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Reviews For: ADI AR-247

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

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Review Summary For : ADI AR-247
Reviews: 34MSRP: 209.99
Description:
AR-247 1.35 Meter (222 MHz) Mobile
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.adi-radio.com/amateurradio/mobiles/Default.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00343.3
N5AUC Rating: 2004-10-02
POOR DISPLAY Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned the AR-247 and its sister the AR-447 about 2 years. The first year went well but then the displays went out. I had some repair both but did not last. Both radios are relitively good except for this major problem. So if you do not care which power setting you are on and own a frequency counter, this radio is for you. I would never buy another ADI product.
K1VSR Rating: 2004-09-08
Love it! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've owned my AR-247 since April. Originally, I was torn between the Alinco DR-235 or this rig. I chose this rig mainly because you get 30 watts (vs. 25W on the Alinco) for $40 cheaper than the Alinco. I certainly don't regret it.

Using a Hustler MX-220 trunk-mounted antenna, I do just great with this rig. The receiver and transmitter are awesome! I have had the infamous hieroglyphic display problem once, however, I fixed it myself. All I had to do was unplug the microphone and plug it back in. Haven't had the problem since.

I really only have two complaints about it. One is the squelch circuit. You're going to want to set it exactly at the point where the noise stops and not a hair higher. If you turn the squelch up higher than that, you'll notice that unless the signal you're hearing is S6 or higher, the squelch will close. Going down the road, this results in constantly hearing the squelch opening and closing regardless of the fact that the signal you're receiving really isn't all that bad. Setting the squelch right at the point where the noise stops might not seem like a big deal, but when you're going through high RF areas, you'll notice you may have to turn the squelch up and then turn it down again once you get out of that high RF area.

My other complaint is a thing with the memory channels. If you're in memory mode and change anything on a memory channel (PL, tone squelch, etc), that change is permanent. Moving off the memory channel and going back to it won't set it back to what it originally was like it would on most rigs. To avoid this, hit the "F" key, then hit the VFO key. This will copy the memory channel to VFO, then make your changes in VFO mode.

Because I liked this rig so much, I've actually acquired the 2m and 440 models (AR-147 and AR-447) for use in the house. All in all, if you want a great performing mobile rig for a great price, this is definitely the one for you.
AC5PS Rating: 2004-07-25
so so Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Sometimes it will make a "crackeling" noise and show a signal, but nothings there. Give it a tap on top and it's fine for a day or two.
W8GND Rating: 2004-06-30
Bad luck with ADI Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had 3 ADI radios, and they've all failed, big time. Last one to go was a 247, in which the
two large semiconductor thingys on the left hand side got very hot.

At that price, I don't get terribly worried. By the way, I notice that the Kenwood mobiles look an awful lot like the ADI's, and they love to fail also.

And I just hate that microphone.

But you can't beat the price.

Jerry, W8GND
WA1MBA Rating: 2004-06-04
Loads of Problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I ran this radio for several months, the display began to go crazy - I pushed on it and only got good results a few times. Finally I sent it back. It took nearly 6 months to get it replaced. Within anohter 6 months the display has gone bad again.

The PTT Switch is quite bad, it is in fact a $0.12 microswitch normally designed for about 100 pushes on microprocessor backplane reset applications. What a piece of c**p.

I don't think I will ever buy another ADI.
W9BBB Rating: 2004-05-05
needs better Quality control Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Having bought five of these radios, all but one has experience trouble. The microphones has poor quality cords-all has been replaced at least twice. Displays has gone bezerk on occasion and had to be takened apart or push on front panel to get working again.Started to beep when trying to transmit, for no appearant reason. Has mine of its own.
I bought a Alinco DR-235T and even though it cost fifty bucks more- Never had any problems with it.I'll never buy a cheap ADI (made in China) again.Wayne
KC6HFH Rating: 2003-06-18
UNRELIABLE!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.

Ijust purchased the ar-247 recently from hro
burbank recently and iam an repeat customer of
adi radios, hro told me to buy the alinco 220
rig,but i liked the adi better and iam used to
adi radios.Unfortunately i keep having repeated
warranty problems with adi radios,the ar-147,
had to be replaced twice two of them!!

This adi ar-247 after transmitting for ten
minutes or better on low power quits,
transmitting and no receive until the radio
cools down or has been turned off,and then
comes alive and after ten minutes or so on low
power it quits again!!!so i guess i should of
purchased the alinco which i do not like
there radios in the first place,the salesman
did say the alinco is more reliable so maybe
since its been only an week or so i may,
exchange for an alinco even though there fifty
dollars more!!
KD5NZC Rating: 2003-05-31
Not Bad at all... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I traded a Yaesu FT-7100 for this rig because I was curious about 220mhz. I think I got the better end of the deal. When I first got it out of the box (its previous owner had not used it for a while,) the display acted up for a little bit like some of the previous reviews mentioned, but this has since went away. It makes me wonder if this problem is in some way affected by temperature, as it went from a hot garage to an air-conditioned shack. I also noticed the inaccurate S-meter, but again as another reviewer suggested, this is easily fixed by backing down the VR-1 pot. Other than those two things, this rig works just as well (if not sometimes better) than my other 2 meter and 70 cm equipment. Audio on transmit is good, and recieve is just fine, though I do use an external speaker most of the time out of sheer habit. I would recommend this rig to others should the occasion arise. I have been very pleased with it.
WB1AEX Rating: 2002-10-09
Rugged Little Mobile Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned the AR-247 since the fall of '99. It has been durable and has performed well. Here in CT I have also run into the cold weather DTMF tone problem, but it is a minor annoyance and is not a factor when the DTMF function is toggled off. ADI sent me a kit to correct the problem but it was ineffective. When first purchased, the transmit audio was quite restricted and overdriven. I ended up opening the mic unit and replacing the electret element as well as bypassing all of the audio shaping circuits. It sounds very natural now and I get unsolicited comments that it is a very nice sounding radio. The receiver is extremely sensitive, however the S-meter is rather unuseful. Opening the unit up and backing down VR-1 helps to tame this. In summary, I believe it is a very good value for the 220 mhz band.

WB1AEX
K3ICH Rating: 2002-05-13
Great Value Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm surprised no one has noticed. This IS A KENWOOD Radio! Open up a Kenwood TM-331A and set it side by side with an ADI-247. They're virtually identical inside! Same PC boards, same layout with just some subtle differences in the front panel functions, but that's just software. Mine came stock with the CTCSS and DTMF functions which are extra cost options on the Kenwood. Performance is fine with lots of features for way under K'Wood's price. If this is an example of their other products, they're definately the best deal out there in single band radios