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Reviews For: Kenwood TM-281A

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

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TM-281A
Reviews: 83MSRP: 174.95
Description:
2 meter FM mobile transceiver providing 65 watts of power
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Communications/Amateur_Radio/HF_Base_Mobile/TM-281A
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00834.4
AC3RK Rating: 2014-06-20
Great bang for the bucks Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned Icom, Yaesu, and Kenwood V/U transceivers over my 40+ years operating and have found this a great value. My TM-281A at the house is hooked to either an Elk 2M/440L5 or Arrow OSJ 146/440 antenna depending on operational needs. If I have radio line-of-sight to a repeater or simplex station, we can work. The menu system took some getting used to, but through reading the clear manual, I hardly have to bring the book out any more. The heat sink in the back gets warm under multiple hours of heavy operations at high power; but output is not affected. Front speaker is loud and clear. I have not used it mobile so cannot speak to that usage, but have no reason to expect anything less than superior performance. At this price, I could not have asked for anything more.
W5BXY Rating: 2014-05-14
Good Radio for the price Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought one of these about 8 mos ago to use on base connected to a Diamond F23 vertical which I would also recommend. This is my first Kenwood VHF radio although I have used Kenwood’s exclusively on HF for years and love them. So far the radio has worked perfectly, easy to program and I have no complaints other than I personally do not like a menu driven squelch which is very unhandy for mobile use. I’ve had good signal reports and the receiver is very sensitive with a good antenna attached. I plan to buy another one to install in my car. In spite of the menu driven squelch I have to give it a 5 all the way. For the price you can’t beat it.
W5GSR Rating: 2014-04-09
Great Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I put this radio in my 2002 Toyota tundra and so far it's a great little radio. Most of the time I just use low power and I can hit the repeaters that I need to in my area, and that's with a quarter wave on the roof.
KC3BKG Rating: 2014-03-29
Nice basic 2m mobile Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Very nice little mobile. Installed in my company truck and even in the noisy environment of a “work” truck I have no problem hearing with the front firing speaker. Kind of thought not having a lower transmit power setting was odd but I operate mostly simplex in my travels so 25 Watts for low power is fine. Very easy to program and operate but the squelch adjustment takes a little getting use to being a menu setting and not a knob like I’m use to. All in all great little mobile.
KT8R Rating: 2014-03-26
Good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have no major complaints about rig. One thing Kenwood should have done is give a 5 watt setting along with the 25 and 65 watts.
AE9C Rating: 2014-03-16
GREAT 2m.RADIO !! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
GOT ONE NOV.LAST YEAR FROM AES,EZ TO PROGRAM,NICE SOUNDING AUDIO,PROGRAMABLE MIC, NICE SIZE, FRONT SPEAKER..GOOD JOB KENWOOD..!!! SO GOOD I PURCHASED ANOTHER FOR THE JEEP.. AE9C
KF7IKS Rating: 2013-11-17
Up to SNUFF Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got my 281 Kenwood a couple days ago and it works great. Our town as another Ham guy told me is in a ditch and it really is. I have had an HT 5W but had a lot of trouble getting ANYWHERE. After receiving the Kenwood, I am now easily hitting Repeaters in Indianapolis which is 40 to 50 miles away and have no doubt it will go even further, not bad for a 65W radio. If I can program it any dummy can do it. It's very portable easy to hook up to a power source, I have mine on a Marine Battery on the floor of my Pathfinder, so I do not have to worry about automotive battery drain or even lightening strikes, though I have never been hit by lightning. All I can say is, Good Job Kenwood
KC8RTU Rating: 2013-11-04
Like very well Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Pug and play easy to program nice manual.I like front speaker used with stack 2meter beems. Price is fair.Lots of power with 65ws.
KF4YTL Rating: 2013-09-01
Great Radio Own 2 now Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I liked the first one I bought so much. I had to get a second. Now I have one mobile & base. I have been using for about 6 months now. The audio is very loud with the front firing speaker. Which was what I was looking for since I drive a loud truck. Very solid build. The mic has a great feel. And the 25/65w is a great plus. I have had no problems hitting the local repeaters with the 5/8 wave antenna I am using it with mobile. I have had great reports on the TX audio as well.

If I had only one thing to knock on this radio... Since the audio is so loud. It would rattle the plastic covers where the aluminum and covers meet. I had to open the case and add rubber tape to the edges to stop the distotion / vibration. Other than that, it is a great 2M radio. And very loud for noisy conditions. I would recommend it, if your looking for volume.
NI4JM Rating: 2013-08-01
OK for a cheap VHF mobile. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this radio for a year plus now. It works ok for what it is. I do like the front-firing speaker and the audio coming out of it sounds great. I do NOT like the squelching on the RX at all. It is waaaay too tight even on level 1. There are areas on the road around my area where the power lines are extremely noisy and will wipe out even local repeaters from my receiver. Normally, with my 8800 I would just lower the squelch and deal with the noise. With this radio, that can't be done because the next level below 1 is 0 and that is OPEN. To give you an idea, without power line interference, signals below an S3 disappear below the squelch threshold with it set at 1. To help remedy this I used the S-Meter squelch and set it to 1. Also adjusted the sq hang time to 250ms which allowed the weaker signals to come through even the most horrid power line noise. If I could find a service manual I could make the adjustment and I would probably give the radio a 4. Other than the 25/65 watt power levels, (I'd prefer a 10/65) the radio is just OK.