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Reviews For: Kenwood TH-G71A

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TH-G71A
Reviews: 117MSRP: Currently $249.50 most places
Description:
Just hold the TH-G71A in your hand and it's immediately clear h
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.kenwood.net/products/index.cfm?AMA=open&ama_hheld=op
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001174.7
KB9NPH Rating: 2009-11-19
Very good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had one several years back and sold it. Now I wish I still had it, as I bought it new! Oh well.
KB3RFF Rating: 2009-11-19
No other like it!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have my HT for all but 3 years now and love it. I had Yaesu and to small for big fingers and to hard to program. The TH-g71a is user friendly and having a power range from 3 to 6 watts is great. I use this little power house when I'm out horseback riding and have no problem reaching any repeater. In fact I'm so impressed with it I bought 2 more. I strongly recommend this radio for anyone.
N6HPO Rating: 2009-08-11
BIG little H/T!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hi All,

I just bought this little jewel from a friend as a gift for my wife. I had the idea that it would make a nice gift for her when she has taken...and passed her Technician exam.

It was...a nice idea, I mean.

She's gonna have to have one helluva good passing grade to get this little package of amazement from me now!

All that needs to be said has been said. If you have the opportunity to pick one of these up in good condition, do it.

Alan
KB0HAE Rating: 2008-12-29
Great HT! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The best HT that I have owned. I bought mine in 1999 and its still going! Its been dropped and knocked over too many times to count, and it just keeps working. 3 friends liked mine so much that they each bought one too. All are still working. Battery life is great with the new 1450 Mah NiMH PB39H battery pack.

Audio quality on both receive and transmit is great. The size is just right for a shirt pocket, and the antenna is long enough to hit some distant repeaters. I never liked dual receive in a dial band radio. I got the programming cable, and I like that the software is free.

The biggest mistake Kenwood ever made was to discontinue this radio!
W4NTD Rating: 2007-11-30
Top Notched HT! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Having owned this and two other HT's (including yaesu ft60r), I can say this one is hands down a better performer. Brighter, louder, stronger rx/tx, as small and durable as the newer ones. The battery life on the initial ni-cad is amazing considering newer batteries..and with the 6 cell AA pack..you can listen for weeks..tx for days! Easily the best HT I've seen.
K6KGW Rating: 2007-10-06
Nice Little Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Easy to program once the "buttonology" is worked out. VFO function is nice for monitoring another frequency.
KC8PBS Rating: 2007-06-22
Perhaps the best HT for the money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine for 5 years. I've worked repeaters as far as 160 miles away using it as a QRP base. I worked UO-14. I've worked countless volunteer activities with it.

I have used it base, mobile, outdoors, biking in the rain, in a marine environment, and at work. I've torn the belt clip off. I ripped the rubber PTT button off. Getting it wet repeatedly over the years recently corroded the connections off the speakers. All of this was due to severe abuse. I have hammers that have been tossed around less than this radio.

It still works. I've seen a lot of dumb HTs burn out finals for no reason (other than poor design), but after giving it every reason to break, it just keeps working. And the fat battery is kind of like the Vietnamese hooker in "Full Metal Jacket" ...it works LONG TIME.

So someone got a bad one sent to them that didn't come on after charging (it was probably a bad wall wart). Oh my God! It hears computer hash when you set it right beside of a PC and monitor! It doesn't have six knobs so I can adjust everything all the time! It's not a 200W $5,000 all band all mode satellite base station that hooks on your belt.

So what! I would rather have this radio with me in a disaster than any other HT because I KNOW it will work.
KB3LAN Rating: 2006-04-30
Best so far. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After trying all the current top models from the big 3, I've finally found a keeper. So much so I just picked up another. If anyone knows of a better dual band HT, let me know.


Mike KB3LAN
N9DEK Rating: 2006-02-01
Very happy with purchase Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this rig based upon reviews here and am completely happy. I use it in my shack with a J-pole antenna and can hit any repeater I want in the Indianapolis area with low to medium power. I strongly suggest the battery case and/or a W&W charger and higher capacity battery. The W&W charger gives the stock battery a much longer cycle, very good charger. I also bought an MFJ 288K headset for the shack that works great. Stock antenna works great. I also used it as a mobile with a magmount antenna until I purchased my Kenwood V708A mobile. Highly recommend for the same reason as other reviewers.
KI6BSC Rating: 2006-01-27
a great buy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this radio in November 2005 based on reviews here, and have been very pleased I did. The TH-G71A is a tough, well-made HT with many great features at a good price. The radio is easy to use, and can be programmed quickly with the software supplied free on line by Kenwood.

I added an after-market antenna, the Diamond SRH77CA, which has improved my range. I also purchased a 9.6 v PB39M NiMh spare battery and rapid charger from W&W.

The only thing that concerns me about this radio is that it appears that Kenwood may be discontinuing it. I hope this is not the case, as I would like to buy a second radio for my partner.