Kenwood Years

I was a dyed-in-the-wool Kenwood fan for many years, with a long succession of rigs, starting with my first solid-state transceiver in 1980. This page is a collection of pictures and remembrances, mostly pretty pleasant ones too.

This is the station that was the beginning of the modern rig phase for me.

The TS-180S & TL-922A

Although I've slipped back on several occasions, adding old tube-type gear in addition to the solid-state stuff, the TS-180 was a watershed. It was single-conversion, but it was solid state, with digital functions and a digital display! This was the rig I jumped to after I sold my Collins 75S-3B, which I'd gotten by swapping my Drake line for it. I was determined to liquidate gear to fund the next phase. In addition to the '180, I added the TL-922A, my first "full-power" amplifier. I'd been craving a pair of 3-500Zs for many years. The '180 had great audio on transmit in particular, and some of the blow-by in the receiver's filter stage could be minimized with an extra shield under the filters. I also added what were known as the W6TOG mods which included some hotter front-end FETs, as they appeared in The Kenwood Users Group Newsletter.

This was the heyday of the Kenwood Users Group Newsletter, loaded with mods for the Kenwood gear, many of which I performed on the '180, the TS-830, TS-930, and TS-940. The external VFO for the '180 gave me back the split operation that had always been part and parcel of operating separates, which had been my configuration for the previous eight years. I had some interesting other accessories too, including the Datong speech clipper, a solid-state phasing SSB transmitter in a little box, loaded with push-buttons, visible in this shot. Also visible (the small unmarked box with three knobs on the rig) is the (then) newly introduced two-band EQ, based on a circuit published by Bob Heil. Later shots show it with a dark gray paint job of special DuPont paint, mixed by Carl, KC1U, to match the '180.

TS-830S

After the TS-180, I went to a TS-830, amazed that a modern transceiver like the '180 would not include something so fundamental as a notch filter. I used a Datong filter (with auto notch, very progressive), but decided the '830 would suit me better for my increasing contesting activity. The VFO-230 was a beautiful accessory, and I'd decided, ever since the days of my HW-101, that a transceiver without an external VFO just wouldn't do. The '830 was used and a new front panel from Kenwood brought it up to aesthetic spec. and the VFO-230 was brilliant, even more stable than the VFO in the rig itself. Having the frequency of both the transmit and receive frequency displayed was a terrific help for split band DXing. When I think how easy this is now with computer control, this seems prehistoric. The beautiful, heavy KB-1 tuning knobs followed me to the '830 from the TS-180, and this rig was just plain beautiful, with great attention to detail. Additionally, the '830 continued the tradition of comment-worthy transmit audio too, but the preselector and transmitter tune-up was a real step backwards. No rapid, efficient band-hopping, even with little marks on a 3" x 5" card stuck in back of the plate tune and load controls with band-by-band information. I just HAD to retain the notch filter AND regain the solid-state PA, hence...

TS-930S

The TS-930 got it all together. Sleek, modern, fully solid state, and a receiver that was really exceptional. It still fares well in demanding service, and we used one in the 2007 10 meter contest with good results, although that one had the PIEXX board in it for computer logging and frequency control. I added some minor mods, but this rig really made the next leap in performance. My 1984 '930 was in the shack of Carl, KC1U for quite a few years. When Carl moved on to radio-controlled model airplanes, I bought back the '930, which he'd kept in immaculate shape for me :-) Now, the last of that era of Kenwoods has left my shack. Thanks Kenwood, for many years of great hamming.

TS-940S

The TS-930 had been such a great rig, so how could I lose with the next model in the evolution of the line? This rig had a second display for the second VFO, something I had been spoiled by on the VFO-230 for the '830, a great paint job, including tastefully colorful buttons, and a black-faced meter! Added to that was the new and exciting aspect of computer control, and contesting took on a whole new paradigm. I first used CT for DOS v4.18 around 1985, and never looked back to mechanical pencils and multi-page dupe sheets taped to the desk. When I think about copying 22-page SS logs by hand, I shudder. The '940 served me well, in tandem with the '930, even without computer control. I favor the TS-950SDX, the "one I wished I'd owned back then," and which has since been added to the shack and later sold. I jumped ship to Yaesu as the succeeding era, deeming the '950 as too expensive, and beginning a 19-year run with Yaesu (first gen. FT-1000, later converted to what was basically the FT-1000D).

The Turbocharged TL-922A, TS-930 & TS-940, and a Collins cameo

The story behind the first picture below is that during a battle to control a frequency in the 73 Magazine 160M contest, KC1U's (Carl) TL-922A "thermalled out." There's a thermal sensor in the transformer that tripped and we were QRP for over a half an hour while it cooled off. In the meantime, Carl added this "supercharger" to keep plenty of air going in the side of the amplifier. He could have advised the astronauts on Apollo 13!. Additionally, the box in front, with the tape dispenser on it, is another fan that was directing air under the cabinet, via the curved paper. The 922 pulls air in the side and bottom to cool the tubes. We never had another problem with cooling. Carl, my cousin Art, KF4YH (now W4ACM), and I operated at Carl's QTH to a 3rd place finish, as I recall. 

The rest of the station (shown below) was a TS-930, TS-940 with SM-220 and BS8 panadapter, and a 75S-3B with solid-state 160M receiving converter. A duping program, the "Super Duper" ran on a C-64 which was manned by Art. The antenna was a triangular, full-wave loop with the feedpoint at 90 feet, which could also be used as a top-loaded vertical by shorting the feedline. Carl also had a beverage antenna toward EU, and it was all magic. We had a ball.