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Reviews For: Kenwood TM-G707A

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TM-G707A
Reviews: 114MSRP: 350
Description:
Dual-band 2-meter and 450 mHz FM mobile transceiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.kenwood.net/indexKenwood.cfm?do=ProductDetails&ProdID=5012&Group=5
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001144.5
WI4NDS Rating: 2005-03-19
Excellent Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got this radio recently after selling my KW 271A
and sending back an Icom V8000 with RFI and QC problems (see my review under V8000). This radio works well everywhere it goes. I get excellent audio reports from others and the receive audio is also. Power levels are right on and runs cool with the built-in fan plus vents on the top of the case. The band switch has 3 bands: 118 to 136 Mhz, 136 to 174 Mhz., and 410 to 524 Mhz.. The only problem I have is there is next to zero activity on the 440 band in this area. I lost my weather alert feature of the 271, but gained 440 and a lot of receiver area. As sensitive as it is throughout its range, I hear no intermod. This is a very good rig. NOTE: the squelch is the outside ring knob over the volume knob on the right side of the radio in the picture.
N4SJW Rating: 2005-03-19
Quirky/difficult menu system Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The first time I turned this on, the squelch was blaring and it took me 15 min to figure out how to reset the SQL, arrrhhh, another radio with a Byzantine menu system. Also, I tried using this radio as a freq agile link in a local repeater system, nope, just couldn't hold up to a nearby UHF repeater. To be fair, the radio was never designed to do that.

I'm using it as a base for right now, volume is a little critical from too high to too low, otherwise good audio and I do like the tone squelch feature (though it took me a bit of fumbling to figure it out).
K9VKG_VK2TUL Rating: 2005-02-25
Great Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own 2 of these radios and they have worked great for the past few years. No problems what so ever. I've used them at -40F & +100F and they still run fine.
It's a very easy radio to use and control.( Like me you get away without reding the instructions). The large display is great for driving so you can keep your eyes on the road. The Mic has large buttons which is great. The remote mount kit is designed well. The free programing software works well.

Great Radio
W4TME Rating: 2004-12-07
Very nice FM rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned a TM-G707 for almost 3 years now. It was my first rig after getting my Technician ticket. For a low cost dual-band VHF/UHF rig, it really lives up to a five star rating. I have used it mobile, portable and as a base station and it works great in all capacities. It has a good receiver, but it can suffer from front-end overload if you use a high gain antenna which can lead to intermod. The extra large display with alpha tags is really nice feature for tired old eyes.

My 707g did suffer from low TX audio, but there is a service menu change that you can do to increase the gain. I was a little disappointed about the cross-band repeat functionality since the Kenwood advertisements “imply” that it can do it.

The memory management software from Kenwood is a real dog, but once I started using Link700 ( http://www.wa3hrl.com/link700/ ), programming the radio was a breeze and being able to import repeater information from TravelPlus for Repeaters for trips adds a lot of value if you travel a lot. An extra bonus is that you can transfer the memories to other Kenwood radios like the TH-D7.

The data ready capabilities made it easy to setup an APRS and packet station, especially since it supports 9600 baud natively.

It is a great rig for the money. I recommend it to anyone, and this is from a dyed in the wool Icom guy.

- Tim W4TME
W5ZZQ Rating: 2004-12-07
Great Dualbander!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had this for about 3 years without any problems at all. If you don't want dual display - this is the one. Big display - very easy to see.....Great radio....Larry..

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Earlier 5-star review posted by W5ZZQ on 2003-08-09

This is one of the best dualbanders that I have owned. The intermod rejection is the best there is. If you don't need or want dual display then this is the one for you. I love the large display and alpha. I WILL buy another one. The new MC-58DM handmic works great also........
KG6UEQ Rating: 2004-11-10
Great sounding little radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Although I've had mine only a short time, I'm rating this unit super easy to use. The menus guide you right through everything, but keep the manual handy as remembering all the little tricky things this radio can do can be a challenge. I've got mine hooked up to a Diamond X50A antenna and use it as a base station. I'm very happy with this radio.
K9VKC Rating: 2004-10-28
Good value for the money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great Value for the $265 (new) price tag,the large display remote head is a bonus,however if icom would have made the 2720 alpha-numeric that would be my first choice (i like the icom mike programming compared to the kenwood).
Nice rig good receive, lots of memory channels and program software is FREE (take note Icom)
VE7WYC Rating: 2004-10-18
Solid and Basic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my TM-G707A in 1999 and took it in a campervan from Prince George, BC to Edinburg, TX. After that it became a base rig in Ecuador, and now it is back in BC as a mobile. It has always been a fine radio for me, easy to see the frequencies and to operate. Audio is very good in my noisier than normal Jeep.

I wish it had a more solid mic connector, and initially I thought that it would be easily broken, but after taking the head unit off and putting it back on for over 6 years, it's proven that it is tough even though it's not officially "mil-spec".

In my area there is not a whole lot of 440 activity anyways so it runs basically as a single bander with a 2 meter antenna on it for now.
WA3YSS Rating: 2004-08-08
Great Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have two of these rigs; one in the shack, and one in my van. They are very easy to use. One thing that I would recommend is to purchase the programming cable. The rig that is in the van I use in the XYL's car when we go on trips, and the programing cable makes it very easy to reprogram the radio for the repeaters in the area that we are traveling to. You can download the programing software from Kenwood's site for free, and the software allows you to save the repeater data, so you can just click the mouse to set the rig back to normal.
K0RKS Rating: 2004-07-16
Great Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have two both work well. Not a problem in two years.