Kenwood

[KC9CEW]

anyone have one of these,are they worth the money,do they perform well.

[kd7set]

I like mine alot... I'm new to this so i have very little experiance. Seems to be a good rig so far.


Mark M. (KD7SET) http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[ke4ozk]

I've had one since January and I love it. Get the Maldol tri-band antenna that is specially made for this radio - it makes a huge differnce. Hook up a long wire and you can monitor HF stuff like SW broadcast, aviation, marine frequencies, and yes Ham QSOs if you are patient and know how to tune the radio.

I have not yet seen another HT that comes close to this one. I had a Yaesu VX-5R, which was great, but it only receives AM HF. Fine for listening to broadcast stuff, but doesn't help with the Ham bands. Plus the TH-F6A has a built in ferrite bar antenna which allows it to pick up local AM radio stations.

With this radio, you really can receive almost anything that is transmitted. I wouldn't think twice about buying another one. Please e-mail me if you have any specific questions. My e-mail address is my callsign @hotmail.com.

73,

Chris, KE4OZK

[KD6RWI]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KC9CEW @ July 30 2002,15:48)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">anyone have one of these,are they worth the money,do they perform well.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I have had my TH-F6A for a few months and really do like it. You get alot of radio for your money.
And it performs really well. #

73's # # Bill-KD6RWI

[Chris]

This unit is my first experience with Kenwood products and I must say I am very much impressed at how much is packed into this tiny HT. Out of the box, the TH-F6A is solidly assembled and feels very comfortable in the hand.

Performance on the 2m/220/70cm bands is excellent, especially when one considers the less-than-ideal rubber duck antenna. I think the inclusion of the 220 band over 6M (6M in an HT seems useless to me) makes this HT much more desirable over the VX-5r. Although, if you have 6M repeaters close to you, make your selection accordingly.

The battery life is fantastic, especially when you are running low power. The multiple power out settings really conserve battery life. I can hit most of the repeaters I frequent with low (L) power and it seems like I can operate regularly for a 3-4 days before charging is required. No other HT I have ever owned has even come close (HTX202, HTX404, ADI AT-600HP). I also really like the selectable single/dual-band receive feature. This really comes in handy when you are in QSO and the second band starts barking (just turn the offending VFO off).

In dual-receive mode, it's great to monitor your favorite local ham frequency while simultaneously scanning your local public safety freqs. The built-in AM bar antenna comes in handy for local AM broadcast reception, although it doesn't do much for HF monitoring (not that I thought it would). Interfaced with my G5RV and with the attenuator feature enabled, HF reception is actually pretty decent (all-mode receive is another great feature of this HT), although I don't think I will be abandoning my IC-706MKII for this purpose any time soon.

The transmitted audio is really nice considering the size of the microphone element. The received audio seems thinner than the VX-5r, but it is acceptable, again considering the size of the unit. The thin audio is definitely a function of the small speaker as interfacing an external speaker gives very full audio.

To wrap it all up, I absolutely love this rig! I have never used a multiple band HT as much as I've used this one since getting it in December, 2001. It's rare when a day goes by that I don't turn it on for some purpose. If you like the features and can afford the price, you will not be disappointed in this well-designed HT. One of the best to hit the market in a long time. Kenwood certainly has a winner here! Good job, Kenwood.


In fairness, here is a list of possible caveats:

„« Buttons on the front panel are small and closely spaced. Fat fingered hams beware (or have a pencil handy-hi hi).

„« Battery doesn't support drop-in charger. Minor in my opinion, but important to some.

„« Supplied rubber duck antenna doesn't seem to perform as well on the 220 band as it does on 2m and 70cm. The Nil-Jon Super-M more than makes up for this when operating mobile on all bands.

„« Received audio slightly thinner than the VX-5r, although broadcast FM seems cleaner and less overdriven.

Aftermarket Essentials

Nil-Jon Super-M VHF/UHF Mobile Antenna

If you are considering this radio for use in a mobile environment (or if you think you might want to use it mobile on occasion), I highly recommend the Nil-Jon Super-M tri-band antenna. This low-profile, highly efficient antenna really allows the TH-F6A to shine when used mobile. Performance on all three bands is awesome and really allows you to make full use of the radio's 5W.

The Super-M is also a highly regarded mobile scanner antenna so you can make full use of the wideband scanning features built into the TH-F6A. I occasionally have to use my Wife's vehicle (which has no radio equipment) and the Super-M on a magnet mount really fits the bill. Getting the TH-F6A's 5W outside of the vehicle really makes a difference! If you plan to use the TH-F6A in your vehicle, this is the best aftermarket item in my opinion. I use it, and I LOVE IT!


73 to all from W8CWE

[KC9CEW]

Thanks for the imput guys, ordered one from giga parts,great people to do business with.
I've had it for three days,and the only thing i don't like is the rubber duckie ant.
Again thanks for the reply's.Ham's kick a**.

[W6JPZ]

I went and got the Maldol MH-209SMA that covers 146/446 and is only 2 1/2&quot; high. Works great for most repeaters in this area and really makes the overall package handy for belt wear.