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write your own review of the Kenwood TR 751A.
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KI4DTV
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Rating: 5/5
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May 31, 2006 14:36
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Great rig but over priced now
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had five of these rigs over the years. I obviously love them. But they are popping finals now right and left due to age so they are not worth the price you have to pay for them now.
The cost of new finals is $150.00 plus two way shipping if you get a good deal. Having to pay $225 to $300 for one just doesn't make sense anymore when you're going to have to put big money into it.
I had trouble with 3 out of 5 of mine when they were still young but nothing to major.
They do drift but I loved the looks of them and other things so much that I put up with it. But I'm sad to say their day is gone. Or at least it's way overdue for a big price drop.
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KE5GBY
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 22, 2006 16:36
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Great 2M All-Mode!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought my 751A from another ham on ebay. After a few emails we agreed on a BIN price of $240. This baby is in mint condition. I bought an aftermarket tone board for repeater work that works great. 90% of the time all I need is the 25 watts it puts out on high power. But I also use a KLM 140 watt amp when I need a little more punch. I always get great signal reports on SSB. This is one great SSB rig with a LOT of features. I use this rig as a base, but when I eventually get another rig it will be going mobile.
If you can find one of these radios in good condition, grab it! You will not be disappointed.
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BIRDMAN
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 22, 2005 14:33
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Quality 2M All Mode
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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What can I say .. this is a great 2 meter all mode radio. Great with the tone board for repeater use if you need but I use it for simplex and SSB. Great receive and great audio with the stock mic. You can't go wrong with this for the base or mobile.
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KA5ROW
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 28, 2003 04:20
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Good All Mode Rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought my Kenwood 751-A new 10 years ago from Texas Towers and never had any problems with it. I use the rig on SSB a lot and suggest you use a power mic for SSB. But use the hand mic for FM.
Doug
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W8LON
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 26, 2003 22:14
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Too bad they stopped making this one!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I picked mine up at a hamfest back in January and instantly became hooked on 2 ssb!Very nicely layed out for mobile ops and with just 25 watts its amazing the contacts that can be made.And have had nothing but unsolicated... sounds great on air reviews with stock hand mike.Have recently added 200 watt amp and single squalo to mobile setup and all I want to do is drive!Receive is as good as my base setup with stacked beams and amazing contacts are possible 300 miles plus not a problem...roved 5 grids in September contest and worked several stations in all..So it is a very reasonable way to get into mobile ops at less than $500 complete setup!And sure makes those long trips go faster!4000 miles last month 2 ssb all the way..
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N0TTW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 9, 2003 04:05
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Wouldn't trade it.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have this for satellite and weak-signal work. The sensitivity is better than my Yaesu FT-100D. I use a Radio Shack DSP-40 on this rig with a RS 5/8 verticle. I have no complaints!!
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KA9FLX
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 10, 2003 22:20
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Excellent radio even today
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I happily acquired this unit in a trade a few years back after being frustrated at the lack of a similar model at a reasonable price. I traded it away after purchasing an IC-746 a year or so later. In my fascination over the IC-746, I did not initially appreciate this radio for what it is. Fortunately, I was able to re-acquire it back in another deal.
Considering the vintage of the unit, it is right up there with current radio performance standards. No, it does not have DSP, or a lot of the expected bells and whistles, just the basic requirements for SSB and CW operation. Including: Volume, Squelch, RIT, and RF gain controls; a noise blanker (that does work), dual VFOs with 50 Hz increment tuning in SSB and CW. That last feature is nice but amusing as well since the radio’s frequency stability is not that tight.
The unit also comes with manual or auto mode selection (by band segment), augmented with an audible CW mode identifier when a given button is selected. A useful feature for mobile operations in the dark, supplemented by well-illuminated mode indicators.
The unit has built in sub-audible tone encoding (no tone squelch, but no biggie). My particular unit did not come with the optional Kenwood DCL board. Not that I would use it so much, but it would be nice to have the unit complete with all options. In addition to basic, but useful, memory features, the unit also has scan and programmable TX offset.
Other than the relatively low (by today’s standards) high power of 25 Watts, this radio performs as good if not better than my IC746. I have done side-by-side comparisons off the same antenna system against the IC-746, and if anything, the TR-751 is slightly more sensitive. The RF gain control operates well and on strong signals it comes in handy as it would on any rig.
I don’t feel it fair to expect this radio to have the same receiver capabilities as a modern day DSP rig such as the IC-746. Without a doubt, DSP can, and does make a difference under extreme conditions. However, this rig’s overall performance is still right up there despite lacking some of these modern features.
Having had the pleasure of owning and operating both a newer generation radio and this one, I am extremely pleased to have been able to own this radio for a second time and it will not be leaving my inventory anytime soon.
For those into higher frequency operations, the rig’s 25-Watt max power is actually a bonus for transverter operations. Additionally, at 25 watts max, the output is variable and the rig could easily drive an external PA.
Considering the cost of a new, similarly equipped rig today, the flea market average prices I have seen on the rig are not unreasonable. Typically going for between $200 and $400 dollars, depending on condition, the radio is still a good deal. They are somewhat hard to find in good condition. I suspect that my fellow TR-751 owners have likewise come to appreciate the radio for what it is and are hanging on to them.
If you are looking for a solid 2-meter multimode radio and cannot afford a new rig, this is a good choice if you are fortunate to come across one. If nothing else, it is an excellent backup radio and its small size makes it perfect for mobile/portable operations.
If you are looking to get in on the action of 2-meter SSB and CW, this radio is definitely something to watch for at the next Hamfest. Figure on paying about $300 for one in good condition, a little more if in excellent condition.
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HB9DRD
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 3, 2003 12:48
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Wonderful radio, again
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have now bought myself another TR-751E (and a TR-851E :-)) and so I have another chance to re-evaluate it. It passes with flying colours.
I did a sensitivity check using off-air beacon signals against my IC-910H and it is the same. This means that both radios have noise figures lower than the external noise level, and that is as good as it needs to get except for EME or satellite work.
The front ends of the IC-910H, TR-751E and TR-851E use GaAsFETs so this result shouldn't be too surprising. It is a simple radio to use, no frills but gets the job done, what more does one need ?
Its nice to have it back, I will do a review of the TR-851E at a later date once we have become better aquainted.
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KG4UOQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 2, 2002 11:24
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excellent little rig
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This is an excellent 2 meter rig. I haven't played with CW on it yet (can't hear any around central NC) but SSB and FM work great. I bought mine used, and it came with a tone board in it. There are ten memories, plus a "call channel" which is basically just another memory, and that's (barely) enough. The memories store all the relevant settings (mode, freq, offset, tone) and you can have a few for FM and a few for SSB if you want to.
As far as SSB, it's a neat rig. RX sensitivity is great... I routinely check in to a 2m SSB net (Greensboro NC, FM05, 144.225 Tues 20:00 eastern) with net control about 27 miles away. I've heard a station from Lynchburg, VA, well over 80 miles away. This is with an MFJ 1/4 wave mag mount antenna stuck horizontally on the side of my truck. Yes, I know, I have to build a better antenna.
RX sensitivity is dynamite. I can routinely hear stations I can't reach out to. Any more RX sensitivity would be wasted. The Noise Blanker works well against ignition noise, and while you can tell it's distorting the RX audio, it isn't bad enough to be objectionable. On balance, it's better to have it than not.
TX has one little "gotcha" to be aware of: the mike gain is pretty different between SSB and FM, and there's no mike gain control. On FM, I need to get really close to the mike. On SSB, I need to have it a foot away. Watch the meter on SSB TX and don't let the needle swing beyond S9 or you'll start splattering.
Front panel bulb replacement: I had to do this myself. You'll need a pair of 12V "grain of wheat" bulbs from Radio Shack. Gently pull stuff off until you can get to the back of the PCB where the LCD is installed. Unsolder the two bulbs, pull them out, and gently peel off the transparent green plastic they are encased in. Install these plastic layers over the new bulbs, trim the lead length to match, and gently solder them in place. Takes 30 minutes or so the first time.
Problems? If you find one of these for $250-$300, jump on it. You'll love it. But bear in mind that you're starting to get up toward ICOM IC-706MkIIG territory ($850), and that radio will do everything this one will, plus 6m, 70cm, and HF, and has more power. Bear in mind, also, that the TR-751 is at the upper end of the size spectrum for a mobile radio. It'll fit in a truck just fine, but it's going to be tight in a car.
I'll be moving mine from the truck to the house fairly soon, at which point it will be connected to a TE Systems 160W amp and will be used for meteor scatter, packet, and SSTV.
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HB9DRD
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 19, 2002 07:38
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Excellent Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I owned a TR-751E for a while in the late 80s/early 90s when they were still available new. I used mine primarily on satellites (AO-13) and it was wonderful, the receiver was exceptional I thought. I eventually traded it for a TS-711E, but this was done for aesthetic reasons (I already owned a TS-811E) and the 711 was not an improvement performance wise. I am tempted to get another one for portable use as they can be bought for very reasonable prices now.
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