I'm getting a substantial refund check this year. I need advice regarding some new hard ware.

I'm looking at the FT-950 from Yaesu or Kenwood TS-590 and Icom IC-7200.



I have a FT897 currently and have some familiarity with their way of doing things. I'm not totally
in love with all of their design choices however.


But other than that, I'm open minded.


Suggestions?


--
We live in a society exquisitely dependent
on science and technology,
in which hardly anyone knows anything about
science and technology.
Carl Sagan

I will give you my honest opinion.
A friend of mine owned a FT 950 - he had cancer and I had several options for buying it and didn't.
It had some issues and I was not real impressed with it.
If you are frustrated using the 897 - you will not like the FT 950 - because it is kind of hard to operate. Even with that - it is not a very good transceiver.

I have heard stories of people who bought one for contesting, went to a contesting station and then the receiver overloaded and burned up.
Some people have said that there is a option that you can choose internally which adds extra filtering to the receive to try to keep from burning up the front end of the radio.
So I am not going to dwell too much on it right now.

When I did buy a new transceiver, my first choice was the Kenwood TS 590S
I was told by the local radio experts to buy it.
They went so far as to say that if I bought it and did not like it, they would buy it off me for every penny that i paid for it.
I bought it off of BOB - ham radio outlet - Delaware, and was delivered in about 2 days. The US Mail here takes about 3 days to deliver a simple post card so I was impressed with the speed of delivery.
I took it out of the box and being electrically inclined, proceeded to put it together. Connect the mic, the external speaker, the antenna coax, the power supply cord.
I turned on the power supply and the transceiver and to operate, all I had to do was push the tune button for the autotuner, turn the transmit power up to 100 watts - I think it was set on 50, and turn the mic gain up to 90, it was on about 40.

I will give you one piece of advice.
Take a black marker, or if you own a label maker - make labels for each port on the back of the transceiver. WHY?
Because the back of the radio is WHITE and the letters are not stenciled for the description of each port. I have poor eyesight and I accidentally connected the antenna to port 2 and was trying to operate on port 1.
You have the selection of two separate antenna's and I didn't realize that the one in the middle of the transceiver was for antenna 1 - and it was a honest mistake, but the radio folded back its power and nothing was damaged.

IN the stock position, with the stock mic, I made about 100 contacts and each contact said I had excellent audio. You can modify the factory stock position and you can listen to your audio - what the CB'rs calls talk back.
You don't have to buy any filters - the DSP and filters can be adjusted.

If you can push a button and understand 14 equals 20 meters, and 28 equals 10 meters - you can operate this transceiver without ever having to read the owners manual. The hardest part is operating in 60 meters because you have to manually tune it to 5 mhz and you have to program it to operate on the proper channel - since there is only about 5 channels in which you can operate and you have to be very careful not to be too wide because there is specifications that you have to maintain in order to operate there. And you are allowed to operate with the full 100 watts now - so this transceiver is the only transceiver you will ever need.

The down side is - you need to have a separate transceiver in your shack for 2 meters and 440 MHz - because it does not operate on those bands.

One piece of advice is - unless you want to only talk on 20 meters - do not try to use a G5RV. A G5RV is only resonant on 20 meters. It WILL NOT tune up with the autotuner on 40, 80, or 10!
Don't even try it!

I am NOT familiar with the ICOM 7200 - and I do not speak four letter words.
My experience is limited to the ICOM 746 Pro and I was pleased with it, but every person I know who bought one, sooner or later had a problem with the display burning up. That was related to the transistor that drove the bulb, which did not have a heat sink. The people who turned the display up the whole way, or turned the display down the whole way did not have any problems with it. But the ones who drove it half way between bright and dim did.

Instead of ICOM having a recall and updating the transistor and installing a heat sink for it and admitting they had a problem, they just sold people new displays and told the customers they did not know of any problem.
Changed the design of the circuit board and changed the model number and started producing them again.

This in my opinion is dirty pool.
Like milking your neighbors cow!
If you think about how many transceivers they sold in good faith and how many people have had problems with them and how much money each owner has spend just in service and shipping to fix their mistake - you could have bought a better transceiver in the first place when you bought the 746 Pro and not had that problem.

Its been my experience that the Kenwood people are the ones that has their act together and they have excellent customer service - most times if I have a question, I can email them and have a answer in about 3 hours and if there is a mistake made - they will make it right, and they do not charge you for their mistakes.... That in my book makes it the gold standard of $1700.00 transceivers.....

The Kenwood TS 590 does as many things well as the Ten Tec Orion...
The Orion is a $3300.00 transceiver...

On Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:16:42 -0400, Native Terran
wrote:


I'm getting a substantial refund check this year. I need advice regarding some new hard ware.

I'm looking at the FT-950 from Yaesu or Kenwood TS-590 and Icom IC-7200.



I have a FT897 currently and have some familiarity with their way of doing things. I'm not totally
in love with all of their design choices however.


But other than that, I'm open minded.


Suggestions?

All three have been reviewed in QST. I suggest you read and review the
articles and technical measurements from these units. Much could also
depend on your intended usage. Portable vs. mobile vs. home station;
ssb vs. cw; what is your total budget; etc. Good luck on your
research. For a similar total monetary outlay, there might be more
capable rig availaable.

73 de Don W7WST

Look at the Sherwood Engineering web site - it is the gold standard of testing.

The Kenwood TS 590S is rated 9th and 10'th of the top 10 transceivers...

http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

On Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:28:34 -0700, wrote:

On Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:16:42 -0400, Native Terran
wrote:


I'm getting a substantial refund check this year. I need advice regarding some new hard ware.

I'm looking at the FT-950 from Yaesu or Kenwood TS-590 and Icom IC-7200.



I have a FT897 currently and have some familiarity with their way of doing things. I'm not totally
in love with all of their design choices however.


But other than that, I'm open minded.


Suggestions?

All three have been reviewed in QST. I suggest you read and review the
articles and technical measurements from these units. Much could also
depend on your intended usage. Portable vs. mobile vs. home station;
ssb vs. cw; what is your total budget; etc. Good luck on your
research. For a similar total monetary outlay, there might be more
capable rig availaable.

73 de Don W7WST

Yes, but I was looking for personal recommendations. I _have_ read the reviews. But these are
written by experienced operators and are hardly ever critical.

But let me add that the radio is for base operations. I have a capable radio (FT 897) for mobile
use. I like it allot. However I'm open to other opinions..

Perhaps someone has used two from my list and can offer a comparison of those two radios. I'm not an
experienced user but this isn't my first day either. Say top of the newbee level or the bottom of
the intermediate level. Plenty of things to learn.

Not an unlimited budget, around $2000. I'm 60 and I am thinking about a radio that will last me the
rest of my days.

Jim KC8UGV

--
We live in a society exquisitely dependent
on science and technology,
in which hardly anyone knows anything about
science and technology.
Carl Sagan

What can't you understand?

Call Bob at Ham Radio Outlet in Delaware.
Unless you have $3300 + for a Ten Tec - the only other transceiver you can afford that does it all well is the Kenwood TS 590S....

Most hams wouldn't waste their money on two relatively new rigs at the same time unless they had a unlimited budget or had a problem with the one or the other. And I am not aware of any supplier that would just take the one back - USED and replace it with another new transceiver of a different manufacturer.

Your best bet is to drive to a ham radio store and look at them before you buy them.
My experience came from buying a transceiver sight unseen - by reputation and a recommendation only.

If the TS 590S has only been released here in the USA for one year, there is not going to be a lot written about it other then a glowing report written by the ARRL Labs that was posted in QST Magazine last year....

No one can hold your hand and no one can tell you what to buy.
Regardless of what they tell you - if you look hard enough, with a electron microscope - you will eventually find something wrong with all of them.
The Kenwood is just too new to have problems yet.
There isn't even any updates available for the one I bought last September.

On Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:54:38 +0000, Channel Jumper wrote:


Native Terran;789413 Wrote:
On Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:28:34 -0700, wrote:
-
On Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:16:42 -0400, Native Terran
wrote:
-


I'm looking at the FT-950 from Yaesu or Kenwood TS-590 and Icom
IC-7200.




But other than that, I'm open minded.

But let me add that the radio is for base operations. I have a capable
radio (FT 897) for mobile use. I like it allot. However I'm open to other opinions..

Perhaps someone has used two from my list and can offer a comparison of
those two radios. I'm not an
experienced user but this isn't my first day either. Say top of the
newbee level or the bottom of
the intermediate level. Plenty of things to learn.

Not an unlimited budget, around $2000. I'm 60 and I am thinking about a
radio that will last me the
rest of my days.

Jim KC8UGV



What can't you understand?

Call Bob at Ham Radio Outlet in Delaware.
Unless you have $3300 + for a Ten Tec - the only other transceiver you
can afford that does it all well is the Kenwood TS 590S....

Dealers may be bias towards a more profitable model. Not all of 'em perhaps.



Most hams wouldn't waste their money on two relatively new rigs at the
same time unless they had a unlimited budget or had a problem with the
one or the other.

I was unaware of the short time the Kenwood (590) had been in the market. However soliciting
opinions on various models of radios isn't a waste of time. Maybe I should have listed the Kenwood
2000 as an option.

And I am not aware of any supplier that would just
take the one back - USED and replace it with another new transceiver of
a different manufacturer.


Prolly pretty uncommon. That's why I didn't think of it.



Your best bet is to drive to a ham radio store and look at them before
you buy them.
My experience came from buying a transceiver sight unseen - by
reputation and a recommendation only.



An expensive school...



No one can hold your hand and no one can tell you what to buy.


I was only asking for opinions. My hand-holding days are far behind me. I'm prepared to live by
whatever choice I make. But if I can avoid an obvious land mine, why not.


Regardless of what they tell you - if you look hard enough, with a
electron microscope - you will eventually find something wrong with all
of them.


I'm not looking for the perfect radio (for me) I don't know enough about ham radio to do that sort
of checking - to find every defect.


So, after reading your message (several times) I can't find your ideas on my request for info. Did I
miss them/it?

--
We live in a society exquisitely dependent
on science and technology,
in which hardly anyone knows anything about
science and technology.
Carl Sagan

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 junk.
When he died, it was arcing inside of the microphone - with no amplifier connected and sitting side by side - comparing it against the Icom 746 pro with 100 watts on the same antenna 10 miles apart.
The guys with the Icoms were checking into the nets on 160 meters and the guy with the Yaesu wasn't being heard....
And the guys with the Icom's were down in the valley and the guy with the Yaesu was on top of a large hill - where he could talk 2 meters for 70 miles the way you would talk with your walkie talkie to the local repeaters...

Like I said before, I had several opportunities to buy it, even for $700.00 and did not and it was only 9 months old when they sold it.

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

You can get into a TenTec for that much money. Since you have time to
check it out, there are some good deals out there but be very careful
in the used market. Most of us feel there is no ethical way to sell a
lightning struck transceiver, regardless of brand.

Having said that Ham Radio Outlet has a very good reputation here in
the Piedmont area of North Carolina.

TenTec takes a personal interest in every customer. They (and everyone
else) can be checked out pretty well on YouTube.

I have had my TenTec Jupiter since the were first available and I am
willing to upgrade when something better comes along. That just has
not happened.


I am 72 this month and I hope that I am young enough to need another
radio in the future.

However, if Yaesu does not come up with the Free Mod to make my FT-857
comply with the 60 meter changes, I am looking at my last Yaesu
product. Since this is to be a long term radio, consider issues such
as that!

On Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:54:38 +0000, Channel Jumper
wrote:


Native Terran;789413 Wrote:
On Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:28:34 -0700, wrote:
-
On Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:16:42 -0400, Native Terran
wrote:
-

I'm getting a substantial refund check this year. I need advice
regarding some new hard ware.

I'm looking at the FT-950 from Yaesu or Kenwood TS-590 and Icom
IC-7200.



I have a FT897 currently and have some familiarity with their way of
doing things. I'm not totally
in love with all of their design choices however.


But other than that, I'm open minded.


Suggestions?
-
All three have been reviewed in QST. I suggest you read and review the
articles and technical measurements from these units. Much could also
depend on your intended usage. Portable vs. mobile vs. home station;
ssb vs. cw; what is your total budget; etc. Good luck on your
research. For a similar total monetary outlay, there might be more
capable rig availaable.

73 de Don W7WST-

Yes, but I was looking for personal recommendations. I _have_ read the
reviews. But these are
written by experienced operators and are hardly ever critical.

But let me add that the radio is for base operations. I have a capable
radio (FT 897) for mobile
use. I like it allot. However I'm open to other opinions..

Perhaps someone has used two from my list and can offer a comparison of
those two radios. I'm not an
experienced user but this isn't my first day either. Say top of the
newbee level or the bottom of
the intermediate level. Plenty of things to learn.

Not an unlimited budget, around $2000. I'm 60 and I am thinking about a
radio that will last me the
rest of my days.

Jim KC8UGV

--
We live in a society exquisitely dependent
on science and technology,
in which hardly anyone knows anything about
science and technology.
Carl Sagan
What can't you understand?

Call Bob at Ham Radio Outlet in Delaware.
Unless you have $3300 + for a Ten Tec - the only other transceiver you
can afford that does it all well is the Kenwood TS 590S....

Most hams wouldn't waste their money on two relatively new rigs at the
same time unless they had a unlimited budget or had a problem with the
one or the other. And I am not aware of any supplier that would just
take the one back - USED and replace it with another new transceiver of
a different manufacturer.

Your best bet is to drive to a ham radio store and look at them before
you buy them.
My experience came from buying a transceiver sight unseen - by
reputation and a recommendation only.

If the TS 590S has only been released here in the USA for one year,
there is not going to be a lot written about it other then a glowing
report written by the ARRL Labs that was posted in QST Magazine last
year....

No one can hold your hand and no one can tell you what to buy.
Regardless of what they tell you - if you look hard enough, with a
electron microscope - you will eventually find something wrong with all
of them.
The Kenwood is just too new to have problems yet.
There isn't even any updates available for the one I bought last
September.
John Ferrell W8CCW