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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
KD8RWO Rating: 2012-04-02
Excellent for a 2 meter base or mobile Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have received nothing but praise for my audio and signal strength. Full quieting at 30 miles away (as the crow flies) on low power. Its a small radio and seems very durable. Programming is the easier than any other radio I have tried. For 150 bucks, I feel I made a wise purchase.
KK7XE Rating: 2012-03-30
Nice 2 Meter Radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Have at last installed the radio in the pickup. For some time it just sat on a small shelf that has access to the coax coming in. Was not mounted in the bracket and zero heat problems as I saw in the previous post. It's simple to program and in the truck, the front firing speaker is great. Nice clean, crisp audio. It works great for scanning what ever one would like in the VHF spectrum. Very pleased with the radio as it does just what it's built for.
KC9TND Rating: 2012-02-08
Word of Warning Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A word of warning to those considering this unit for base station use. This is NOT a unit one can just plop on a desk or shelf. The chassis is a heat sink that requires air circulation in order to keep the operating temp down. The unit needs to be mounted in the included bracket regardless of whether it is mounted under or on top of something. It's not a design flaw, but none of Kenwood's literature makes this design feature apparent. I have not put this unit in operation yet so have rated it 3 of 5. I will update this review when I've used the TM-281A for a while.
N7JPF Rating: 2012-02-07
Nice Basic unit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just got my KW this last week, to replace my aging Yaesu in the car. I have also had Icoms in past, and this is my first VHF-mobile Kenwood. I love the audio and front-facing speaker, and since I have some hearing loss, that is important to me. It was easy to program, and I like how fast it scans. The microphone feels a little large, but it does everything a person could ask for. The price was right for this basic little unit!
James H. Lincoln Rating: 2012-01-14
Very Pleased! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received the TM-281A as a Christmas gift. I have Icom and Yaesu two-meter rigs so I had the opportunity to make some comparisons.

The 281 scores a solid ten out of ten in terms of receive sensitivity, transmit quality/audio, adjacent channel rejection, audio output/speaker sound and ease of operation. After a short time reading the manual, operating and programming the rig is extremely easy. I'll rate overall performance/quality and features compared with my other rigs below on the 1-10 scale.

Kenwood TM-281A: 10
Icom IC-2200: 9
Yaesu FT-8800: 7

If there is any negative with the 281 I think the display brightness could be just a tad brighter however that's being real picky. Otherwise, this rig is fantastic in all respects.
I operate the 281 in the shack as a fixed station and I'm probably going to purchase the Kenwood desk mic to compliment the rig.

You will not be disappointed with this rig for mobile or base use. Thanks Kenwood!
KC9OSX Rating: 2011-12-24
Great Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I chose this radio, for the low cost, and MIL-STD rating for vibration and shock, because I was putting it into my work truck (07 freightliner). After using this radio for a couple weeks, I'm tempted to sell my Icom 208h, to buy another Kenwood for my car. I have been getting great, unsolicited audio reports, which I never had with my Icom. Receive is great as well, sensitive, yet more resistant to intermod than my Icom.
I was a little worried about the small front-firing speaker, but it is plenty loud enough, even in the noisy environment of a big truck. I can even turn the volume up as high as it goes, with no noticeable distortion.
This is by far, the easiest radio I've programmed. I was a little lost at first, but after a few minutes, it all clicked. My other radios, I have to get the manual out to do anything with them!
As for durability, only time will tell. It seems to be taking the abuse quite well, though.
So far, the only downfall, is that there is only 2 power settings. More memories with banks would be nice, too.
I would definitely recommend this radio to anyone looking for an inexpensive, durable 2 meter rig.
W7TKO Rating: 2011-12-16
Good Starter Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Kenwood TM-281A has some limitations but all in all is a good VHF radio. Upon initial inspection, I was not too thrilled about the plastic top, seems somewhat flimsy as compared to other VHF radios. I will agree with the others that this radio is easy to program and the ergonomics are adequate. I have several nits regarding it's operation. First, the radio only has two RF power settings; 25W and 65W. Second, you cannot save RF power settings to individual memory channels (someone correct me if I am wrong). Third and last, the PTT on the mike is somewhat stiff (IMHO). Would any of these nits keep me from suggesting this radio to others... no. This little VHF radio packs a lot of punch and has loads of features.
HP2DUI Rating: 2011-12-15
Excellent Equipment Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Buyed one from HRO. A breeze to program, exclelent Audio Reports.

Greetings from Panama Centra America

Guillermo Gomez
HP2DUI
W7BNW Rating: 2011-11-22
Love it!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
One of the best “bangs for the buck” for 2 meter. Very rugged construction and easy to program. I am hearing impaired and the front facing speaker is very helpful. I had a Yaesu 2900R and replaced it with the TM-281 and am glad I did. The programing of the TM-281 is so easy, you need not buy the programming cable. If all you need is 2m with great audio and plenty of power, go buy one.
KK4CWX Rating: 2011-11-05
Not Pleased Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the Kenwood TM-281A and I am not satisfied with the performance,#1 weather alert works intermittent #2 VFO will not stop of weather frequencies when scanning with no tones turned on #3 transmit shut off on low power during QSO but shows transmitting on signal meter.

I never had any problems with the Kenwood 271A,which in my opinion is a better radio and built with better quality parts where as the tm281a is cheaper made lacking the capability of adding a tnc like the tm271a which was made in Japan compared to the tm281a which is made in China.