Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Kenwood TM-281A

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
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
KB9MRK Rating: 2011-10-31
Outstanding!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Fantastic rig for the money!!! Good audio,nice solid radio, Plenty of power for the 2 meter band. I think this is the best radio out there at this price right now, I replaced it with a Yaesu 2 meter and I will never go back to Yaesu mobile/base rigs compared to this outstanding rig. Buy one!!!
deleted_user_20210718 Rating: 2011-10-10
GREAT COMPACT RADIO... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
LET ME START BY SAYING THAT THE AUDIO IS A FAR BIG IMPROVEMENT OVER THE TM-271A; THE RX SIDE IS GOOD. AT LEAST I HAVENT GOTTEN ANY INTERMOD.
AS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION IT'S PRETTY SOLID.
ONE THING I DID NOTICE IS THAT ONCE YOU REMOVE THE 4 SREWS AND PLASTIC TOP COVER YOU CAN SEE THE INNERWORKS. WERE ON THE TM-271A FIRTS YOU HAD TO REMOVE A PLASTIC COVER THEN A RUBBER GASKET 5 SREWS AND A METAL ALUMINUM COVER TO GET INSIDE THE RADIO.
AS FOR THE KNOBS THEY STILL HAVE THAT LOOSE FEELING. I HAD MINE FOR 4 YEARS AND NEVER FAILDED SO FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING FOR A NICE COMPACT RUGGED NARROW BAND RIG WITH A INTERNAL LOUD SPEAKER AND 2.5,5,6.25,10,12.5,15,20,25,30,50.KHZ STEP
THIS KENWOOD IS FOR YOU
K7CJ Rating: 2011-09-17
My first Kenwood! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
For my first Kenwood product, I purchased the TM-281A from HRO Anaheim last week. It is replacing an Icom V8000 in my SUV. The Icom V8000 is a very nice radio but it has a few gremlins which have become irritating over time. I heard another ham using a Kenwood mobile over a repeater and couldn't believe his amazing audio quality. So I had to try one out.

Physically, the TM-281A is a very sleek unit. It's housed in a die-cast body with no fan. Only two screws to remove the top cover. The cover is plastic but I think it's a polycarbonate composite. It's a very tight fitting cover that is mainly held on by the mounting holes. The PCB is very clean looking and has changed somewhat from the TM-271A. The two dials on the front panel are rubberized and feel great. I was a little skeptical about the push-on power button (combined with volume control) but it works really well. I usually like a separate power button so that my volume level doesn't change every time -- but Kenwood's solution to this really does work. The volume level doesn't change in this configuration. The illuminated buttons are angled somewhat so that when installed in a vehicle you're actually pushing directly on the button. Very nice touch!

The included Kenwood microphone is really nice. It has a great feel and the PTT switch is very solid. It makes a positive "click" when using it and doesn't feel mushy. Audio reports were excellent. The audio output of the internal front speaker is rated at 5w and sounds wonderful. You'll have no trouble hearing contacts with the windows down!

For programming, I picked up a Prolific-chipset USB to RJ45 cable from E-Bay for around 30 USD. It works great with the free Kenwood MCP software. The software was quick and made programming very easy.

Before I purchased the TM-281A, I needed to know how one programs the unit and how the front panel functions. Kenwood really knows how to make a good menu system. Their functional philosophy works. This was one of my gripes about the Icom V8000. The front panel is simple and VERY easy to use. I didn't even have to read the manual to understand their layout. It's that easy.

The TM-281A has a functional squelch! Yay! This was my nemesis on the Icom V8000. I had to enable the ATTenuator function to prevent it from stopping on every other station while scanning (while my squelch knob was fully clockwise!) The Kenwood squelch setup is far more stable. The TM-281A also offers a S-meter squelch mode which will basically block any signals that don't meet a certain s-meter level -- which the user can adjust. This could be very helpful for harsh areas or if you have a high-gain VHF base antenna.

After using the TM-281A for a week now, I would highly recommend it. Since I never owned a 271A, I can't compare the models directly, but I believe the TM-281A is a solid product.

As with any product, there are always some flaws and in my case, these are more "head-scratchers" but here is my short list:

**Limitation of 100 channels (this is a joke -- especially in the year 2011!)
**Scan timer is only 5 seconds -- which is just way too short. Fortunately, there's a CO (carrier-operated) mode which returns to scan upon drop of squelch. Ideally, I would rather have a user-adjustable timer setting (like 15 or 20 seconds.)
**Power output is global - not per channel like the Icom V8000. Fixed settings 65/25w (High/Low) I would prefer to control my power levels based on distance of the repeater. This also helps me to remember where the repeater is located.

I would probably give the TM-281A a 4.5/5 but since that's not possible I'll round up. I can live with the minor gripes but the channel limitation really stumps me.

Here are a few links:

Kenwood TM-281A installed in my SUV: http://home.comcast.net/~cnick6/kenwoodsuv.jpg

Kenwood TM-281A internal PCB: http://home.comcast.net/~cnick6/tm281fs.jpg