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Reviews For: KIRISUN PT-218

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

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Review Summary For : KIRISUN PT-218
Reviews: 4MSRP: $129.00
Description:
VHF 2 meter handheld SlimLine HT / 136-174 Mhz No mod needed.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.kirisunusa.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0043.3
KC0RQJ Rating: 2004-03-18
Not Bad for the Money Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got one off e-bay and have had good results so far. Needs a better antenna, and a bigger battery. But so far I'm happy with the purchase.
KC8WSY Rating: 2004-03-06
Sorry - no DTMF Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Read my previous review though I was mistaken - I made the last autopatch call with my VX-7R. The radio will Tx tones but they aren't DTMF. If you try to program on it defaults saving a memory instead. I'll try see if it can be modded for DTMF after a visit Dayton this year. The auction I bought from didn't list it with DTMF so I don't feel cheated - I have a cell phone so rarely need the use of DTMF.

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Earlier 4-star review posted by KC8WSY on 2004-03-06

Looking for a decent “throw down” HT on eBay I found these listed for under $100 shipped. I was a little concerned that the radio doesn’t come with a manual but after looking at what other customers had said about setting it up and that it is very similar to the TH22. So I decided to give it a try. After it arrived I decided to do the right thing and print out a copy of the .pdf and read it while the battery (an 800mah ni-cad) was charging in the drop-in charger the unit comes with. After the HT was charged (took approx. 3 hours) and a couple of attempts to get a few local repeaters entered into the 40 available memory slots I was able to make a couple QSO’s with good audio reports returned. You most likely won’t be able to add repeaters (odd splits or not) into memory without a manual, in fact, you may not be able to get a PL one going without the help of the docs but after you’ve done a couple stations you should be able to remember how the radio works especially if you are used to older Kenwood products.
A big selling point for me is that it has coverage for MURS (read 2m CB), dot / star business bands, as well as being able to receive WX.
The size and feel of this radio is nice the PTT button is a good size – the keypad is not lighted though I think one could mod it to be with Kenwood parts.
Would I recommend this radio for a first HT? – probably not since there isn’t any frequency “protection” beyond TX 144-148 and it doesn’t come with a Li-ion battery so you have to have good discipline in charging the unit the correct way. If a new ham were to ask me about an HT to buy right off the bat and didn’t want to buy a mobile/base I’d probably suggest a VX-150 or perhaps a V8.
I’ve been able to make an autopatch call with the DTMF pad though I haven’t setup a memory for any numbers yet though.
The stock ducky is pretty bad as other reviewers mentioned – I fixed this even before it arrived with another BNC antenna – but still use the stock duck daily to receive in my office.
I was able to get about 11 hours of duty cycle on a stock battery charge this only had a few Tx’s and I’m still “exercising” the ni-cads

Reasons to buy:
$99 to your door – new.
Drop in charger.
Some KW parts/accessories interchange
Wide coverage 136-174mhz doubles as your work rig
Relatively easy to use.
Standard Spk./Mic. Connections
Good ergos

Reasons not to buy:
Huh… I coulda had a V8!
For $20 more you can get V/S VX-150 and 5 watts.
You’ll want another antenna right off (there’s your $20 for the VX-150).
Only 40 memories – may not be enough with: WX, local repeaters, MURS…
Your Kenwood loving Elmer will beat you!

I'd buy another one having to do it over though if a VX-150 were to be on close out for $110 shipped I'd probably go that route.
W9ZRO Rating: 2004-03-02
you get what you pay for Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
well I have been playiong with this for a while now and came up with some more things
well this is a CHEEP copy of the Kenwood th22
read my other post about some of the bad points
now more observations
no DTMF tones even thought they are marked on the keypad. the stock antenna is horrable
just a nice sleve on a spring
audio output is horrable. and the stock battery only puts out 2.5 watts
This is it for now if you have questions about this radio feel free to email me but I can say stay away spend you money on something else

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Earlier 4-star review posted by W9ZRO on 2004-02-29

Well I just got one of these off of ebay and I have to say all in all it is a good radio.
40 channels etc.. Just like a kenwood th22.
the only diffrences are the antenna is covered in a better materal, drop in charger, 6 volt 800 mah nicad instead of 600mah
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bad points
you cannot add a decode board for PL. the unit doesnt come with a manual; but the kenwood th22a manual on line is the same thing. the light only stays on for 10 seconds you cannot have it on all the time.
If you use a kenwood speaker mic like the smc-34 you will not be able to use the remote control functions on the mic. all in all a good radio for $99 shipped even despite these drawbacks. but if I had to do it all again I would have gone with the icom v8 or vertex vx150 but I am happy YMMV
if you have any questions feel free to ask
Bryan W9ZRO
KB4WQZ Rating: 2003-10-05
Excellent Value Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is an excellent clone of the TH-22 except my unit came with a a few things the Kenwood did not.
I came with a standard desktop charger and they come fully open for tx & rx (136-174MHz) the accessories are interchangeable. Sensitivity is good and so is TX as per my power meter. I picked mine up directly from the manufacturer's website and have not had any problems with it so far. One thing I noticed is that the antenna seems to be made of a better material than that of the kenwood model. I had a TH-22 and the antenna's plastic started to deteriorate after some use. I have had no such problems with this unit. Price for my unit was $129.00 and that included ground shipping. I found it a great value & awsome bang for the buck radio. Now Im waiting for they to make a dual bander.