Kenwood: TS-850

[AB4BF]

My wife was telling her friends at work about my field day experiences when a co-worker overheard the conversation. He asked if I was a ham, etc. My wife told him yes. He said that he used to be one but since his wife and daughter have medical issues, he got out of it. She asked him if he had any surplus equipment laying around that he might sell. He said that he would sell me his Kenwood TS-850 that he had for several years and was stored in a closet at his home.

I'm wondering, now, what kind of radio would I be purchasing, I know its an older radio and could possibly have some minor problems. Or, maybe not.

My questions are what would be a decent price to pay for the TS-850 and if I purchased it, what minor problems should I be aware? I think the owner purchased the radio new and it may be one of the later models. IDK, yet.

I know Kenwood has a great reputation among hams and they make some outstanding radios.

 

[N0IU]

I have seen them run from the mid/high $600 to $900+ range depending on what is included in the sale like filters, microphone, power supply, etc. In its day, it was a great rig but of course there is no way of knowing what condition this particular radio is in.

 

[AK9R]

The TS-850S was a good 1990's era radio. It was near the top of Kenwood's line at the time; just one price point down from the top-of-the-line TS-950S. It is still well-regarded by the enhanced or extended SSB community because of its transmit audio characteristics. It does not have the IF DSP filtering that came to HF transceivers in the later half of the 1990s.

I think Scott's price estimate is valid. As with any piece of older electronic equipment, you may run into bad capacitors. If it were me, I'd take the cover off and look for any signs of modification and look closely at all of the electrolytic capacitors to see if they have leaked or are deformed (bulging ends or sides). You may also want to search YouTube for TS-850 repair videos as that would give you an idea of the possible failures to look for.

Also, keep your perspective. You can buy a brand new Kenwood TS-590SG, which is comparable to the TS-850 and has a great receiver, for about $1300--an outstanding value. Yes, paying half that for an HF radio is very tempting. But, if you aren't willing to deal with the possible problems that an old radio might have, would you really be saving any money?

 

[W5KVV]

Our clubs 850 was the first HF rig I ever used right after I got my general. It's in my shack at the moment, a bit under the weather. The biggest problem with the 850's is leaking electrolytic caps. The caps leak, the electrolytic gets on the boards and ruins the traces. Ours has a problem with audio volume at the moment.... I really need to get around to fixing it. They're great rigs especially if you have all the INRAD filters installed.

One word of caution, should the electrolytic leak down to the DDS chips and ruin them, the rig is done. No one makes the chips. Replacements can only be found from another TS850.