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Reviews For: Drake TR-22C

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

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Review Summary For : Drake TR-22C
Reviews: 5MSRP:
Description:
This 2-meter FM radio was a combination mobile/portable, with an internal battery pack. Crystal controlled, it offered an alternative to the less-stable (or more expensive) handhelds of the mid-1970s, and was later distributed by Kenwood. A modern-day echo is the Yaesu FT-817 HF/VHF/UHF, which shares the basic design of a small mobile with battery pack.
Product is in production
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# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0054
K7UA Rating: 2013-01-25
Good in its day Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had one of these back in the 1970s. It was a neat little rig back then. Before that I had a commercial Motorola HT that I used on 2M. It only had 1 or 2 "channels." The TR22 had several. It wasn't really a HT. It was more like carrying a purse. It did work well with a solid 1 watt output and a good receiver. It would be a poor rig today, but back then it was very good.
N4KC Rating: 2008-04-16
300,000 miles! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
And remember, it had an internal telescoping antenna, too. I mounted mine on the side of the driver's seat in my VW bus, drove a 50-watt amp, and ran two-meter mobile all over the country...at least 300,000 miles over six or seven years. Of course, every town had the more typical repeaters -- 76, 82, 88, and 94 -- with no tone encoding so crystals and tones were no issue.

Like so many vintage radios, this one was a 4 or 5 in its day but more a novelty today. Even the tiniest HT has 5 watts, wide frequency coverage, multi bands, etc. Still wish I had my TR-22C, though!

Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
N7TRZ Rating: 2008-04-15
12 channel 1W crystal FM transportable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Plenty of crystal slots and acceptable performance. Was marketed when spacing was 30Khz so the filter is a tad wide for urban locales (the local 96 machine opens the squelch when on the 94 channel from 20 miles away, but it is a wide area repeater). Trimmers on transmit crystals only. Easy to update to the latest battery chemistry and they will charge in the radio when on DC.
AE5J Rating: 2007-02-13
Early VHF Excellence Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have one in my hands as I write this. I inherited it from N5BKT (my silent key dad). This is a great little radio and still works. I cannot remember exactly how much he paid for it. I think around $150.00 new.

It is a great little radio even though it is crystal controlled. I still remember the looks my dad got carrying the thing around though - it is not really a hand-held. More like a two-hands-held! It has a carry strap for the shoulder. This one still monitors the same local repeater it has covered since the day he bought it.
KA7EKW Rating: 2006-06-13
Classic design Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Though larger, it was more reliable than the contemporary ham handhelds. It would run directly from 12VDC or the AA-cell pack. For disaster and Field Day this was an excellent radio. When I first saw the FT-817 it was obvious that the Drake had been the direct inspiration.