On Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:36:45 +0000 "Channel Jumper"
wrote in article


The reason I recommended BOB @ Ham Radio Outlet is because I have dealt
with BOB personally and he has never screwed me.
I'm not completely sure about his bio - but I believe that he has been a
ham 40 - 50 years, the same as many of my friends who recommended the TS
590 to me.

On the other hand - you asked about the Kenwood TS 2000 - and I do have
experience with the TS 2000.
The TS 2000 is a very old design - I have QST magazines here from 1999
that has that model advertised, it is a very old design.
I would put it in the same class as the ICOM 746 Pro - a lot to go wrong
in a little box. http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1249

Nobody is going to buy one if they hear that it sucks and is not a very
good transceiver.
Most people that does buy one does not have anything else of comparative
value to compare it to.
Like making chicken soup out of chicken poop.
Kenwood does a very good job of hiding the fact that the TS 2000 is a
compromise between a good HF transceiver and a fairly good VHF / UHF
transceiver.
Only, when you combine the two - you have to give up something to get
something.
Like buying a 1985 Z/28 - IROC Z/28 Camaro and finding out that the
factory stock tires are no good in the rain and the car doesn't go
anywhere in the snow. On dry / hot pavement - it is a good performer -
period...

Another factor in the 2000 that I do not like is the fact that when it
breaks you are not only out a HF radio, but also your primary VHF and
UHF radio....

Its much easier to purchase the 590 and a inexpensive mobile such as the
Yaesu 8800 or 8900 and have multiband coverage and the opportunity to
cross repeat in a emergency then to have a single band VHF transceiver
which might be cheaper - but doesn't do anything else such as APRS or
UHF or cross repeat.....

If money is an issue, you could purchase the Kenwood TS 480 SAT and
still have the autotuner feature and the capability of working mobile.
Although the 590 also makes a pretty good mobile itself...

Like the robot on Lost in Space , I will tell you - warning, warning,
danger, danger -- do not buy the ICOM Will Robinson...
Let them make a bunch of them and then let someone else see if they are
any good before you plunk down your hard earned cabbage on one...

The FT 950 is another outdated transceiver with it's own set of issues.
The one my friend had, which I used a couple of times was a piece of

....then there's the ad in the QST I received today for a new Kenwood
transceiver to be announced @ Dayton next month. I had several Kenwood
xceivers - a 520 then an 820 and an 870 - and was happy with all of them.
But Kenwood seems to have skipped the dance recently - twice at least!
It'll be interesting to see what they roll out. Being potentially a newer
design than the competition... who knows?

Jason
WA2LJW