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Reviews For: Kenwood TR 751A

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

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TR 751A
Reviews: 39MSRP: 225-350 used TU7 45+
Description:
2 Meter All Mode Transceiver. 25 Watts RF Output.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hammulti/tr751a.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00394.7
K5III Rating: 2007-03-01
Another Kenwood Tank Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought one on eBay about two years ago from a ham in Spokane, Washington. Even then, at $200, I thought I had a bargain since many other 2M all modes were more expensive. I have used it many times and happy with it. Great audio and signal reports. It's a keeper.
PT9KK Rating: 2006-10-27
Good radio.... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought my TR751A, on Ebay, about two months ago. It is in very nice condition with a minor scratch on the top cover. I also have a FT290RII for about 10 years and the second won't perform as good as the Kenwood. The only one thing that bothers me is the frequency drift on SSB. It will take sometime before it stops but other than that it has a hot receiver and great TX audio if you use another microphone.
KD8BC Rating: 2006-10-18
Great Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned at least 6 of these Radios since the Introduction in 1986 ! Even today I would Compare the sensitivity on Receive to anything out there . Kenwood was the first to Introduce a Gas Fet into the front end of the receiver . Also the Noise Blanker is very useful with line noise .
There are two Issues that pop-up on older radios. First the Volumne-Squelch Pot will get Noisy and after a while completely quit !Also my RF Gain Control-RIT pot on my oldest unit stopped working . Both these parts are available from East Coast for about $15 each . Very Tedious work to take the front cover apart and solder the new components in !
I have been a 2M-SSB contester since the early 1980's and will put this radio up against anything out there for 2 meter SSB ! I have Never had a Output Module failure in the 751 ! This was a major Problem in the earlier TR-9130 !
It's a shame Kenwood stopped making this the TR-751A series ?

Sam Maze Kd8bc-EM99-WV always Listening on 144.200
Just bought another one for future back-up !
K4KOR Rating: 2006-05-31
Great rig but over priced now Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had five of these rigs over the years. I obviously love them. But they are popping finals now right and left due to age so they are not worth the price you have to pay for them now.
The cost of new finals is $150.00 plus two way shipping if you get a good deal. Having to pay $225 to $300 for one just doesn't make sense anymore when you're going to have to put big money into it.
I had trouble with 3 out of 5 of mine when they were still young but nothing to major.
They do drift but I loved the looks of them and other things so much that I put up with it. But I'm sad to say their day is gone. Or at least it's way overdue for a big price drop.

W5BP Rating: 2006-03-22
Great 2M All-Mode! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought my 751A from another ham on ebay. After a few emails we agreed on a BIN price of $240. This baby is in mint condition. I bought an aftermarket tone board for repeater work that works great. 90% of the time all I need is the 25 watts it puts out on high power. But I also use a KLM 140 watt amp when I need a little more punch. I always get great signal reports on SSB. This is one great SSB rig with a LOT of features. I use this rig as a base, but when I eventually get another rig it will be going mobile.
If you can find one of these radios in good condition, grab it! You will not be disappointed.
BIRDMAN Rating: 2005-12-22
Quality 2M All Mode Time Owned: more than 12 months.
What can I say .. this is a great 2 meter all mode radio. Great with the tone board for repeater use if you need but I use it for simplex and SSB. Great receive and great audio with the stock mic. You can't go wrong with this for the base or mobile.
KA5ROW Rating: 2003-12-28
Good All Mode Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my Kenwood 751-A new 10 years ago from Texas Towers and never had any problems with it. I use the rig on SSB a lot and suggest you use a power mic for SSB. But use the hand mic for FM.

Doug
W8LON Rating: 2003-09-26
Too bad they stopped making this one! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I picked mine up at a hamfest back in January and instantly became hooked on 2 ssb!Very nicely layed out for mobile ops and with just 25 watts its amazing the contacts that can be made.And have had nothing but unsolicated... sounds great on air reviews with stock hand mike.Have recently added 200 watt amp and single squalo to mobile setup and all I want to do is drive!Receive is as good as my base setup with stacked beams and amazing contacts are possible 300 miles plus not a problem...roved 5 grids in September contest and worked several stations in all..So it is a very reasonable way to get into mobile ops at less than $500 complete setup!And sure makes those long trips go faster!4000 miles last month 2 ssb all the way..
N0TTW Rating: 2003-07-09
Wouldn't trade it. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have this for satellite and weak-signal work. The sensitivity is better than my Yaesu FT-100D. I use a Radio Shack DSP-40 on this rig with a RS 5/8 verticle. I have no complaints!!
KA9FLX Rating: 2003-06-10
Excellent radio even today Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I happily acquired this unit in a trade a few years back after being frustrated at the lack of a similar model at a reasonable price. I traded it away after purchasing an IC-746 a year or so later. In my fascination over the IC-746, I did not initially appreciate this radio for what it is. Fortunately, I was able to re-acquire it back in another deal.

Considering the vintage of the unit, it is right up there with current radio performance standards. No, it does not have DSP, or a lot of the expected bells and whistles, just the basic requirements for SSB and CW operation. Including: Volume, Squelch, RIT, and RF gain controls; a noise blanker (that does work), dual VFOs with 50 Hz increment tuning in SSB and CW. That last feature is nice but amusing as well since the radio’s frequency stability is not that tight.

The unit also comes with manual or auto mode selection (by band segment), augmented with an audible CW mode identifier when a given button is selected. A useful feature for mobile operations in the dark, supplemented by well-illuminated mode indicators.

The unit has built in sub-audible tone encoding (no tone squelch, but no biggie). My particular unit did not come with the optional Kenwood DCL board. Not that I would use it so much, but it would be nice to have the unit complete with all options. In addition to basic, but useful, memory features, the unit also has scan and programmable TX offset.

Other than the relatively low (by today’s standards) high power of 25 Watts, this radio performs as good if not better than my IC746. I have done side-by-side comparisons off the same antenna system against the IC-746, and if anything, the TR-751 is slightly more sensitive. The RF gain control operates well and on strong signals it comes in handy as it would on any rig.

I don’t feel it fair to expect this radio to have the same receiver capabilities as a modern day DSP rig such as the IC-746. Without a doubt, DSP can, and does make a difference under extreme conditions. However, this rig’s overall performance is still right up there despite lacking some of these modern features.

Having had the pleasure of owning and operating both a newer generation radio and this one, I am extremely pleased to have been able to own this radio for a second time and it will not be leaving my inventory anytime soon.

For those into higher frequency operations, the rig’s 25-Watt max power is actually a bonus for transverter operations. Additionally, at 25 watts max, the output is variable and the rig could easily drive an external PA.

Considering the cost of a new, similarly equipped rig today, the flea market average prices I have seen on the rig are not unreasonable. Typically going for between $200 and $400 dollars, depending on condition, the radio is still a good deal. They are somewhat hard to find in good condition. I suspect that my fellow TR-751 owners have likewise come to appreciate the radio for what it is and are hanging on to them.

If you are looking for a solid 2-meter multimode radio and cannot afford a new rig, this is a good choice if you are fortunate to come across one. If nothing else, it is an excellent backup radio and its small size makes it perfect for mobile/portable operations.

If you are looking to get in on the action of 2-meter SSB and CW, this radio is definitely something to watch for at the next Hamfest. Figure on paying about $300 for one in good condition, a little more if in excellent condition.