I am thinking of buying the new Kenwood TS-480hx radio. Does anyone use one
and if so what do you think of it.

Have you used one and got rid of it?

Have you heard anything bad about it (apart from high price)

John-

I have had mine for several weeks, but haven't had much time to get to know it.
I purchased the 100 Watt version with the tuner built-in. Over all, it seems
to work well. My complaints are about things that others might not mind.

My most significant concern, is that the front panel isn't just "detachable",
it is PERMANENTLY detached. My personal preference is to have the front panel
as part of the whole radio. I don't like having to pick up the front panel to
make adjustments, or to have to bolt it down to the desk (or dash panel in the
car). The owner's manual shows a holder that allows both front panel and main
unit to be mounted together, but it is a European option NOT available in the
U.S.

This is my first radio with audio DSP. It has the usual Noise Blanker, so the
audio filtering is in addition to that. From what I've read, it would be
better if it had IF DSP instead, but that would probably add a lot the radio's
price.

I purchased mine with the narrow SSB filter, the 500 Hz CW filter, the voice
and the TCXO options.

The filters work well, comparable to other filters with the same specs in other
radios. I find it a little awkward to change between filters, but that may be
a matter of needing to know the radio better.

The voice works as expected, but might become a little tiresome after a long
session. I may eventually just turn it off, but that would disable some of the
more advanced uses for it, like having it call CQ for you!

The TCXO seems to be better than specified. After a few minutes of warm-up, I
can't detect any drift. The owner's manual mentioned a method of adjusting the
frequency that seems to work well: you set up two memory channels, each 1.000
kHz away from a WWV frequency, one higher and one lower on opposite sidebands.
When switching between the two channels, you adjust the TCXO frequency so the
1.000 kHz beat notes are the same. You may be able to detect differences in
the order of one or two Hz. Unless you are quite tone-deaf, you should be able
to hear a difference of less than 10 Hz. At 20 MHz, that would be a difference
of 0.5 PPM. That corresponds to 0.25 PPM maximum error since one tone would be
5 Hz above and the other tone 5 Hz below 1.000 kHz. (Use of a lower offset,
like 100 Hz, might be more sensitive, but I haven't tried it.)

Before you decide about buying the radio, I suggest you find a store with one
on display, and play with it for a few minutes. You might like it.

73, Fred, K4DII