Kenwood: Need advice on Kenwood HF radios

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stevew28516

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Hello all. I just passed my test(s) and am waiting for my call sign to show up. While I wait, I am considering options on first radio.

My uncle, now deceased, was a Ham. His daughter still has his old gear, just boxed up. I am looking at radios to purchase from her; here are the choices:

All Kenwood:

TS-140s
TS-430s
TS-520s
TS-940s

My goal in Ham on the HF bands is to make contact regionally eastern US, and reach across to europe. I have limited funds, and will have to get antenna(s), microphones, power supplies etc as well as a radio. If you have experience with any of these radios, I would love your input.

Thanks in advance.
 

AK9R

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Unless you like to tinker with tube radios, I'd stay away from the TS-520S. They were mostly solid state radios, but they use a 12BY7A driver and two 6146B finals. They are good radios, but they aren't as simple to operate as a fully solid state radio and can be trouble if the high voltage power supply has issues.

The TS-140S was a reliable, entry-level radio in its day. Pretty basic.

The TS-430S was a step up from the 130/140. Good all around radio. You can use it in the shack or take it out camping.

The TS-940S was Kenwood's top of the line contest/DX radio. Lots of bells and whistles, many of which will simply overwhelm a new user.

All of these radios were discontinued at least 20 years ago. If they haven't been powered up in many years, they may all suffer from dried up capacitors. Before I bought any of them, I'd have them checked out by someone experienced with working on vintage gear.
 
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KC5AKB

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Good advice from W9BU
Welcome to ham radio Google arrl fieldday and see if you can find a location near you this weekend and go visit the folks .
 

stevew28516

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Good advice from W9BU
Welcome to ham radio Google arrl fieldday and see if you can find a location near you this weekend and go visit the folks .

There is a field day event 30 min away. I am planning to attend. Thanks.
 

vagrant

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You are on the right track by asking questions. Take your time and keep asking questions.

The suggestion by KC5AKB is a good one. Use the ARRL Field Day locator and go visit one or several club events near you this weekend. Field Day Station Locator

I have enjoyed this hobby quite a bit with a wire for an antenna and using 100 watts or less. There are many facets to this hobby. Experiment and have fun.

* There are some things to remember:

- Some gear that may work well for one person may not work well for you.
- Your antenna and coax can be more important than the radio. I worked Field Day one year with a 5 watt Yaesu 817, but used a three element yagi 50' in the air. Many people could not believe I was QRP (low power) because of the signal strength and audio.

I do not recommend a low power radio to start out with. Remember, you can always turn down a 100W radio to 5W. Again, take your time and analyze how and where you will enjoy the hobby.
 

devicelab

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Hello all. I just passed my test(s) and am waiting for my call sign to show up. While I wait, I am considering options on first radio.

My uncle, now deceased, was a Ham. His daughter still has his old gear, just boxed up. I am looking at radios to purchase from her; here are the choices:

All Kenwood:

TS-140, 430s, 520s, 940s

My goal in Ham on the HF bands is to make contact regionally eastern US, and reach across to europe. I have limited funds, and will have to get antenna(s), microphones, power supplies etc as well as a radio. If you have experience with any of these radios, I would love your input.

Well, here's my honest feedback:

If she is giving away the gear then fine -- take it and proceed forward. I wouldn't pay for anything but the 940s -- and that's presuming it's in good (or better) condition and fully working. It has 250W out so it'd be a solid, first-time base station. How much to pay would depend on its condition.

That being said, I'd almost recommend getting a newer, in-production HF rig. Despite the initial cost, you'll likely save money over the years trying to refurb, find parts (or whatever murphy decides to throw at you.)

Most of the in-production accessories won't likely fit/work with the older radios. So you're going to need to find those (most likely from other HAMs or E-Bay.)

Depending on your maximum budget I would consider all of your options (old and new) before jumping into the gear.

For example, if you can acquire the 940s for < $500 and it's in pristine working order (and ideally it comes with microphone and all relevant accessories) then you're doing good.

If the cost were to climb over $500 then I would re-consider and buy a new HF rig. You can find used TS-590s for really good prices. These are excellent starter rigs.

The TS-480SAT and TS-480HX are both on sale at the moment. These are mobile rigs but make for good base stations as well.

Also, you could offer to "check out" the above gear and perhaps you can get one of the radios in trade for selling the other radios on behalf of your cousin.

PS. There are other brands of HF equipment too but you can't go wrong with Kenwood. They make good products.
 

w2xq

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I agree with W9BU's suggestions and the following comments re the older Kenwoods. I had a 940S for years -- it worked well -- but the drawback for me were some internal boards that failed and couldn't be repaired. Kenwood had discontinued supplying parts some years earlier. Frustrating and annoying, especially if you are starting your HF adventure. Personally, assuming finances are at all possible, I concur that a new.radio akin to the 480 series devicelab may be a better choice. Good luck.
 

prcguy

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The Kenwood TS-940S puts out about 100W, not 250W. Otherwise it is the best of the bunch listed.


Well, here's my honest feedback:

If she is giving away the gear then fine -- take it and proceed forward. I wouldn't pay for anything but the 940s -- and that's presuming it's in good (or better) condition and fully working. It has 250W out so it'd be a solid, first-time base station. How much to pay would depend on its condition.

That being said, I'd almost recommend getting a newer, in-production HF rig. Despite the initial cost, you'll likely save money over the years trying to refurb, find parts (or whatever murphy decides to throw at you.)

Most of the in-production accessories won't likely fit/work with the older radios. So you're going to need to find those (most likely from other HAMs or E-Bay.)

Depending on your maximum budget I would consider all of your options (old and new) before jumping into the gear.

For example, if you can acquire the 940s for < $500 and it's in pristine working order (and ideally it comes with microphone and all relevant accessories) then you're doing good.

If the cost were to climb over $500 then I would re-consider and buy a new HF rig. You can find used TS-590s for really good prices. These are excellent starter rigs.

The TS-480SAT and TS-480HX are both on sale at the moment. These are mobile rigs but make for good base stations as well.

Also, you could offer to "check out" the above gear and perhaps you can get one of the radios in trade for selling the other radios on behalf of your cousin.

PS. There are other brands of HF equipment too but you can't go wrong with Kenwood. They make good products.
 

n5ims

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I agree with much of the advice given so far. The 940 has a built-in antenna tuner where the others most likely do not so that may push that radio a bit higher on your list. It was also Kenwood's top-of-the-line at the time and has more features than the others that may be useful (or may just make it more complex, depending on your take on things). The 940 is the ancestor of the current 990 so the model line is still in production, although many changes have been made along the line.

The 520 (because of the tube final) can be tuned to a much wider range of antenna loads than the solid state radios will go (the 940's built in tuner will help on that model, but an automatic tuner like its built-in one has a more limited range than a tube type radio will handle) so there's a plus to help counter the negative of it being a tube type radio. That said, you'll need to retune the radio (peak this, dip that, etc.) when you change frequency a large amount or especially when you change bands. The 5x0 series is no longer being produced and replaced by the 4x0 line. This may lower the radio's value, although it's popular with collectors, depending on condition.

The 430 is (was) a good basic radio and has a pretty good feature set without making the radio too complex for beginners (that might make it simple now, but not enough radio for you later). It is still part of the Kenwood lineup, but not directly. It is the ancestor of the current 480 so the line is still active, although many changes have been made as you might expect.

The 130 was a basic entry model and designed with fairly few features, but enough for the beginning ham to get started without being confused by more features that make operation a bit more complex. It will make a good starter radio, but you'll probably need more radio sooner rather than later. The 130 line is no longer being produced and was replaced by the 4x0 line of radios. This may cause the value to be limited.

That breakdown will hopefully help you figure out which you may want from your selection. One thing I do suggest is that you have it (or have them all, especially if they are going to be sold) checked out professionally. They're all pretty old radios and many have capacitors that fail with age. There also may be issues that only show up under certain conditions (certain bands, when cold, when hot, when certain options are selected, etc.). With a professional checking the radio out and certifying its condition (or repairing it to work as certified), you can sell for more (or have a good argument for the set price) than "I turned it on and everything appears to work".

One recommendation for this service is Ham Radio Repair | HamRepair.com | Professional Amateur Radio Repair that charges $45 for an evaluation and that amount is applied to the repair if needed and you have them repair it for you. (Note, this amount is from their web site and you should check to verify prior to doing anything.) You will also need to properly pack the radio and pay to ship it to them. Please note that they have stated that drop-off service is not available so shipping is required even if you live in the area. If you're interested in using them, their web site has both a phone and e-mail available so you can contact them to discuss what you would like them to do for you. They often can get parts from "parts radios" to help repair broken ones even when Kenwood doesn't have replacements available.
 

NC1

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I have the 940S, (my very first HF rig) and I can't imagine having a lesser radio in my shack. There are many features you will wish you had if you take any of the other options you outlined.

You will grow into this radio even if you do not understand all the buttons and knobs right now. Ask the long time HF operators when you go to Field Day, I'm sure they will agree and offer much more advice to go with it.
 

prcguy

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So Cal - Richardson, TX - Tewksbury, MA
I would also not recommend paying very much for the Kenwood radios being discussed. The TS-430 was first released about 40yrs ago and although its a solid radio it or all the radios in question could be hiding some problems.

I've had two TS-430s over the years with the last one being about 30yrs ago and even back then it needed some alignment. A good friend still has a mint TS-520 and won't get rid of it because he can't even get $150 for it because its so old.
 
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