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Reviews For: Kenwood TS-711A

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

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TS-711A
Reviews: 26MSRP:
Description:
25 Watt 2 meter all mode base station (circa 1984)
Product is not in production
More Info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TS-711_TS-811/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00264.7
N2MDV Rating: 2018-05-26
As good as it's HF cousin! Great SSB and FM performance! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought mine at a hamfest for $600.00 in 1994, and do not regret it. Made a home brew 5 element copper beam, and added a Mirage 140W brick with a +20dB preamp, and I talked all over the USA NE and Canada's ON and QC! Great ears on this rig, great audio compliments, and could only MAX RF OUT to 18W. No biggie there with the EXT amp set at 8W IN. All repeater functions are there and it's just as good of an FM performer as it is an SSB performer. Only complaints? No internal preamp and that internal Kenwood power supply adds to 5/8th more heat to the radio. Therefore, it's best to run this rig with an EXT 13.8VDC - 10A power supply. (Just JMP a plug in the rear. And I would recommend that to the TS-440 and TS-811 as well.) The extra heating has caused this rig to drift off FREQ after +20-some years, but that's the only problem to correct. RX sensitivity blows away my TS-2000X and IC-7000. (No big surprise there.) And, no IMD at all. I plan to still keep this rig as a spare 2M SSB rig, but it maybe better to keep it still as my primary.
KD8TUT Rating: 2015-04-23
New ham, new radio. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Gave this a 5 with my reference against a newer Alinco 635...

Found it in a local ham shop and it caught my eye... went and read reviews and purchased it.

I really like it. And more so than the Alinco I've been using- if only because it sounds great and is a pleasure to use.

My wife is also a ham, so the use has been the two of us chatting back and forth when one of us is out, or checking into a net. No SSB at the moment because my antenna is not horizontal.

I have augmented it with a 25w in 160w out amp. Which I've not used much yet.

Paid $370. Happy with it. Seems like a unit that can actually be repaired and maintained.

Been a ham for two years only, give my comments the weight they deserve.
KT8R Rating: 2013-01-24
Mate to my 440. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Rig matches my 440sat. No complaints at all.
VK3KBC Rating: 2012-06-13
Fantastic 'All Mode' 2m Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.

These radios are an excellent 'All Mode' 2m rig. The TX and RX audio are superb and the feature set is great. The radio is ergonomically well set out and a pleasure to use.

The one thing that I particularly like about the radio is the VFO has a mechanical step in both 'Memory' and 'FM' modes, which means that it's very much like a channelised radio. In 'FM' mode, each VFO dial step is a 5khz frequency incremement and in 'Memory' mode, each VFO dial step changes the memory channel.

When you switch to SSB mode, a solenoid disables the mechanical step function and the VFO is smooth and free running with 100Hz or 10Hz increments.

The rig operates from either the internal mains supply or from 12Volts and overall, it does run slightly warm even in RX mode. TX power is variable to 25W and the fan cuts in quite early as the heatsink begins to warm up.

The blue/green fluorescent display is very clear and looks great.

Mine didn't have the TU-5 Tone board fitted but I obtained an aftermarket board via the Internet for a very reasonable price. The tone button displays the CTCSS tone on the display and the VFO dial steps through the different tone frequencies. Tones and offsets are stored individually per memory and are very easy to set and change if required.

The TS-711A is capable of computer control, however you need to have an additional board fitted and aftermarket interface boards are available on the Internet also.

The sensitivity, selectivity and intermod figures are very good when compared to modern rigs. I also have an IC-275H and I can switch a common antenna between the two rigs. RX performance is almost identical however the Icom has a 'sharper' note to the audio. The Kenwood audio is easier to listen to for an extended period. The TX output of the Icom is 100W versus the 25W from the Kenwood.

Ergonomically I prefer the Kenwood's operation, however I can't really decide which one of the two all mode 2m sets is 'better'. Both have a place in my shack.

I'm extremely happy with my TS-711A and it's definitely a keeper. On the rare occasion that one pops up for sale in VK, they are fetching around the $450+ mark.
WD4AB Rating: 2011-01-20
Awesome Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this radio for several years and it performs flawlessly! Very effective, especially for working SSB. I always have great audio reports! If you're looking for something to work weak signal, look no further.
KX7P Rating: 2010-12-03
20 years and still going strong! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my Kenwood TS-711A for over 20 years. I have had no problems with mine and use it on a regualr basis. It has all I need to work repeaters, simplex and SSB.

Anyone looking for a nice size base station FM/SSB radio will be very happy with this model. It's not complicated and all the controls are easy to use.

The radio has a good receiver and transmits superb FM and SSB audio. It's only 25 watts, but I've found that is plenty of power with a good base station antenna. I use a 5 element beam and able to access high elevation repeaters over 200 miles away.

I've never had any problems or issues with mine. Even being over 20 years old it is still a very good all mode 2 meter transceiver.
KC9SNB Rating: 2010-11-05
I love this thing Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have more powerful two meter radios than this, but the trusty 711 is my absolute favorite. Though it is used almost entirely in FM mode, I love the fact that I can operate SSB and CW. This is a single band radio built the way that big multi band radios are built, and able to be tweaked and adjusted the way a big radio would be adjusted. Too many of the 2 meter units out there are VHF versions of CB radios, with a few simple controls and little flexibility. The 25 watts of output (continuously variable with an RF knob), is more than enough for my needs. Everyone I talk to loves this thing almost as much as I do. I have it hooked up to a home brew Slim Jim antenna, and I can get just about anywhere in my metro area on the lowest power of two watts. I am surprised at some of the criticisms I have heard. The unit is neither deaf, nor is it underpowered. The only downside to the 711 is that it is so satisfying to operate, you might never be tempted to make the move to HF.
GM1FLQ Rating: 2009-02-18
It's simple, it's deaf Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Needs a masthead pre-amp because on its own it is deaf. Changed mine for an FT290 mk1 with Mutek and then realised just how deaf the 711 was. I bought my 711 new - for less money I got a new FT290 with pre-amp fitted and a new 100w linear.
N6BOB Rating: 2009-02-10
Continues to be a great radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a wonderful old workhorse 2 meter all mode radio. I have used it for SSB and FM and now CW it is works great for all situations. I love the clicking of the VFO/channel knob from channel to channel then it goes to smooth turning when in VFO mode. Have replace the S-meter bulb twice with Radio Shack bulbs and the PA once after years of use and I think a high SWR may have cooked it when I switched to an un-tuned antenna. I get frequent reports of great audio with this rig on FM and never get them with the FT-897 or IC-746Pro.
WA4RVB Rating: 2009-02-10
GREAT ALL MODE Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought New 22 Years ago. Not one Problem. Still Looks as good as new.One Great Kenwood Radio..