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Reviews For: Drake TR270 FM Transceiver

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

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Review Summary For : Drake TR270 FM Transceiver
Reviews: 3MSRP: 999
Description:
Table-top Amateur Radio 2M transceiver with additional extended range receiver.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0034.7
KB3H Rating: 2017-02-12
Great vintage 2 Meter Base Transceiver Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Simplicity of operation and its full and robust receive audio (with its large, front-firing speaker} makes this XCVR the goto for 2 meter FM in my shack. Used with its supplied Drake microphone, it is the only 2 meter unit I have ever operated that has received unsolicited compliments on its transmit audio.
K8WRS Rating: 2011-08-21
The Last Drake Design Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The TR270 was the last radio designed and produced by Drake.
It is quite rare due to the short production run and the high price at the time.
It has a built in power supply and can also be connected to a 13.8 volt source.
It is a 2m transceiver with 440 receive and the 440 receive, since it was designed as a satellite radio it will follow the doppler shift of a satellite from apogee to perigee on 440m.
The radio is also capable of cross band repeat, receiving a 440m signal and re-transmitting it on 2m.
It also acts as a normal 2m transceiver, it's front firing, generous size speaker gives superb sound and the audio output is excellent.
If you are a Drake collector or just want a super radio and find one, if you get a fairly reasonable price buy it.



KQ6EA Rating: 2004-05-25
Ahead of it's time Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After reading about this radio in QST (and almost falling over at the price!), I thought it would be a nice addition to my station someday. In January of 2000, I saw AES had these on closeout for $500, and I jumped on it. I also ordered the TNC270 internal 1200/9600 packet modem, and the DEMOD270 WeFax decoder, as I figured these modules would also be going away soon. The radio is of modular construction, using plug-in boards on ISA type connectors mounted to a motherboard for most of it, all mounted on a heavy-gauge aluminum chassis. The case and front panel appear to be the same as used in the SW-1 shortwave receiver, with a different display module and chassis inside. The display is easy to read, but the green EL backlight in mine occasionally has some splotches that go away after it's been on a few minutes. Transmit and receive audio are outstanding, and I always have people asking me what kind of radio I'm using. Packet operation is straightforward, and I've used both the Windows HyperTerminal program, and WinPac, with WinPac my preferred choice, as the included AEA software is of very poor quality. 1200 and 9600 operation is flawless, but the optional Dallas Semiconductor “Real Time” clock chip doesn't work as described in the manual. After several emails with Drake, I was able to confirm that the TNC is a PK-96 clone, but they never tested the repackaged board layout with the clock chip! I also found a quirk in the way that the radio handles split operation while in “Data” mode. It doesn't. You have to use “Sat” mode to operate split, or the radio will not transmit. There was also a mistake in the manual regarding the jumper used for the backup battery. Programming the radio takes some getting used to, as the time to make an entry is only three seconds, after which the radio switches back to the mode it was in, and some of the key sequences are not very intuitive. Be prepared to have the manual in front of you when you go to program it. I've used this radio to make packet contacts with the ISS, and that's when I found the 'bug' regarding split operation in data mode. One of the nice features of the radio is automatic Doppler tuning of the receiver for the FM sats, and it works “As Advertised”. I've never used the DEMOD module for weather satellites, as I've found the excellent soundcard-based “WxSat” program by Christian Bock is much easier to use, and has far more functionality, than the clunky included software from Drake.
Regular FM voice and repeater operation work as you'd expect, with auto-offset, all standard CTCSS tones, 3 selectable output power levels (25, 10, and 1W) dual VFOs, Normal/Reverse operation, Priority Channel, and 100 memories. It also has another 100 memories for Satellite, 100 for WxSat, and another 100 for the “B” (70cm) receive-only side.
All in all, it's a very nice radio, very innovative and ahead of it's time, and has never missed a beat in the 4 ½ years I've owned it. The only problem I've ever had was an intermittent microphone connection in the mic.