| MM0HRL |
Rating:     |
2022-09-25 | |
| Odd little high quality HT |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
If you want an HT that's likely to live a longish while and feel like a little house-brick in your hand - with SSB reception (of HF only) tossed in, this could be what you're after.
You may have noted "only" a 4* score from me.. That's because there's some little irks about the set that robbed it of that fifth, but there's been days when I could have been less mean and given it the full monty of 5. But the RX audio is thin and slightly raspy when used for its main raison d'etre which is as a vhf/uhf handy rig. And that niggles with me each time it's used.
I also have an Icom ID51plus - surely the Rolls Royce of HTs? and its audio is rich and fulsome in comparison. Sure it's more expensive - but then the little Kenwood isn't a cheapie even if it's less costly than the Icom.
But that niggle apart, this is a handset that gets picked up more often than any other with the exception of the ID51, which is my go-to rig for DStar, of course. The thing is, the Icom is also a brilliant FM radio, with excellent audio both in and outgoing. And its got a mike setting... which the little Kenwood lacks. The Kenwood looks and feels like its design might be a few years older than the Icom?
But as said, it's a frequently used radio. A benefit of the Kenwood over the Icom is its battery life. The Icom's standard battery is a total joke, whereas the Kenwood's standard 1550mAh battery lasts and - lasts. And then it lasts some more. Pay heed, HT makers - we like HTs that don't need charged daily with light use!
I expected very little of the HF SSB reception. And have been surprised by how it performs - although it's a bare bones receiver, lacking any kind of noise reduction. But if you'rre out and about how many HF SSB rigs could you keep in your pocket like you can with the TH-7E? I have a Yaesu FT817nd - who doesn't? - and its receiver famously isn't its best feature. But it's better than the Kenwood. The thing about hte Kenwood is that that it does SSB at all, and being as compact as it is it's hard to see how they've packed all that tech into a titchy little case.
A solid little lump it is, too.
Stuff like this I ask myself if I'd buy one again. And I'd have to say Yes to that, but I'd look for a nice clean used one rather than shell out the high price Kenwood asks for it.
I cut a simple coax dipole that's resonant around 22mhz as it happens, but it acts well enough as a general purpose RX HF antenna, plumbed in via an SMA adaptor.
One gripe I'm happy to level against all the big rig factories - it's their universal use of these horrible little SMA antenna connectors. I'd rather any day have a BNC instead, but - nobody seems to fit those any more. Is it down to price? Is there a performance issue against the BNC fittings that I'm unaware of? Doubt it.
Overall this is a nice little HT, head and shoulders above anything to come from China and way better than the entry level offerings such as Yaesu's excellent and sturdy FT60 (which I also have and rate highly) It's smaller and I think lighter - only the audio quality remains a gripe for me against the superior audio of the FT60 and of course the best of the bunch, the Icom ID51plus. But get used to the audio, you'll probably love this rig.
Update Sept 2022. The audio remains harsh on the TH-E7, so much so these days that perhaps my willingness to accept such a shortfall has diminished. Its build quality remains impressive, and although its battery doesn't last like it used to it's not ready for replacement just yet. But - sorry to harp on about this, but the FT-60E's mellow RX audio gets my casting vote. And no, after some more years have passed I would not buy the little Kenwood again, purely because of that harsh reception. It remains a well built and immaculate little radio, perhaps if it'd been easier on my hearing it'd be less immaculate through more regular use. The favourite, despite its more basic spec is still my more simpler but nevertheless preferred HT the FT-60 as above mentioned.
And that's all I have to say about that! |
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| DB4UP |
Rating:     |
2021-11-15 | |
| Amateur radio plus |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought mine used without the original antenna. Since the first day it became one of my favorite handhelds when I leave the house. The possibility to listen not only to FM BC stations between the QSOs is a nice feature in plus !
Because it didn't had the original antenna I tried out the Diamond SRH 701 and the Nagoya NA-771 with it, whereas the NA-771 is better on 2 m, but also significantly longer. I don't use a handheld for DXing, so it's more important if I can do my local QSOs and hit the repeaters around and both works without problems. The speaker audio is O.K. for its size. The transmitting audio may be too low for some users, but it can easily be adapted in the service menu.
The radio is so small that it fits in the palm of my hand. Thanks to the backlight, the buttons are still readable in the dark. Manoevering through the menu with a "joystick" needs getting used to but then it's unproblematic. For what reason the center button is used to change the frequency and not the volume, will remain an eternal secret to me. There are external microphones which offer a kind of basic remote control of some functions.
As mentioned above, as a "normal" VHF / UHF handheld it offers everything I need for daily use and it has built-in CTCSS, DCS and DTMF functions. There are two priority channels and it scans really fast through the memories or the VFO frequencies.
It is possible to listen from the LW through MW and SW bands and it offers even SSB and CW reception which is great for a handheld, in my opinion. Don't expect over the average reception on LW / MW / SW with VHF / UHF antennas attached. It has a tiny bar antenna built in which may sometimes be helpful, especially on MW. But, again, don't expect that miracles will happen ! The selectivity on these bands is sufficient, but not over the top.
Almost the same is true for FM BC. With the amateur radio antenna attached, I can listen to most of the local stations without problems. It doesn't offer stereo reception, but I can live with that. Selectivity is sufficient, which means that it will be most likely impossible to catch a weak station 100 - 200 kHz next to a strong one.
For SW reception I built an adapter to attach one of the wire antennas which usually come with any portable radio which includes the SW bands. Then the sun goes up ! I experienced much better and more stable reception than with any telescope antenna attached directly to the radio. Try it out and you may be surprised how good the TH-F7 can receive on SW !
Of course, this solution does not work while walking around with the radio. Then I have to be happy with that what it picks up with the VHF / UHF antenna, but it can significantly improve the reception if you use it in a hotel room.
As a final word, yes, I like it ! There are not many radios in that size with such a lot of options. Even if the reception out of the VHF / UHF bands is a compromise due to the antenna, it might be improved just by changing the antenna. Altogether, it lifts my rating a bit above 4 the stars. |
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| VK5JKS |
Rating:      |
2017-08-03 | |
| Excellent quality 2m/70cm accessible ht with wideband rx |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
This is another truly excellent handheld. RX and TX are excellent as is the sound quality. Battery life is great, and you can also get new 4000 MAh aftermarket high cap batteries if the 2000 MAh one is insufficient. The radio is rugged and compact. The rubber keys are slightly too small but still very useable. The unique feature about this ht is that it is very accessible for a blind operator because on/off settings are indicated with a different tone, and when menus or channels wrap, a tone is emitted so that you always know where you are in the menus or channels. If this had a Morse Code (CW) frequency readout like the Icom IC-T90A, it would be the perfect HT for a blind op for a radio that doesn't talk. Kenwood have always cared about accessibility and their new TH-D74 DSTAR ht does have full speech output and is on my wishlist! But, for the price and quality of this analog ht, I give it an easy 5. It is a pity it is now out of production.
I just wanted to update my prior review of this excellent radio. Because the th-f6a can't be used on 220 MHz in VK, Kenwood and their distributors sold the th-f7e. The problem is that this version only has tx from 144-146 and 430 to 440 out of the box. I had to send my radio to Kenwood to have them widen tx to cover 144-148 and 430 to 450 MHz for the Australian legal ham bands. Just be aware, if you purchase one 2nd hand, if you don't have this done, you may not be able to use some repeaters in VK. |
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| SAPPHIRE |
Rating:      |
2017-06-14 | |
| Number one |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Number one. Those who know him love him. When you want maximum performance, use VFO A for amateur bands. VFO B has a lower sensitivity because it has a very wide bandwidth. Great radio VFO A also works well with antenna. external. In HF use only car antennas or low gains |
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| IW2BSF |
Rating:      |
2016-03-11 | |
| EXCELLENT ! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Hi everyone, I'm a big fan of Kenwood, I had the old TH-77, TH-78 and the legendary TH-79 and now this little gem! What about a really great radio! I have buy this radio 1 years ago and work well.
One problem perhaps from a colleague complained that sometimes does not turn on or does not go on batteries, the causes can be two and are different: can 'be the 12 volt DC J1 connector exterior and' defective and does not switch and you change with $ 2 expense of replacing it, or you burn one of three internal fuses, usually one called F1, in my guide in Italian (use google translate) find patterns and how to fix it by yourself without assistance or send him to spend too much money!
My guide on the gearbox connector or fuse here in my web site:
http://rodolfo-parisio.jimdo.com/nuovi-articoli-2015/
excluding internal antenna BAR and connecting an external dipole will really make the DX beautiful in the HF bands, and 'sensitive enough. For those who are 'skeptical can see some tutorial videos on HF receiving my website here:
http://rodolfo-parisio.jimdo.com/nuovi-articoli-2016/
Best 73 de Rudy - IW2BSF
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| YO3ITD |
Rating:    |
2015-09-19 | |
| Usefull and nice, only if new |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I had this radio for about 1 year. I bought it SH and it had some misalignments because some pseudo-pro got his nose into the radio.
Because of this I tested the FM deviation, because most of the Motorola repeaters, cut me down for over-deviating the TX. For this I had to modify from service menu the deviation, back to normal. Maybe the ex-owner received complains about "low modulation".
Anyway, it looks and feels rugged, with very fine display. The unique SSB reception is very useful with a minimum 7m long random wire. You cannot expect too much about this SSB reception (although it has fine tuning) because it's filters are not quite the best.
My worst disappointment was when I tried to make SAT QSO-s. With an arrow antenna, I could not receive any downlink in FM from SO-50. It was my worst nightmare. An 70 EUR SH Alinco DJ-G5 could receive such downlink with own antenna.
I had to sell it.
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| OH1LA |
Rating:      |
2015-07-21 | |
| Still only HT with SSB mode |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is same as Kenwood TH-6FA (USA model with 220Mhz). I give 5 because is still only model with SSB receiver. Also wide band receiver 0.1Mhz-1.3Ghz (15 years model!!)
This is also still expensive about 300Us.
My Baofeng UV-5R is only 30Us and as good on 70cm and 2m and WFM bc, but no SSB etc. |
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