It saves carrying something large. You can listen in a coffee shop!
Likes:
- small and versatile
- quality build
- easy menus and buttons
- battery life is excelent
- audio quality is excellent
- small size is astonishing
- manual is quite good
- dual VFOs suprisingly useful, besides great scanning features
- great transmitter with clear mike
Dislikes
- standard antenna a bit weak (not too major though)
- buttons are a bit small and no backlighting
- i had some rare intermod birdies which were confusing at first
I would not buy it as an operational radio (simpe, quick and suitable for emergencies. But for a travelling ham it stays #1 in my view, despite its age)
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DO9GB
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 25, 2011 11:49
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My Workhorse
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I meanwhile have 3 of them. One in the car (with a PA), one in the shack and one to go.
I love this radio. Intuitive to use, SSB reception, dual receive, wide band receive, lots of memory, attenuator, NFM, ... you name it.
If only it had full duplex, then it would be the only HT I ever needed.
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EI7GMB
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 1, 2011 15:29
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Nice toy with some flaws.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Bought it around 2 years ago when the other choice was Yaesu VX7. Well, that was an first Kenwood rig ever (everything before were all Yaesu's and homebrews) so nearly all the dont's were keeping me off, but an SSB receive facility was tempting. After about 2 years of service I must say that bad sides are:
-noisy reception even with pretty strong signals
-standard antenna is just a joke
-bleed overs from strong stations / interferences even with squelch fully turned up
-at some frequencies it is completely deaf - for example 200-300 mHz or 600-800 mHz region.
Despite those flaws I really like:
-SSB reception - it's pretty good as for such a small thing. Can monitor anything in my shack.
-battery just keeps it going and going, and going... And it is standard 1500 mAh battery.
-size, shape, buttons, simplicity of a menu layout - everything is just right.
-quite ok at aircraft band (118-136) but MW broadcast band really rocks!
Talking about reception - it is noisy even with strong signals - the S-meter can show say s7 and audio is simply tinted with hiss. Even with full scale up audio is somewhat noisy. It is not an Hi-Fi stereo but it is really below my expectations. Anyway it is still nicer to hear than many other HT thanks to its soft sound.
Standard antenna actually should be replaced with any other decent aftermarket one. So-so on transmit, pretty bad on reception. Absolutely rubbish.
In the city I noticed loads of QRM from other frequencies (TETRA mostly) or even from diesel engine injection system. Well, filtering is one of those things what really should be improved.
This HT is totally deaf at some frequencies - okay I may live without 200-300 region, but I am really disappointed that there is no chance for mil aircraft monitoring or satcom on TH-F7 when even FT100D was able to pick it up) or 600-800. Had no chance to see how it preforms at 23cm range, albeit would not put any hope on it after (not) hearing lower frequencies. One thing what I really miss and what puzzles me is 4m range - it is completely deaf also on 70 mHz but apparently has no sensitivity issues at 66 mHz and then 78 mHz region. I would really sacrifice anything between 52 mHz to 88 mHz (and even those unfortunate 200-300 mHz) just to have any (not to mention "decent") reception between 70 to 70,5 mHz.
If it comes to main reason of my desire then all can I say - I am happy with its SSB. It really works but also require any HF antenna to work at all. Anyone who thinks than should be able to hear his favorite SW stations with TH-F7's rubber duck should really think about that, that a) not possible b) this so antenna does not work even at its intended frequencies. Anyway in my case it was just enough to connect a piece (about 1,5 meter) of soft stranded copper wire to get most of the SW broadcast stations and quite a many amateurs and marines. With "real" HF antenna could not notice a much of difference on sensitivity between this small HT and "real" HF rig. Okay, it is not very stable on VFO and within minutes its goes off the frequency (or does not tune exactly) but it just a tiny toy with great abilities and it just does the job. Nothing more I would ask for and its enough to listen whatever you will wherever you are.
Battery virtually lasts forever. A whole day of operation left me with this HT still going and still having one bar of battery power. Would not mind to have this new 2000 mAh battery also but 1500 mAh is a sufficient reservoir of power.
Another strong point of TH-F7 is its casing. Good quality materials, well planned buttons, knobs and sockets. Nice to handle, nice to hold, built as little tank. I have it dropped several times and it is still alive. I got it damped few times and it still in right condition. Ok, I also have a leather pouch (came with it!) which makes it even better protected but still it is just well built HT.
I have heard from others (and I saw it also) that rubber keyboard buttons are likely to vanish its imprint. Personally can't complain - everything is still in place. Never got this "misty display problem" also.
What would I put on my wish list?
-APRS module - it is really missing it (or TH-D7 is missing SSB?)
- second VFO audio monitor when in TNC mode (why not?
- discriminator tap for packet / ATV reception (if 23 cm receiver is worth of anything)
- maybe stereo broadcast reception would not be a bad idea, specially when it is capable of WFM reception already?
- (a great one wish) SSB transmit on 2/70 or at least 23 cm FM transmit (as Alinco did)
-a GSM capability, to justify another purchase to my wife that it is just such a funny mobile phone.. ha ha!
Why 4 out of 5? Sometimes just can't justify the price asked (well above 250 eur), specially when I think about its FM audio noise, but I am not regretting of buying it even though there is still many things to fix (filtering, sensitivity etc). Enough to say that years comes by and it is still my favorite HT.
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AVD
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 20, 2010 02:37
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5/5
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The third year I own it radio. I hear and a lot of pleasure much.
There is one small lack - the hard button of illumination.
It is very strong made: there were two casual falling on a stone floor from height of 1,5 m - any scratch.
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PA5GV
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 17, 2010 12:34
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Versatile rig
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Gents,
Just before buying this HT I had read several reviews where people commented this rig is relatively deaf. I bought the rig, despite of these comments, and I am happy that I did! I use the HT in my car with a Mirage BD-35 amplifier and I have no problems at all working repeaters on 2m and 70cm. Sensitivity on the A-VFO is good, I can listen to repeaters which are 80kms away! Performance on the B-VFO is slightly less though, I use this VFO of HF-RX only. But this rig is sure not deaf!
Easy to use menu-structure and once you have read the UM you'll appreciate all the features of this versatile rig.
Batteries last for ages: after a two hour drive with normal QSO 'duty-cycle' the battery was at 2/3 of the maximum capacity. No need to plug in a 12V supply!
HF RX is OK-ish, don't expect performance like a DX-rig with all the filters, but as an extra feature I appreciate being able to listen to HF CW/SSB stations.
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F6FLQ
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 28, 2009 15:31
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Good classic value
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've just got a brand new TH-7E from Waters Stanton ( UK).
They are shipped with a new 2000 mAh PB-42L now (vs 1550 mAh previous one)!
A sticker tells you the new charging time : 8h (vs 6,5h);
the output of the ac adaptator is 0.65A.
I like :
audio quality (better than my YAESU VX-7)
SMC-34 mike set option (speaker volume control+phone jack + 3 prog buttons)
5w WITHOUT external power source
very easy menu to go with.
HF SSB receiver is so-so (Yaesu FT 817 is unbeatable !)..but no other handheld has this
I hate :
the APO : no power off if a signal is still present !!???
Not a good "sleep" function.
Nevertheless I don't regret my purchase.
73
Eric
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G8YTZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 21, 2009 03:38
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Very Flexible, very well made HT
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Well, I’m pretty difficult to please… I’ve owned this hand-held longer that I can remember, it must be getting on for 10 years old now, but fear not of the age - the package is still competitive.
The Good:
• Very well made, good solid construction, nice materials, definitely a quality product – exactly what and hand portable should be.
• Good range of reasonably prices accessories (ICOM take note about the words reasonably priced!)
• 100% reliability, it has never ever let me down over its long service life
• Easy to use, menu system very logical – you never want for anything more.
• Dual receive, very wideband receiver 0.1-1300MHz, so covers 23cms as well and is all mode on receive (AM, FM, Broadcast FM, USB/LSB, CW) programmable for each band separately.
• VFO steps are flexible and ideal for SSB reception in “fine” mode
• Feature rich, it does everything you would want. It does all CTCSS, DTS modes and you can select any reasonable repeater shift.
• Lots of memories, alpha tags would have been nice though.
• Compact size, strong lithium-ion battery
• Good VHF/UHF/SHF receive performance (for a hand portable)
• PC Programmable.
The not so good:
• Use it for long QSO’s and it gets red hot (all that power in a small space), but makes a great hand warmer in the winter!
• OK so the LF/MF/HF wideband receiver is quite poor, but it is as good as any top end hand scanners and it covers the 23cm band.
• There’s a bit of inter-mod when connected to an external antenna on 2 meters
• The supplied charger/PSU cannot sustain TX on high power; you can buy a Maplin plug-in replacement or the Kenwood car charger lead.
• The supplied rubber duck could be a lot better, buy an alternative antenna
On the whole this hand portable is difficult to beat, nearly 10 years on it still holds its own in the market and still has some very valuable and unique features in being all mode on receive and covering 23cms on receive.
My next hand portable will probably be a D-STAR, as I think the D-STAR system is great for portable and mobile operation, but I will loose the compact size and the versatile receiver of the TH-F7 in the process, so I’m keeping the Kenwood for now until the D-STAR sets improve.
Justin G8YTZ
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ALVIN
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Rating: 3/5
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Jun 16, 2008 17:22
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well built
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This transceiver is built like a tank.kenwood have certainly not skimped on the build quality,it looks as though it would take many a hard knock and survive.I particularly like this aspect of the radio.
as far as performance goes,the receiver suffers from a bit of hiss unless the signal is very strong,and the screen will mist up on the inside sometimes if you transmit for an excessive length of time on each over on 5 watts,but it will soon de mist it'self if you let it cool down between overs or reduce the power,it doesn't happen very often so It's not really much of a problem
the size is very small,so it will fit inside your pocket with relative ease,making the unit very transportable,the unit will transmit for a very long time on one battery charge,even on 5watts,I was on for over an hour at 5 watts without the battery failing.
it will receive just about anything,even sideband,although it will only recieve the strong side band signals properly,and you need an external antenna.overall i think it's a reasonably good radio.
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PA3HCM
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Rating: 3/5
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Apr 30, 2008 11:31
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Nice monitor for in your shack
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought my TH-F7e about a year ago together with the SMC-34 speaker/microphone and I'm quite happy with this little thing. Ok, the receiver isn't that good (as mentioned in other reviews already), but I won't use this HT for DX either. No, this is my little friend in my shack for monitoring, since it is capable to receive anything between 100kHz and 1300MHz in all popular modes (including SSB!).
During long trips I use it in my car (combined with a JWX mobile antenna). I mostly use VFO-A for 70cm and VFO-B for 2m, since VFO-A has better (or should I say "less worse"?) filtering than VFO-B. For some reason most QRO is close to 70cm here in PA, while 2m is very quiet...
When using the DC-cable (PG-3J, separately) it gets really hot when transmitting, so I only use this cable for charging when I'm out of my car.
So if you want a very small all-mode receiver which is also able to transmit on 144/432, then buy this one. If you don't need HF reception, skip this and find something else.
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