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Reviews For: Kenwood TM-V7A

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

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TM-V7A
Reviews: 111MSRP: 719.95
Description:
The dual band mobile with the cool blue display.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.kenwood.net/products/index.cfm?AMA=open&ama_mob=open
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001113.8
WA4SE Rating: 2000-08-25
Great mobile rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I agree that the manual leaves a little to be desired, but all-in-all the radio has worked perfectly in two different trucks. The radio is under the seat and the faceplate is mounted on the console right at my finger tips! The display is big and clear, the TX audio is strong and full. I would recommend obtaining the SB-50 external speaker even if you don't mount it under a seat - the built-in audio is ok, but with the external one, the RX audio is crystal clear.
W3HH Rating: 2000-06-07
Nice radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have owned the TM-V7A for several months and it has worked great for me. I havent had any intermod or other problems with it. I like it far better than the Yaesu FT-8500 that it replaced. Its nice that the tone decoder is included instead of being an expensive option. I would agree that the display is hard to see in bright sunlight. The display is very easy to take off if you want to take it with you. Its a keeper for me.
KA0W Rating: 2000-05-31
Great Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using two TM-V7A's for over a year. One at home and one in the truck. They get used several times a day and I find them to be a excellent radio and I am very satisfied with them.
KG4DED Rating: 2000-05-31
TM-V7A Not what I expected Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had the TM-V7A for about a year. I bought it because it seemed to have everything I wanted in a radio and Kenwood has a good reputation. Well i am disapointed to say the least. To start with the manual is a total loss. It wouldn't even make good toilet paper. The display is very hard to see in daylight conditions and it has at least one "bridie" at 146.805 MHz. This is apperently a common problem with this model and there is not much that can be done about it. Mine was "fixed" but it still is questionable. I would not recomend this radio to anyone

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Earlier 4-star review posted by KG4DED on 1999-09-18

The Kenwood V7A is the first amateur radio I have owned. It works very well but it is complicated to work through the menus. The dual band is nice but UHF is not used very much in my area. I have set the V7A for VHF/VHF receive. I set one side on the "home" repeater and set the scan mode on the other.

The only problem I have had with it is trying to delete a programmed memory. It stubbornly refused to delete any memory location until a soft reset has been executed. I do not know if it is a problem with the radio or the owner's manual. Which brings me to about the only thing wrong with the radio. The owner's manual is terrible. It is just a series of text of keystrokes required to set the radio up. It has no explanation as to why or what any given function does.
KV4BL Rating: 2000-03-15
TM-V7A Good Radio But Some Big Drawbacks Time Owned: unknown months.
Had one in my wife's car for about 6 months. Blue display is refreshing but difficult to see in bright sunlight. Major problems are almost non-existant intermod rejection and VERY "loose" PL decode. CTCSS squelch will frequently break when no signal is being received for no apparent reason. Very annoying to put it mildly. Would be a great radio except for these problems which make me hesitant to buy another one for house or my car.
N9GXW Rating: 2000-02-10
Great Radio, a few limits. Time Owned: unknown months.
I have had my V7A for a year . It is a great radio. I especially like and use the Visual Scan Function (sort of a built in spectrum analyzer) a great deal. Hot receiver, good audio, makes full power out in most places in the band, PC based programming is a plus too. The only down side is the Manual needs help, and the Display is great under overcast or night conditions but during the day it is a bear to see, and the scan speed could be a little faster (50% improvment would put it on par with front line scanners). Why isn’t the PC based programming software for the V7A compatible with the software for my Kenwood dual band Hand Held? I had to re-enter all the data by hand. I would recommend it as a great radio to own.
KC7LSP Rating: 1999-12-20
On the whole a good radio, but how do you X-Band t Time Owned: unknown months.
On the whole I've found this radio to be quite respectable. Intermod rejection is fine, audio output in a noisy truck does require an external speaker if mounted low. I just wish I could get it to crossband, the book is no help, all other functions work as specified. I especially like being able to do packet and voice at the SAME TIME.
N3VST Rating: 1999-12-15
why the intermod?? Time Owned: unknown months.
tmv-7a works great for a compact mobile installation. some functions are tricky to use while mobile. Intermod can be unbearable, the rejection really needs work. that is the major drawback that would make me question buying another kenwwod. The blue face is cool
VE6SZR Rating: 1999-12-03
Good radio with questionable styling. Time Owned: unknown months.
As far as operation of the radio goes, its a very good performer, exactly what I'd expect from a Kenwood product. Intuitive menu system, this radio does what all the other "loaded" dual band models will do. My criticisms are minor but namely: (1) I'd agree with some of the other opinions that the manual is badly written, (2) The radio is a little on the large side and awkwardly shaped (most people would probably use a separation kit here), (3) I myself am not a fan of the "blue" display and prefer traditional "amber" or "orange" displays rather than the fluorescence. (4) The idea of having to program the number of frequency channels devoted to VHF and UHF frequencies can be a pain, requiring the radio's memory contents to be erased if you ever have to make a change (the PC programmability is desired here). Aside from these minor grumblings, its a well thought out radio.
KI8DD Rating: 1999-10-10
Radio works OK Time Owned: unknown months.
I,ve Had my TM-V7A for a year and it works like a 459.00 radio should work, But! now the cool blue Display is going bad,its getting lines in it!. Ive tryed Intializing it but that didnt work and the lines will sometimes go away. Just out of warranty,Bummer!!!!!!