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Reviews For: Kenwood TM-271A

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

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TM-271A
Reviews: 97MSRP: 189.95
Description:
2meter mobile
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00974.3
WV1K Rating: 2010-06-25
Good for voice and packet Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Excellent audio from the front firing speaker. More sensitive than the TM-V71A directly above it here. If it wasn't for the 222 RX, I wouldn't have bothered with a dual bander at this time given the PAVE PAWS sham perpetrated on the local compliant sheep that was initiated when a long time ham employee left the facility and there was no one earnest / familiar left to counter their claims. I can't speak to button 3 and there are many variables with DTMF decoder units, but hardly feel that warrants a low rating if universal. Just my opinion in the cellular era. Certainly DSTAR linking is the future given the falling activity levels on Echolink after several years.
KE6EUM Rating: 2010-06-24
Has a design flaw Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Bought this around xmas based on the good reviews.
Transmit and receive works fine. Good audio.
I discovered a design flaw while attempting to access an echolink node. DTMF # 3 was not the correct frequency. Took it back to HRO, who sent it into Kenwood for repair. 4 weeks later,got it back with the same problem. Just for grins, i tried to bring up the same node with HRO's display 271a. Different radio/mic. Same problem. Apparently, this particular model does not transmit DTMF #3 correctly. It worked fine otherwise.
I ended up exchanging it for a Yaesu.
I know it's a minor problem, but as a matter of principle, a brand new radio should work 100%.
Another complaint i have about it is: For me the menu system was difficult to read and was complicated. I found myself having to review the manual several times for common tasks (programmable scans, etc). I could not imagine programming this radio for various functions unless you have the manual handy (ALWAYS).
KC8WH Rating: 2010-01-13
Fantastic rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine for three years now. It started as my mobile rig. I decided I needed 144/440 in the mobile so I got a TM-V71A for the mobile and now use the 271 as a shack rig and as a portable rig as part of my 'go kit'.

I'm going to echo all the positives and some of the negatives that everyone else has mentioned.

As I worked with this rig I found that the negatives weren't such a big deal.

The power changing issue was resolved by programming one of the mic buttons. Now power changing is easy.

I thought no squelch control would be a problem. Turns out I don't need to adjust the squelch very much. It works fine at the default setting.

Sometimes I need to toggle between alpha display and numerical display. Programming a mic button should take care of that. Haven't done it yet because I don't need to change it very often and the menu setting is easy to access.

My last complaint is the lack of a third/lower power setting. In reading the other reviews I see that there is a service menu that will let me adjust that as well to let me run five or ten watts when operating on batteries. So that complaint is handled as well.

All in all a good rig for heavy duty mobile work. Should be a great choice for ARES work.

I highly recommend this rig and would buy it again.

KJ1H Rating: 2010-01-10
Commercial qualities in a ham rig Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
When my old 2 meter mobile rig died shortly before an event I was working, I had to replace it quickly. After a little research (including reviews here) I picked up a TM-271A. I have absolutely no regrets.

Part of the reason I chose this rig is its qualities that are similar to a commercial band radio - the forward facing speaker, the few controls on the front, etc. I've used commercial mobile radios, so these qualities may be more familiar to me than some other hams. I drive older cars, which can be a bit loud at times, yet even on the highway with the window down I can hear the audio from this rig just fine. I can't say the same about most other mobile rigs I've used.

The initial configuration is a bit time consuming if you don't have the software and cable, but I didn't find it any more difficult than setting up any other new rig. Some have complained about not having a separate squelch control, but that doesn't bother me, as I tend not to adjust the squelch very much. In fact, I don't tend to use many controls other than on/off, volume, and tuning in day to day use, so this rig's method of operation works well for me. It gives me just what I need, and with few buttons to press there's less chance of me pressing the wrong one.

Like others, I wish this rig had a lower "low" power setting than 25w. I mainly use mountaintop repeaters, and had no problem hitting them with a 1/4 wave and 5w, maybe 10w on occasion. So 25w is overkill for me, never mind the 65w high power setting. On the other hand, that's even one less setting I need to mess with - low power is perfectly adequate at all times! If I did a lot of simplex work, that might be a different story.

All in all, I think the TM-271A is the perfect rig for the type of 2 meter mobiling I do.
DW1SCA Rating: 2010-01-08
I desire to buy this rugged, tough rig! Time Owned: N.A.
I was impressed with the experience or exposure of KE6PID with this great rig. I have heard several unsolicited comments or reactions from amateur radio enthusiasts about this RDO, but KE6PID's "authoritative" review or comment impressed me more that i decided to buy one. I already own an ICOM-IC2800H dual band, IC-28H, IC-V8000 and an IC-2200; and a Yaesu FT-90R dual band,and i decide to add this Kenwood rig to my collection. 73s to all!!!
KC2OHP Rating: 2010-01-05
My first non HT Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Simple yet complex in a goog and bad way. The front isn't cluttered and has a nice sounding speaker up to about 70% volume. But then you have to perform 4 functions in order to adjust the squelch. I really wish it was 1/65W instead of 25/65W to be sure, there isn't really a reason to use low. The reciever seems to have good sensitivity, but not so good selectivity. I have a nice omni setup in the house and I get considerable interference from off frequency transmissions all the way into the 2m HAM band. In the 150-160Mhz range it is pretty bad. If I hook my Motorola mobile to the same antenna in the same band(151/155Mhz) litterally no off frequency interference, none. But I guess it is to be expected. If it were more selective, and had a real low power setting, I would have given it a 5 because it is a nice little radio otherwise.
AB9SO Rating: 2009-11-16
NIce but could be better... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I picked one of these rigs up at a recent hamfest for a great price! I needed a replacement packet radio and thought this one would work perfectly.

It has a few obvious things that should be changed.
1. Low power is 25 watts??? WOW, that is odd, I already have enough guys around here running way too much power and ker-chunking 3 repeaters every time they key up.
2. To even change the power setting you have to go into the menu! Good grief, is it that hard to put a power setting button on the unit?
3. A squelch knob please! Again, to change the squelch you have to go into the menu.

Menu's are fine for settings you rarely change, but power output and squelch should not be there...

Overall this radio will do just fine for my use, but had I known about these little "issues" ahead of time I may have bought something else...but then again I only paid $130 for it new.

73...

KC7YRA Rating: 2009-08-24
Pretty darn good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had mine for over a year now. Sufficient time to write a review. Nothing bothers me more than somebody who JUST opens the box and decided to write about something.

ANYWAY, This rig is mounted in my truck, in Wyoming. That means it is subjected to -40F to over +110F (of course the inside temp of the vehicle will be higher).

The radio has given me very little trouble. It receives signals that my other radios cannot even begin to hear. The receive sensitivity is very good. I use mine primarily to scan public safety and it is GREAT.

I do have a few negatives though. It is a little tough to learn how to program at first. I keep the manual handy.

It also has a problem of occasionally deciding to "freak out". It will decide that one of the memories, lets say 146.520, has somehow changed magically and is now 246.520. Of course this is outside of the radio capabilities. The radio will just sit and beep continuously until I dig out the manual and delete that memory.

It also seems too prone to intermod for a mono-band radio that has very little out of band scan ability.

All in all, I love this radio. It has been very good so far. The freak out has only happened twice and are easily fixed. I certainly plan on buying one again.
KB6HRT Rating: 2009-08-18
I Like IT Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have had this radio in my RAV-4 for about 2 weeks and I LIKE IT a lot, It's very compact works very well with a Larson 5/8 wave base loud antenna on low power (25watts) Receive is excellant 5++++ this radio is easy to program, with out the softwear, If I can do it anybody can do it, its easy. the 271A on low is just worm after a long q'so which is great. At $150.00 this radio is a steal *****+ it is very easy to operate an more than enough sound for your car...OLDTIMER
KL2TC Rating: 2009-08-18
Al's last attempt... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After typing this review three times and having to completely start from scratch due to editorial or procedural errors, I will keep this short.

Five cents shy of $135.00. Talked to folks in the UK and Austrailia on the repeaters with an MR77. Expensive peripherals I shall forgo. Won't break the bank. Fun!

Now, if I have to backspace and lose everything again, it will be shorter than this.