EVERY HAM RADIO ENTHUSIAST NEEDS ONE OF THESE!!!
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- čas přidán 7. 12. 2021
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A word of CAUTION about this radio. Avoid plugging and unplugging the external power connector with the external power supply energized. There are quite a number of cases where the internal power connector contacts didn't disconnect quick enough and both battery and power supply were in line simultaneously, burning the radio. I've been always cautious about it and it's going strong for more than 12 years.
I came here to say just this. there is a fuse that gets shorted when you connect the power. The fuse can be replaced of course but its super tiny.
I've had this little radio for about 20 years. Covers 2m, 1.25m and 70cm. I've used it for everything including searching for interference.
Bought one of these just before they went out of production.
Great little handheld, was using it the other day.
I have owned this same radio for about 8 years and I still love it very much. Got after market batteries with 4 milliamperes
I can never understand why some company doesn't replicate the Mizuho MX Series Cw/SSB transceivers. They were 1980's technology that put the power of an hf rig in your pocket. I owned the 15 meter version and it was lots of fun to use hiking and camping.
Good point. More recent rigs like FT-817/818, IC-705, Xiegus and many more are not much larger or heavier than the MXs and do give you all the bands plus a raft of bells and whistles. However, a modern version of the MX could be made tiny, cheap and efficient. I suspect there would be a healthy demand for a decent commercially made modern MX type CW/SSB single bander.
First radio I ever bought. Got it in 2010 and its still working fine. Absolutely LOVE it!
A great radio for sure ! I have 3 now and I enjoy alot. I build edc kits with them. Did a review of this a few weeks ago from a SWLing perspective.
Oh yes, this radio is astonishing flexible. We all should have one of it 😉
I bought this little gem a few months ago as my first HF-capable receiver and my 2nd "serious" handheld dualbander (after the TH-D7 with full duplex and TNC for satellite work). I carry it on my at all times. Good interface and the SSB capabilities are great for testing modulation levels when working with big HF DX rigs in the club. Also works great for satellites and their beacons. It boggles my mind how they've been able to produce radios like this 20 years ago, but today we're struggling with the basics.
made in japan then, made in (insert poor quality manufacturing company country) now
Great radios these i used to use one for years when i was unlicensed for listening to hf bands it was a TH F7E loved it
This definitely seems up my alley! As someone who has only HTs (that currently function until I get antenna up at base station), I would like to add one of these to the collection. Great vid and 73's to you!
Over here in the colonies, it's called the TH-F6a and also runs the 1 1/4meter band. With a little diode swapping, you can unlock an F7 to become an F6a. I use mine for hunting interference on HF; the bar antenna is quite handy!
It's also called the Yaesu VX-5r
Good video Andy, you are a man of many talents.
I still love mine! Never thought of using wire on the antenna 👍🏻
im glad you like it... I luv mine... if you feel brave the cells from the Baofeng UV5r cells fit in the original Kenwood case... also there is an antennuator function if required for HF. The original antenna usualy break the small plastic support inside and it can be repaired by pulling the outter off, and is a very good antennal.... also the black will rub off the keys if put in a pocket to much... I recommend a case... 73s
On a lot of older or well used hand helds, the PPT switch goes out on you. It's generally an easy fix. But I've got a nearly 30 year old Yaesu FT-530 that I can only use with the speaker Mike!
So, you might try that.
Also, inside the radio, the wire that goes to the internal antenna connection may have split or separated. Another easy fix.
(IF your handy with a soldering iron AND have the tools and work bench!)
I use it as a test instrument. It is brilliant.
I have a Kenwood TH-F6A. And I love it!!!
I have two of these and they are great radios, especially for 220mhz 👍
The old TH-F6a was one of the finest handheld made in it's time. It's not a dual band it's a triband. 144,220,440. If you'll buy a new battery that would be a fine handheld.
The triband version is US only
I own the th-f6a for about 8 years. Purchased an aftermarket antenna and 4 milliamperes batteries and it’s unbeatable!
The 4ah battery rocks
Cool setup Andy love your vids
It reverts to the bar antenna on the lower frequencies and that lowers the HF sensitivity. You also have a fine tune facility to give you a finer tuning on HF.
I hate that when you can't use a better antenna for MW. Force you to the ferrite coil inside. External antenna port should be just that...External! Or switchable without micro surgery.
From the manual, page 35:
“Although the supplied wide-band helical antenna is used for receiving B-band frequencies, due to the size and length limitation, it may not be suitable for low HF band (below 10.1 MHz) reception. The transceiver features a built-in bar antenna for the reception frequency below 10.1 MHz. The transceiver automatically switches to the bar antenna when you select a frequency below 10.1 MHz for the B-band. However, you can connect an external antenna to the antenna connector instead.”
Menu selection 26 enables/disables the ferrite antenna.
@@rah1420usa Thank You Rich.
This was the 1st radio I bought after getting my Foundation licence. I still have it many years later. Cracking little radios
Same here.
I have 2 of these, and love them so much also after send them to the 'doctor' 3 times. Pay attention: use the radio more for listening then tx, the radio burns very easy the uhf; if in tx, use an external mike, due the radio doesn't like near body experience and use it at Low power! With cheap loop antenna I listen ssb very well, but I note on both the Th-f7, the same Usb frequency drift... 73-IU5MQY
I have the North American model, the THF6A, which is essentially the same radio, with the European bands. I purchased mine in December, 2007 in Vancouver, B.C.
You've given me some ideas to try with the radio. Thanks. VY1PG
Nice SWR meter, I will have to add that to my list.
Andy always has some Eye Candy !!!👍🏻
Excellent video as all ways lovin the tunes hope you upload some new tunes and mix's soon keep up the good work 73
These are nice little radios, I have an old Yupiteru 7300 scanner that has very wide coverage and works very well on hf sideband otherwise I would have bought a second hand Kenwood myself.
So lucky to own one and still have one of Kenwood little gem.
I picked one of these up used as well. Its one of my favorite radios. Get a BNC adapter on there.
I’m a huge fan of it’s tiny size!
I have one for decades.
Original batt still works 😂😂
I have the older version (TH-F6A). It doesn't set the world on fire for CW or SSB, but the wideband receive is pretty handy.
I believe that the TH-F6A and the TH-F7E are the same vintage. The F6 is the tri-bander for the US market and the F7 is a dual-bander for Europe and most of the rest of the world. They are both covered by the same owner's manual.
Hahah the days of taping wire to terminals takes me back 😂
I wouldn't take anything on trust given how his was just taped to the battery pack.
I have one from new love it ( chirp program is done in a live mode slightly weird) so long ago I seem to remember ML&S wanted a copy of my ham licence before sending
I set mine up to use the co-ax connector. Works for me. Some guys like the other option.
I have a Yaesu VX-5R . I’m not a ham, but I had it completely opened up and able to TX on a lot more frequencies than it was initially designed to TX on. I never use it, and it is in nearly perfect condition. It receives on all frequencies as I remember.. These little radios seem to perform much better when they are connected to an external antennae. Anyway, if anyone wants one of these, I would entertain an offer, I rarely use mine.
I had one of those as well. First proper radio I had, it was amazing. I opened up mine as well.
Looks like you need a new battery as well as an antenna. I purchased my TH F6A one year after the radio was brought out on the market and still have it. My antenna is fine and actually so is the battery. I also have the TH D74A. Both antennas are exactly the same. For the F6A I mostly use a 4 inch stubby rubber duck. I like my F6A so much I am looking into getting another one to be placed in my tank bag on my motorcycle so i always have one when I travel. The general coverage receiver is great. I like being able to listen to HF SSB and CW on a tiny hand held unit. It has a much better HF receiver than my TH D74A does. I was sorry to see Kenwood discontinue the F6A.
Barry, KU3X
I received PSK on mine years ago, just to see if it would. Did ok enough.
Interesting video, thanks Andy. :)
Cheer Mick, thanks for the coffee 😉👍🏻
Bought one in 2004 still got it
Thats really cool
Hi Andy - this is a great little radio I had the Yaesu VX7 but the kenwood was far superior shame about the batteries is these high functioning radios - 73 interesting as usual - Happy Xmas
Kenwood transceivers are superior in audio compared to the other brands.
Great to see you back into radio.
Full circle Colin! How you doing?
@@andykirby not to bad, off work for the last 2 months with an herniated disc in the lower neck. How are you.
Oh blimey, not good, plenty of time for radio?! Yeah I'm good thanks, seen much of Neil?
@@andykirby yes, we are still crew mates.
Hi Andy , it’s a great radio , especially with ssb, at least you can get a new battery for it . 73s mark g8rde
What a great little radio - The Chinese are missing a trick or 2 here...
I have a old alnico DJ'X11 and has wide band RX and SSB as well. hard to find SSB in a HT now. 73's
excellent outro!
Kenwood - Masters of audio processing.
I wanna one of those to my shack !!! Greetings from Venezuela of YV2ESB
Wowww, I wish the FT3D had HF SSB/CW receive. Can you narrow down the filter for CW receive or is it 3 or so kHz only?
Hope you have plenty of storage Andy - you are a collector of STUFF, just like me :-). 73
The supplied power pack cannot run the radio on high power transmit when it’s plugged in and if the radio is turned on the radio runs from the power pack not the battery.
Had 2 of these over the years regret parting with them to be honest
Nie wierzę że tak dobrze działa na wewnętrznej antenie.
Did you try and talk to me with that thing earlier? Also do you remember the days of Kenwood Car Stereos, Remember taking them out when you parked up?
Definitely better audio than the Yaesu, great video and what a Handy little radio (pardon the pun)
😅👍🏻
For the resale price those are going for I decided someone’s else shack could have it. I got a tidy sum on eBay.
I had a vx8 and the speaker volume was so crappy I sold it on. Was that a thing with them or was mine screwed?
The Icom is the best.
I also have this cute baby. Kenwood used to know how to do wonderful things. It is strange that Kenwood did not make its own analogue of 705 - it would be better)
Yes you are right. It is a shame. A kenwood answer to the 705 would have been great I'm sure but I think they've been slow to move over to the SDR space. Icoms software can't be beaten at the moment
@@andykirby I'm not sure, but I think I heard that Icom just bought this technology from Rohde & Schwarz
Enjoyed that thanks Andy, by the way what did you pay for it?
Hi Andy, like the channel keep it up....did you have the mic gain turned all the way up on the yaesu as the FT5 has that feature now and its default setting is about 50%?. I would imagine the Kenwood has a set mic level which will be its max....so only fair to compare both radios at their max....just a thought....
Thanks, yeah someone else said that. I didn't think the volume level between the two was a lot different, the yaesu audio was more harsh, that was my first impression.
The US version does 220 mhz RX TX as well
It does 🙂
Got one myself but I don't think RX SSB is available throughout the entire range from DC to 1.3ghz. I think it's limited to the lower frequencies. I can't quite remember cos it's been a long time since I last used mine but I believe that's correct.
I tested SSB up to 27Mhz, it works there but yeah I think once you get into VHF it's not available.
@@andykirby on the th-f6a it is available on 2meter and 70cms.
RX SSB is available up to 470 MHz. Beyond that (up to 1.3 GHz), it's just AM and FM.
I’d like to buy one on the bay or used (somewhere). If I cannot find one, can anyone recommend a little wideband unit for home that would also be a bargain?
Stellar radio, I got mine just before end production. The charging jack worried me so I found a drop in charger and battery. Too bad all handheld radios are not this cool!
Where did you find a drop-in charger? 73
@@John-cf5im Batteries America EMS-42K...
@@donr2670 Thanks for responding. 73
Is there a current production hf hand held radio?
So what was this radio? are there other radios still being made like it?
It seems your battery might be less than top-notch, but I think you should put a current clamp between the battery and the radio because I think you'll be surprised to find the average power usage on these HTs is a lot lower than you think. HT batteries aren't really expected to deliver full TX power at 100% duty cycle, so naturally neither are their batteries. Cool little radio though !
Yeah, I hear ya but the radio shuts down after 15 seconds on TX, that's not right👍🏻
Looks like our th f6 triband 2/220/440 rx hf
Yes, se radio but your has the extra band.🙂
USDX Nano version UD3SBV - HF receiver and qrp 5W transceiver, and it costs much cheaper
I bought one a long time ago, did not like it so I sold it.
it seems you caught some Dutch language there on the voice momentarily
They do have repackaged batteries for these radios on eBay
I have one. I must have got a lemon. Battery release never worked right. Also on a fully charged battery I could only have 1, 10 minutes conversation. UGH
missing the ebike stuff
Li-ion cells lose significant capacity when deeply discharged. I died inside (and so did the battery) when you took that pack down to 1V. ;)
Yes they do but don't worry the cells inside are not at 1V the battery has a protection circuit which cuts off the output when the cells get to around 2.5-3V
@@andykirby Ah...greatly relieved!
Hi Mr. Kirby, Will the Kenwood also transmit on HF or just receive? Anyhow, That's a really nice radio.
Just receive unfortunately.
@@andykirby Thanks KO4HPC 73
was that the radio i spoke to you on the other night?
Briefly then when I went mobile I switched radios.
I’d love one if I could find one for the right price obvs 🙄
Can it TX on 2 meter USB?
No, shame..
Audio quality is pretty typical. Kenwood HTs of that vintage generally had the best audio when compared to Yaesu and Icom.
What model of Kenwood is that?
It's the TH-F7E or in the US it was the F6 I believe.
In the US that was the TH-6F and yes that is an excellent little radio. If they put SSB transmit on the V/U bands it would of cornered the market.
Funny you mention SSB on V/U, in handheld terms. I was discussing similar about the lack of even a rudimentary (even monoband, but multimode) handheld - thinking more that it would be killer 10/6 item, but as a V/U (or V or U monobander), I'm sure it would sell to those who owned stuff like the IC-251 'transportable' MM sets as a handheld extension of the setup.
Now given most DV radios use DV over FSK or tunnelled FSK over an existing voice modulation mode (depends on actual DV mode) a multimode handie or even say an SSB/FreeDV dual mode handy would be something a bit special - even an SSB/DMR or SSB/*insert preferred DV mode* on U/V or monoband upwards of 30 MHz would be interesting at least - personally I'd buy it for novelty value as well as to aggresively use. After all, you get then two bits at DX potential (SSB definitely is DX ready even on V & U) in a small package.
What probably made that Kenwood a short lived one-off or a short run model, was the cost - sadly there's really been no 'new' Kenwood handies that weren't out of newbie price range but even that radio new was well into high end scanner money+ (probably walked over every scanner too in it's time I suspect, as I remember Trio/Kenwood gear having pretty solid receivers of old).
But certainly that's definitely an spec relevant alternative to the often out of stock Yaseu VX-series, even if it's a used item.
One for the collection at least as feature wise it's in a bit of an exclusive rarified air territory.
Have a SDR Play RSP DX, that can Receive All Mode, from 1Khz to 2 Ghz, just Connect to a PC and Run SDRuno Software, to Receive ATV Use Sdr Angel!
Yes SDR's are cool, I have several dongles but even with the smallest PC (I use GPD win) you can't pull it out of your pocket and listen quickly or TX 😉
@@andykirby this is Why We have a Nice Hobby that We can Explore All Aspects of Ham Radio!
That SDR alone is a third more than I paid for my TH-F7E this summer. :)
no no no And we don`t all need one of those. we have enough junk Ahhhhhhhhh
Looks good but for HF I rather use my TS-450SAT or my TS-50S.
Of course! I'd rather use my big HF radio too but the point is this fits in your pocket!
@@andykirby Exactly, that's the stuff. If you're in some place with that radio and you need power to get out and don't have nothing more than the 5w of it and other factors...
Well, you’re no Ringway Manchester...
But Andy does the music for Louis I do like both equally
You went thru the Model name too quickly
So, I guess it's a bad idea to test a Li-Po battery with your tongue?
Try it and let me know 😅
@@andykirby I think I regained consciousness about a hour later.
Why did you bother with this old radio where the ft5d can Receive all those frequencies as well plus it has A-scope And also it can be easily modded to transmit at a band if you wanted to Why would you want this if you had something that's better already
Ohh shit now I see that little shit dose Upper and lower side band as well wow
There is a major flaw in the antenna and you still continue to key it up???? Well that intelligence just flew out the window
Radio will throttle back to protect itself. These radios aren't that sensitive to antenna issues. If a radio was to fail at the first sign of an antenna fault it would be a very expensive and frustrating hobby! 73
Do you know the difference between a radio and a transceiver? Do you have a licence?
Yeah a radio transmits on FM and a transceiver is a Crossband mode DMR repeater. Some transmitters have a multimedia path resonator.
**I AM WEARING 8 MASKS BUT I CAN STILL SMELL THE STINKAGE IN YOUR VIDEO!!**
YUCKAS!!
Hahaha! Fortunately it doesn't smell at all but I know EXACTLY what you mean ewwww.
@@andykirby YEPPERS!!
Crap