If anyone is interested, I have a *Yaesu FT-840* For Sale, two previous
owners were BVARC Presidents, comes with an antenna tuner & a CW keyer
(Home Built), equipped with Anderson Power Poles.
$ 350.00 FIRM Has had about 10 MODS by prior owners, it hasn't seen use
since last used in October 2014, *includes ORIGINAL YAESU OWNER MANUAL
with Schematic*.
The radio had been used at BVARC Field Day's by previous owners, as well
as at several Marine Ship Weekends.
It's a solid performer, I can't use it due to "NO ANTENNA ON SISTER'S
HOUSE (WORSE THAN AN HOA ISSUE.).
Also available a Ranger DX-5054 6 Meter (ALL MODE) 100 watt, with a *NEW
STILL IN BOX M2 HO Square antenna*, (_Was bought second hand, has not
been plugged in._), Asking $ 250. for both radio & antenna.
Contact me by e-mail if interested, will need to pick up at my Deer
Park, address. (PLEASE CONTACT: BY EMAIL:
<*mailto:[email protected]*> for additional information.
73
D. Howard Bingham
ke5apj
---
On 11/15/2019 8:20 AM, Allen Brier N5XZ via BVARC wrote:
Thanks to Bill for the excellent report on the TS-890. Being the
latest generation from Kenwood, I knew it would be a great rig. I
owned a TS-830, then a 930, 940 and a 950 before switching to the K3.
I am now eagerly awaiting test reports for the K4, my next rig.
73, Allen N5XZ
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Nov 14, 2019 9:36 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: TS890 Early observations
From my friend Bill Garfield just in case you may be interested.
Pump
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Garfield <[email protected]>
To: Bill Garfield <[email protected]>
Sent: Thu, Nov 14, 2019 7:00 pm
Subject: TS890 Early observations
First full week of ownership & use:
Since dumping my problem-plagued IC-7610 (display issues, now on
my 3^rd screen) in favor of a new Kenwood TS-890S I’ve had a few
folks ask me to comment on it. What follows is just some rambling
observations and comments about the beautiful new rig in my shack.
Most noticeable is the Kenwood 890 is much larger and heavier than
the IC-7610.
It’s also gorgeous!
By comparison, here are the approximate sizes of each rig that’s
been in my shack lately.
The IC-7300 at 316 cu. in. (9½ x 9½ x 3½) plus knobs &
connectors, 9¼ lbs
The IC-7610 at 683 cu. in. (13½ x 11 x 4½) plus knobs &
connectors, 18.7 lbs
The TS-890s at 1151 cu in. (15½ x 13½ x 5½) plus knobs &
connectors, 35 lbs
And similar to the little 7300, the 890 also has a very nice matte
finish, including the display screen.
If you like knobs & buttons, you’re going to like the 890, with a
compliment of *_72_* individual pushbuttons and a total of 8 knobs
on the front panel, counting the VFO. Of the knobs, 5 of those
are dual shaft (dual purpose) and every one of them has a very
solid, good quality feel to it. None of the knobs have any
pushbutton function. They only move two directions, either
clockwise or counter-clockwise.
In terms of menus, all I can say is I’m impressed! If you’re the
type who feels the need for complete control over every single
facet of operation, the new 890 is definitely your rig. Just from
the main display screen there are over 160 configurable option
settings. The average ham will never use most of them (I only
used 46 myself), but if you like to customize things, you can
customize to your heart’s content. But don’t be intimidated, as
the menus are pretty well laid out and NONE of the optional
settings are even required, as the rig works fine straight out of
the box. Hook it up and enjoy!
There’s a nice printed manual in the box, but while handy for
making pencil notes, I have to say that I found the owner’s manual
a little difficult to navigate at first. Most of you will want to
download an electronic (PDF) copy of the manual so you can spend
less time looking for some of the more esoteric settings.
Before taking the initial plunge into the menus, a word of caution
is in order. Something you’ll definitely want to make into *_Job #
1_* is to learn how to make a backup of your settings and then
start making regular recurring backups every time you configure
another feature. Not likely that you’ll mess anything up, but if
a 3^rd party software glitch acts like it has bricked your rig, as
the RoMac CWid’er did mine, you’ll need to perform a full factory
reset and without a backup of your settings you’ll scream loud
enough that neighbors a block away will hear you. So the buzzword
of the hour is *_backup_*, *_backup_* and *_backup_!*
There’s really no certain order in which to configure your desired
settings, so once you’re ready, just pick something and go for it.
I made my maiden voyage into the menus by learning how to set up
the clock & how to display both local and UTC time. (I also kept a
written log of everything I had changed from factory defaults).
Above all don’t be intimidated by your first perception of
complexity. It’s really not. Configuration/setup can be as
granular or as basic as you want to make it. Remember that it
works fine right out of the box without having to set anything.
Each of the 9 individual groups of menu items in the Top Level
menu all have sub-menus under them. Some of those sub-menus
contain only a few options to choose from, while others have as
many as 32 options. And just when you think you’re about there,
you will then discover an ADVANCED menu button with another 27
options for you to consider. Those 27 are some of the more
esoteric settings that you probably won’t need, though a couple
that may interest you have to do with setup of an external display
and the screen resolution. A 32-inch external monitor looks
gorgeous, by the way.
Setting up your amplifier keying control is found in yet another
menu with an option appropriately labelled “LINEAR AMP”. … and
speaking of which, if you have a linear amp but haven’t previously
had one of the more recent Kenwood models, you’re going to
discover that you’re going to have to build (which means make – in
other words, _solder_) your own cable to connect the keying
circuit of your amplifier, or else buy one pre-made on the
Internet for $18 or spend $50 to get one from your dealer. I
initially tried making mine using the furnished connector until I
discovered that once the connector pin is hot enough to take
solder, the plastic connector body has coincidentally also reached
its melting point, so the connector pin will now push its way out
of the plastic body and you will begin to utter a few expletives.
Take my advice: Buy the stupid amp cable already made.
So while setup and initial configuration can be a bit of a
learning curve, I vividly recall that the Flex was far worse. Just
remember to SAVE your work with another *_backup_*.
Tweaks notwithstanding, all I can say is gosh what an incredibly
swell rig! Overall the rig looks exquisite, absolutely as good on
my desk as it does in the fancy display ads in QST & CQ. A
beautiful addition to any ham shack, but it’s big, so you may have
to move a few things around to fit it in.
Operationally, some will love the fact that the TS890 _includes a
CW decoder_ along with the capability to decode RTTY and PSK
**without** external software. In fact you don’t even need a PC –
just plug in a USB keyboard and you’re all set to go for RTTY, PSK
and CW.
Kenwood also furnishes free of charge a very nice _remote control_
software package. You have to download and install it, but the
price is definitely right.
The TS890 also has a swell 18-band Equalizer for both receive and
transmit. If you’re an “audio person” you’re bound to love that.
The transmit bandwidth can also be set as wide as 4 kHz with a
“low cut” setting all the way down to 50 Hz which a few of the
“Bass boys” will no doubt have fun with. No, it doesn’t do the
really radical wideband ESSB or “VOODOO” audio (thankfully) but
giving you a full 4 kHz of transmit bandwidth to play with is
unarguably better than Icom’s restriction to only 2.8 kHz max.
So what can it do?
Well to start with, currently at #8 on the “Sherwood List” of top
receivers it rather handily beats out the Icom 7610, the new Flex
6400/6600 models as well as the Yaesu FTdx-5000 and the original
K3. It also literally blows away the TS990, which is currently
stuck down at the #35 spot. My how the once mighty have fallen.
Some of the Pros:
-TX Power setting –by band- with the option to place a hard
(sticky) cap on the maximum drive power so you don’t accidentally
overdrive your new solid state amp
-TX “TUNE” power also adjustable by band, however much you need,
no longer limited to only 10 watts
-CW Sidetone is in the USB Audio output to the PC, so you can use
CWSkimmer with _sending_ as well as receiving
-Magnificent ergonomics (repeating myself, I know, but it really
is a handsome rig)
-Excellent Transverter support
-CW Decode built-in
-CW Auto-tune feature is far better than on the 7610
-No PC needed – work CW, PSK, RTTY – just add a keyboard and/or a
paddle, bug or straight key
-Superb NR and NB (two each, NR1/NR2 and NB1/NB2)
-Beat Cancel (auto-notch) that actually works!
-Audio Peaking Filter (APF) works better than on the 7610
-Copy files to your PC as if your rig was a memory stick
-Roofing Filters (15kHz, 6 kHz, 2.7kHz, 500 hz) a 270 Hz filter is
optional
-Remote Control Software is Free!
-18-band RX and TX equalizer built in (that beautiful Kenwood audio)
-TX bandwidth adjustable to as wide as 4 kHz (no more of this
100~2900 only)
-Legacy Transverse SWL tuning dial display (OMG how cool is that)
-Customizable upload your own Screen Saver images (pictures of
your grandkids)
-Settings reload has built-in automatic power-cycle function
-5 band-stacking registers per band
-3 user-programmable function keys
-Dual cooling fans that are whisper-quiet, literally zero fan noise
-Built-in (included) 3-level advanced Voice Guidance System for
vision-impaired operators
-Built-in (included) high stability TCXO
The few cons:
-Only has a single receiver
-No mic supplied (a $55 option)
-The waterfall looks slightly “chunky” (see photo below)
-No color customization options for the scope display (default
colors are fine)
-Requires special Amplifier keying cable, roll your own
w/soldering iron, else $50 option from dealer
-Icom (7300/7610) scope has noticeably sharper detail (in my opinion)
Current street price (HRO, DXEngineering, GigaParts, MTC) averages
$34~3500. (Open box $3100 @ MTC)
Does it decode CW? Boy does it ever! Here’s my rig following
along with a W1AW practice session at 35 words per minute: This
is also a good shot of the 7-inch display. (taken with an iPhone 7+)
---
_______________________________________________
BVARC mailing list
Radio,Radio,Radio We are a radio Club!
Talk it up! On the air about every event, every meeting, every net, every time,
talk about the club, ham fests, events and people.
[email protected]
http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org
Message delivered to [email protected]
