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write your own review of the Kenwood TS-480SAT.
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N6GRY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 26, 2012 16:18
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It's all that
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I purchased the TS-480SAT in Mar 2011 and used it for several months until purchasing the TS-590...that review is also posted. The TS-480 is definitely a performer and has great audio, filtering that works well for most applications, and is very easy to use. The 480 will now be used in my RV as a on the go, go to radio. For the money, you can't beat it, there is a reason you don't see these rigs on ebay, nobody want's to get rid of them. If you are a new ham, or just want a great low priced rig, this is it.
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K0WJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 20, 2012 15:01
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Best Mobile Yet
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I've had my TS-480SAT in the truck now for several months and I can say that it is, so far, the best mobile transceiver I've ever owned. It replaced a TS-2000/RC-2000 combo and I now have what appears to me as a better receiver and is more convenient to use. The TS-2000/RC-2000 setup, while more unobtrusive due to the small size of the remote head, was just too cumbersome to use. All of the most used functions are at your fingertips on the TS-480SAT's remote head. Memories are easy to program, DSP filtering is adequate and the internal speaker gives plenty of volume. I may just purchase another one to set up as a remote at home. What a great rig. Buy one, you'll have no regrets.
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K7FD
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 13, 2012 19:31
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Perfect Portable Internet Radio Station
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Have owned the '480 for several years; by far the best radio you can buy for money. Performance far outweighs its low price. My TS-480SAT is used for my portable internet radio station...the radio is small and compact, perfect for go anywhere ham radio. Combine the small footprint with a Remote Rig VoIP box, and you have 'instant field day'. Those that may be interested seeing my TS-480SAT in remote internet operation can check K7FD on QRZ.COM.
I highly recommend this radio to all my friends!
73 John K7FD
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IK2SGL
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 4, 2011 13:17
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Great little radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Been QRT for some years and decided to get back on HF. Unfortunately I couldn't afford a new radio and was saving for the TS-590. A colleague sent an email to the radioclub members saying he had a 480 to be sold. The price was 450euros. Good bargain I thought and I was right. This little radio came full filtered with the 500 and 270Hz for CW. I read the manual in an hour, connected to the Knwd software and plugged my keyer. What I have to say is WOW! It works great. I had several contacts on CW during the CQ WW and I'm very satisfied with it. In SSB mode I get very positive comments. I set the TX EQ with bass and I really like the result. I connected this radio on both a vertical multiband antenna and wide monobands, well I am impressed as it behaves well also with big antennas. I also like to have the body of the radio separated as my desktop is full. Al in all I am a happy camper with it. I warmly suggest the filters though. Thumb up with it.
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N7KFD
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 6, 2011 11:42
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Still Fantastic!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I wrote a review of this rig one year after I bought it. Now I'm at the two year mark and I've installed the CW and SSB filters plus the TCXO. I've always been a bit of a CW nut but I recently got into digital modes and this is where the TS-480 really shines. Connecting it to a computer was a breeze and I've never heard so many DX stations! In the first review I gave this rig a 4, after using it on digital modes I'm bumping it to a 5!
This is an absolutely fantastic radio that can not only do it all but it can do it all well! The keyer works great along with the filters (including the DSP), the CW Tune option is fantastic, the free software that I use most of the time is easy to use. In SSB the Beat Canceling feature knocks out "tuner uppers" so all you hear is the station your trying to hear and the noise blanker actually works (I've heard several rigs who's NB didn't do much of anything). The only thing I haven't tried with this rig is 10 Meter FM, maybe that will be next but I have no doubts it will excel at that also.
If you're thinking about picking one up don't hesitate and don't worry about it not performing, I know you'll be happy with it.
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NY4D
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 1, 2011 10:34
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Lots to like
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Nice performing rig. Also scores high on being user friendly. Menu is a set and forget for things seldom changed, and all the functions you need are on the front of the rig, not buried in endless menu systems.
The Kenwood HF rig front panel interface has been pretty much the same since the TS-570. And the 480 is a lot like the 570 in many ways with one big positive exception: the receiver is much quieter and performs right there with some higher priced rigs I have had.
There are a lot of things I like about this rig and really only one thing that I think could be improved, namely the dsp noise reduction. But it is what it is and the other dsp functions (beat cancel, bandwidth) work very well.
This is an easy rig to use for digital, has some nice cw features, and great receive and transmit audio. Kenwood has a free downloadable rig control program and all you need is a serial cable or usb/serial adapter.
The tuner is pretty good, but like most internal tuners you will probably need an external tuner to work with "all band" antennas.
I am not a fan of removable head radios, but this one won me over. Overall, considering the new price, I think it is one of the better values out there.
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N7WR
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 31, 2011 10:30
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Second One
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have written a review on the 480SAT before and have enjoyed using one mobile in my truck. About to retire in a few months I decided to upgrade my home station. Antennas are optimum, I have a good high power antenna tuner and my Collins 30L1 amp is enough power for what I do. I decided that all I really needed to upgrade was the HF rig and I mulled over the many possibilities out there within the amount of money I wanted to spend. Another TS 480SAT became my rig of choice. For very reasonable money it provides all I need for ragchewing, DXing and even some casual contesting. The receiver alone was enough reason to make that choice and the ability to taylor the transmit audio was a second deciding factor. IMO the TS 480SAT is the best bang for the buck out there anywhere near its price range. I might add that with retirement may come some traveling and the ability to use the 480SAT remotely from a hotel room was another consideration.
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M0KTY
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 26, 2011 03:19
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Compared to my ft897d
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have owned an FT897d for two years and on the whole it's a great all rounder, especially with VHF and UHF built in. I purchased the ts480 sat after reading all the reviews on eham and talking to other hams.
The first thing I noticed when unpacking the kenwood was that everything is included in the box. The mounting bracket for the yaesu was an extra £18!
Rig was packaged well and the instruction manual large and easy to read.
The rig gives a nice clear clean display with an orange glow. Much larger characters on the display than the yaesu.
The rig was set up and running in 10 mins and everything is quite intuitive.
The sound is very good and clear but like most mobile/portable rigs benefits from an external speaker.
Most frequently used adjustments can be made from the front panel without going into the menu system. Whilst I am quite happy with multi menu systems, it was a pleasure not to have to remember sub menu numbers!
Rx audio is very good and seems clearer directly compared to the 897. Tx reports are also good with a number of qso's complimenting output. I set the tx audio compressor values as per the manual and have left them there. The STD mike does feel smaller in my hand than the yaesu but the cable on the kenwood mike is much longer, a bonus for portable and mobile installation.
Now on to cw operation.... firstly I am not a skilled cw operator and I am keen to make it known I am just starting, poodling on at 15 wpm is about my limit at the moment. I use a bencher twin paddle and have set the kenwood in both full break in mode and delay. I must say that the self bfo tuning button is hit and miss on the 480 which is largely due to the hi cut and low cut filter settings. It does work and it's ok but I do prefer the green check light on the ft897 showing bfo matching. The filtering on cw is as good if not better on the kenwood than the yaesu although in my experience the adjacent carrier rejection sounds better with the yaesu.
Without doubt the tone produced through the STD speaker is far superior with the 480.
I have had problems with the kenwood whilst keying with the bencher paddle, it seems to add the odd dash here and there when not wanted? It doesn't seem to do it when using the sidetone monitor only but def does it when transmitting. Using full break in seems to help but this may be my keying technique. The yaesu seems to be much more positive using the internal keyer than the kenwood and I must say for that reason I prefer sending on the
To sum up then, both rigs are very good and offer fantastic value for money. If you need all all round workhorse covering hf, VHF and UHF and you use cw a lot I would route for the yaesu, if you need a small head removable rig for mobile operation and mostly use phone I would not hesitate with the ts480. I will definitely be keeping both, just using them for different purposes.
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EA3GNP
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 24, 2011 13:30
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Excelente en Operaciones Portables
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Hola a todos,
He adquirido las dos versiones tanto el SAT como el HX y las utilizo ambas en operaciones portables y puedo que fucionan de miedo tienen la ventaja de ponerles filtros añadidos, y la VGS, que la tengo instalada en uno de los equipos y que funciona bien operaciones portables. Muy recomendable.
EA3GNP
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KK4BKE
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 26, 2011 08:52
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Outstanding
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Back on the air after a 35 year absence. Purchased this rig from HRO with a G5RV Lite Antenna... The internal tuner wouldn't tune on 20 or 40 so I went back and purchased an LDG KT100 tuner... Wow.. Instant success with multiple DX contacts on 100 watts on 20 and good sig reports on other bands... A great rig for CW although it does seem to heat it up a bit....
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