I'm only six lucky numbers away from owning one.

"What do you do when using the DX Engineering plate when the bolt (that's never been removed) hangs up in the groove on the plate while your in the middle of walking the antenna up or down?"

The secret is to keep pulling upward on the antenna as you tilt it down.  I had to replace the 1/4-20 stainless bolts because I bent them before I learned the trick. 

Amen. Tom's site is a great resource for anyone who wants to know how things really work.

KE5HCC,  I bought a few extra 1N34A diodes the last time I needed them.  I'd be happy to mail you a couple.  PM me if you still need them.

Bob, K0BT

Peter,

Thank you for the link. 

73,
Bob, K0BT

I used the two radios side by side for almost two months.  Now that I am familiar with both, I have learned that the TS-590 is more selective, is just slightly more sensitive, has more effective DSP, and is easier to use on HF.  

With that said, I think some of the criticism of the TS-2000 is unjustified. It is a decent performing radio and I've been happy with mine.

I appreciate all the comments.

Bob

This method sometimes works for mystery hardware.  Open the device in Device Manager, click on Properties, go to the Details tab, and look for the Hardware ID of the device.  Copy the hardware ID, paste it into Google, and search for the driver.

N6LF provided empirical information on this subject in a series of articles in QEX.  You can find the information at: http://www.antennasbyn6lf.com/design_of_radial_ground_systems/ under the heading "Series of QEX articles on ground system experiments".

N3QE is right.  The Fluke 77 is well regarded.  I have been using the same Fluke 77 since the late 70s and it works exactly as it did when new.  I've also been happy with the Fluke 25.

The $3 Harbor Freight ones give the exact same readings, but without any extra features.  They are free with coupons.  I have at least a dozen of them scattered around in my toolboxes and cars.

An analog meter is high on my must-have list for any type of alignment work.  It's much easier to watch a needle than to look at digits or a bar graph.

I use the SignaLink USB interface with my TS-2000.  It is hard to beat for simplicity and performance.  I've heard it works well with the Mac computers, but that's hearsay.  You might call Tigertronics and ask them directly.

I have at times been a harsh critic of MFJ quality control.  For example, my brand new 989D had problems out of the box - all of which were due to poor assembly and soldering.  I was pretty unhappy.

On the other hand, I contacted MFJ and they immediately sent me the parts I needed and they had no problem at all with me taking the tuner apart and fixing it without voiding the warranty.  It has since been bullet proof.  It works well and was a reasonable price.

I see both sides of this discussion.  I worked as a bench tech years ago and learned way too much about "infant mortality" in electronics gear.  My brand new brand-name transceiver had a problem.  I had to send it off to have it fixed, was without the radio for three weeks, and had to pay shipping one way.

I think I was happier with the MFJ experience.  It left me in control of the repair and I didn't void the warranty by trying to fix it.  If I had messed up, MFJ would have still honored the warranty.  That last point is why I'm still happy to buy MFJ equipment, even though I've owned my fair share of DOA MFJ products over the years.  How many manufacturers will meet you halfway and still honor their warranty without knowing if you are even qualified to try to fix the unit? 

Could you try this and see if it works?

=IF(B67<0.0000001,0.0000001,IF(B67>0.99999,0.99999,50*((1+B67)/(1-B67))))

Bob, K0BT

Conor,

You might be right about my hearing and it is a valid point that I need to consider.  The 590 does seem to be a wee bit quieter, which might reduce fatigue, but I can barely tell the difference on SSB.  My particular TS-2000 isn't that noisy so that's why I asked the question.

Bob

I have read all the reviews and threads on both radios and am left with a question.

I have owned a TS-2000 for about 3 years, operating it mostly on HF, and have been very pleased with it.  During this time I also owned an FT-1000D, an FT-847, and a TS-940SAT.  The TS-2000 could "hear" as well as any of them and in some instances it beat out the FT-1000D, which is a very fine radio.

I just picked up a TS-590 and spent several hours doing a side-by-side comparison, using the same antenna through an A/B switch.  I was surprised to discover that the TS-2000 can hear anything the 590 can.  From the reviews, I understand that the 590 will beat the 2000 under contest conditions, but I can make out weak signals on both radios quite well and can hear little difference between the two under normal band conditions.

I really like the TS-590 but I'm still a bit biased by the shiny newness of it.

So here's the question.  Did I just get lucky with my TS-2000 or is all the talk of the radio being "deaf" just a bunch of hoopla?  I'm not trying to stir up a mess by asking.  It's a serious question.  Did Kenwood have an early production problem with the TS-2000 series that got ironed out or did some TS-2000s come off the line deaf?  I'm not looking for hearsay anecdotes although I do enjoy a good discussion.  I would love to hear from knowledgeable owners as I decide which radio to keep. 

Thanks for reading,
Bob, K0BT

Process Explorer might tell you what other modules and DLLs are loaded with the application.  That might provide some insights as to why it is hanging.  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Under Windows 7, hung processes are very frustrating because you can "kill" them many times and yet they will not quit.  I've had some luck with doing a complete uninstall (Revo Uninstaller is helpful), followed by a clean reinstall.

Good luck.

Bob, K0BT