Kenwood TM V71A

[Troop04]

Afternoon,

After passing my technician exam a few weeks ago, I have; for the most part, made a decision on the radio I would like to purchase. There is one question I have regarding the Kenwood radio. In the manual it states there is an automatic repeater offset function, but it's only on the type k and e transceivers. There are a couple other functions like that in the manual (read it online through Kenwood's site).

What is a type k and e TM V71A radio? Does it very on store to store or is one made for the U.S. and the other for other countries.

Thanks,

Mike
KD0RHY

 

[N4KVE]

The automatic offset is set up for US radios, however, I don't like it. While it does put the offset in the correct place according to the ARRL bandplan, there are some areas of the country where they don't use the ARRL bandplan. In most of the country, on UHF, 442-445 is for rx, & 447-450 is for tx. However in some areas of the country this is reversed, but the radio doesn't know this. If you are in the part of the country where they use the reverse split, & automatic offset is on, the offset will be wrong, & the repeater won't be accessable. Because the radio thinks 442-445 is the receive portion, it will automaticallt set the offset to +, but if you set the rx to 447, the radio will think it's not in a repeater portion of the band, & stay in simplex. I usually leave the automatic offset off. Besides, on many radios, if you do the out of band mod, the auto offset function goes away, as the radio is wide open & no longer set up according to the US bandplan. Otherwise that radio is a good radio. GARY N4KVE

 

[AK9R]

"K" is Kenwood's designation for radios sold in the US. Every Kenwood ham radio you find at a legitimate dealer in the US will be a "K" radio. The box the radio comes in should have a label with the model number and serial number. There will be a "K" after the model number.

 

[scannerfreak]

Moved to Amateur Radio Equipment forum.

 

[LtDoc]

If it isn't a standard split repeater, then set it up as a non-standard or 'odd' split. It's in the manual.
- 'Doc

 

[Troop04]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I greatly appreciate the feedback as I venture down a new path in the amateur world!

Mike
KD0RHY

 

[mrweather]

Great choice for a radio. I've had mine for a couple of years and it's been great. Only flaw is the audio from the built in speaker is pretty weak especially if you use it mobile. Get an external speaker (I use a Kenwood KES-4) and it'll be nice and loud.

 

[Skypilot007]

Great choice for a radio. I've had mine for a couple of years and it's been great. Only flaw is the audio from the built in speaker is pretty weak especially if you use it mobile. Get an external speaker (I use a Kenwood KES-4) and it'll be nice and loud.

I'll second this statment. Great radio, easy to use, just get an external spreaker and you'll be very happy with the radio.

 

[LtDoc]

An external speaker is a good idea for almost any radio. Of course, figuring out where and how to mount the @#$ thing get's interesting!
- 'Doc

 

[mrweather]

Not to hijack the thread but what is the audio like for one of the front-firing models like a TM-281? As weak as the V71A?

 

[LtDoc]

I also have a TM-281, and it's speaker is fine. Of course that 'fine' depends on where the thing is mounted and the speaker is pointed. Also on how much noise there is in the vehicle. I've only used it mobile once and it did fine. The rest of the time it's in the house and facing me so I haven't had any problems with it. I don't expect it to over come a typical vacuum cleaner's noise, or furnish enough audio to hear all over the house. But for typical use... it's fine.
- 'Doc

 

[whitesox4life]

Not trying to hijack the thread but I have found a TM-V71A that has problem keeping the memory. It has been used as a base unit but I would like to use as a mobile. How easy will it be to fix the issue to use mobile?

 

[k7ng]

Not trying to hijack the thread but I have found a TM-V71A that has problem keeping the memory. It has been used as a base unit but I would like to use as a mobile. How easy will it be to fix the issue to use mobile?

I have a TM-V71a that has been in my mobile for about three years. It has never had a memory-retention problem, neither the permanent memories or VFO memory. I don't believe I have seen anything from others regarding memory loss in this particular radio either. If your radio loses its memory when powered off there is a problem with the radio. Radios with batteries for memory backup should work for many years before there are any problems. and some use supercapacitors which should work forever assuming you power up the radio from time to time. I suggest you should troubleshoot the radio or send it out for repair because there may be other issues that will really get in your way if you try to use it mobile.

 

[coolbreeze1998]

Kenwood TMV71A

Hi Just passed my tech exam (waiting for call sign). I just ordered my radio Kenwood TMV71A any thoughts good or bad much appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[KJ6RAY]

KENWOOD TM V71A

I have a problem with the power output of the 70cm side of this radio. It only comes out to 25 watts instead of
50 watts, while the 2m side is 50 watts.

Does anybody have a solution?

 

[AK9R]

Are you testing into a 50 ohm dummy load that is rated up to 450 MHz? Are you using a calibrated watt meter?

If you are certain that the power output is not per the specifications and you are certain that the supply voltage at the radio is within specifications and you are certain that you have high power selected on that "side" of the radio, send it in to Kenwood for service.