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Reviews For: ADI AR-147

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

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Review Summary For : ADI AR-147
Reviews: 43MSRP: 169.99
Description:
High power (60W) two meter mobile
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.adi-radio.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00432.6
N3TCR Rating: 2001-09-26
Great for packet Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this rig a few months ago to replace my aging packet rig. Once the rig was hooked up it worked fine. I've always been able to connect to stations (and have other stations connect to me) with no problem - the audio is always good, and the high power works well when connecting to distant stations. The rig has never been mobile and has always been on a power supply so line noise problems were detected. The previous rig on the packet station was an Alinco DR-130 and both performed similarly, except I'm sure the ADI will last longer. Overall a great rig, you can't beat it for an inexpensive high-power packet radio.
73 Bill N3TCR
K3WVU Rating: 2001-09-19
Decent base station, not a good mobile. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this as a mobile when I took the ICOM 2100H out of the car to use as a base. The first time I attempted to use it, to check into the local emergency net, the net control couldn't copy my signal due to loud alternator whine--a problem that I never experienced with the ICOM. So, I assume the shielding leaves something to be desired. To make a long story short, I'm now using the AR-147 as a base, and the ICOM is back in the car. So far, I haven't had any other of the reported problems when using the 147 as a base station.
The bottom line is that if you want a high-power 2 Meter mobile, you're probably better off to spend a few extra bucks and purchase the ICOM 2100H, which is a superb rig for the money.
K1CWB Rating: 2001-09-18
Good radio considering price Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The AR-147's quality just isn't up to par, when I first got the radio, used it for a few days, programmed it, etc. I turned it on once, and the display locked. The whole radio locked actually. I then played with it for a while and got it to come back. After that, it worked ok, but I still wouldn't consider it dependable. I haven't had the DTMF problem I hear happens. The speaker is a little tinty, and I reccommend using an external speaker if you use it in your car. Overall, it's an OK radio for beginners, but not for pro's.
WQ1L Rating: 2001-07-23
Troublesome Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased this radio brand new mainly because of the price. I wanted a 3rd rig for my pickup which I rarely used more than back and forth to work which is a really short commute.

I had heard another ham talking on this radio and the audio sounded pretty good over the air. I figured I'd give it a try. The things I didn't like about it was that the Function Key was tricky to use. You had to hold it for a few seconds or just touch it for other applications, often this would not react the way you would like or designed to do. Also, as soon as cold weather approached I had problems with the radio sending DTMF strings when I keyed up, even though the autodial DTMF was not enabled. What a pain, the first time it happened I connected to the autopatch and needed assistance shutting the patch off. I did however send it in for factory repair which I was informed that they had replaced the main board. I'm hopeful that when cold weather approaches I won't have the problem again. This repair was done quickly and I had my radio back in just over 2 wks. I wish this radio had an easier menu system and also alpha numeric memory capability. Other than that I guess you get what you pay for! So far it is working well after the factory repair. My fingers are crossed.

Glen
KB1DNI
KG9FL Rating: 2000-04-18
Works good for me. Time Owned: unknown months.
I have the AR-146 already. It has worked good. I had purchased the AR-147 to go into my truck. It has worked great,I love the wide receive that alot of other radios do not have. I have to aggree the mic needs to be smaller. I have had no problems with the tones with either radios The 146 is going into my ham shack and the 147 is goimg into my truck.
KE6QMJ Rating: 2000-04-18
Good, Solid Receiver Performance Time Owned: unknown months.
I love this radio! It has everything that I want in a mobile, including CTCSS tone scan and auto repeater offset. And its the only radio that I have ever owned that doesn't pick up a squeak of intermod here in Southern California. And it hears EVERYTHING. The only thing I don't like is the oversize backlit mic. Too big! It might be better if I was old and blind, though.
N9YBP Rating: 2000-03-02
Not perfect, but I like it. Time Owned: unknown months.
Radio works good, I get good reports on audio and signal. As someone said before the PL code doesn't stop the radio from stopping when in scan mode. I have had no other problems with tones. The manual needs to be written in American English, I noticed "whilst" reading the manual that it seems to be a screwed up version of Great Britain English. I haven't had a radio with tone scan before and that works pretty neat. Overall I like this radio.
N6OFY Rating: 2000-02-28
Adi AR-147 a so-so radio Time Owned: unknown months.
I bought this Radio at the Hamvention in Concord,
Ca.
After 6 months of use I would only rate in 2 stars.

I use it as a base radio, and I noticed right off the tone problem, the first time that I turned off the power supply to the radio.
after some trail and error, I found out that if you keep 12 v.dc. supplied to the radio, no tones will appear on tranmit.
if you happen to turn off the power the the radio, even though the radio is off, and them turn the power back on, the tones appear.
So for the last 3 months I have left the power supply on to the radio.
No Problems.
I think, and I am no expert, that whatever supplies the power to the memory is not doing the job, and it then faults.
tones appear.

otherwise the radio is fine.
N5HQM Rating: 2000-02-27
Three is a charm. Time Owned: unknown months.
I have owned two previous models of ADI until the purtchase of the ADI-147. The two previous purtchases were returned of refund as well as this unit last Wednesday. Three is a charm, will buy no more product from this company.
KD6MHO Rating: 2000-02-27
Radio needs more development Time Owned: unknown months.
I also have a problem with the radio transmitting DTMF tones constantly whenever the transmitter is keyed when the radio is cold. This seems to be a PL board problem, since it only does this while encoding CTCSS, but not with carrier squelch or digital pl. Audio is real tinny, and the DPL encode / decode does not work perfectly. When I crank the volume up, the speaker makes a feedback noise real bad, and I had to use an external speaker in the mobile. When I bought the radio, there was an extra piece of copper grounding strip rattling around inside, that was not even from my radio..just a factory screw-up, luckily I removed it before power-up and prevented damage.