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write your own review of the Kenwood TS-130SE.
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AG4RC
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 16, 2003 22:58
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Rock Solid Rig!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Licensed Amateur-Extra in April 2002 and worked only 10-meter band with a President HR-2510 until I bought my first HF rig (Kenwood TS-130SE) in Feb 2003.
I bought it from an older HAM in Orlando FL (area) for $260.00 cash! He announced the rig in the local Traders Net on 2-meter band. Thanks for the reviews on eham web site and such to help make my decision!
One disappointment, at first, was no AM or FM mode - However who really needs FM and also learned quick by tuning down to the side-band of an AM transmission (Short-wave signal and such) reception is 100% readable - Shift the IF adjustment a bit and it sounds fantastic!
So as it stands the only "negative" is a slight degradation of RF output on 28 MHz on up - Perhaps the finals are getting old?
Other than that I've worked all bands (80 through 10) including WARC barefoot through an MFJ-941E tuner into a homebrew dipole center feed with 450-ohm ladder line. Nine-out-of-ten times if I hear a station they can hear me equally well with fantastic audio reports!
For phone transmissions I user a Turner Plus 3 desk mic and occasionally a D104.
For digital transmissions I use my homebrew audio interface between the rig and my computer. I've worked the world on CW, PSK31, RTTY, and SSTV.
I'll soon be receiving a used Autek QF-1A audio filter. Again thanks to eham for the great reviews of this product - Saved a few bucks instead of buying a used crystal filter. The audio filter (should) help with QRM and narrowing down that weak SSB / CW signal.
Bottom line the Kenwood TS-130SE is a great basic rock-solid rig and I don't anticipate replacing it any time in the near future.
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K4JT
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 20, 2003 07:45
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Amazing 30 yr old rig
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just got the 130SE from net advertisement. Been a ham for 52 years and used almost everything. I bought it for peanuts to use on PSK for it is happy key down for extended periods.
Got on 75 last night. These guys are very picky about audio. They said it sounded great. Even liked the compression quality. On with a group of rednecks for 2 hours and never touched the dial.
Has the CW filter and it is excellent. What a buy in the $200.00 range. I wondered who I could work with a 3 kilobuck rig that I can't with this. Answer: almost no one!
Do you get the impression that it exceeded my unreasonable expectations?
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N7RD
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 8, 2002 16:12
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Solid Rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've owned my TS-130SE for almost 2 years now. I operate strictly CW and first thing you need to do is get the narrow CW filter. Once that is installed this is a great rig, reciever is very good. If I can hear it I can work it with 100 watts no matter. Even makes it well into the pile ups or I wouldn't have 300 countries confirmed with no amp. For the money a very good investment for us small dxers.
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W0AKR
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 22, 2002 08:49
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A great radio for its age!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have had the TS-130SE with matching VFO-120 for some time. It really performs. For the cost you can expect to pay for one of these little work horses (around $300 or so), you won't be disappointed. It is easy to operate and easy to work with. Small enough for possible mobile, although I wouldn't recommend it.
This radio to me came from a time when Kenwood knew what they were doing. They kept that tradition alive up through the TS-850 and TS-870 and seem to have lost sight since.
I can't explain it, perhaps it is the simplicity of the radio's operation, the lack of extraneous bells and whistles, but when you start using it, it really takes hold of you and you will find yourself having a ball with it. A little bit of a hog on receive current draw to be considered QRP even if you crank it down.
This little gem will stay with me for a long time I hope. I love playing with it and using it. Straight forward operation, hook up and no need for a manual (unless you enjoy reading). Right out of the box and onto the desk. This puppy has a cult following like no other !
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K3AN
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 21, 2002 15:12
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Solid, Reliable, Basic Radio
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought this radio for a pretty low price over the Internet, with the hope of "flipping" it for a nice profit. However, once I started playing with it, I decided to keep it.
Even at the usual $300 price (more if it has optional filters or it's in pristine condition), I think this radio is a bargain. For the newcomer to our hobby, who might be intimidated by a radio with lots of features and lots of controls (or lots of menus), this radio offers simple operation, good basic performance, and great reliability.
I checked the "rig mods" page at qrz.com and other sites, and I could find no mods at all for the TS-130. To me, that means that no one has felt it necessary to dig into the radio in order to make it better. For phone ops at least, I think that's a fair assessment.
But as someone who enjoys CW, I would change just one thing, and that's to make the keying waveform "harder." When you drive the radio to full CW output with the ALC at the top of its range, the waveform is somewhat soft (but OK). If you try to throttle back to lower power levels, the waveform is just too soft. The QST review stated this, and my on-the-air CW QSOs confirm it.
But even with the "shortcoming" mentioned above, I'm happy with the TS-130. Mine won't be for sale after all ;-)
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KB0HAE
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 25, 2001 16:47
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Great older HF rig.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought my TS-130SE used from a dealer. After a couple of months a couple of minor problems
showed up. (I do not blame the dealer, as I am sure they didn't run the rig 12 or more hours a day for 2 monthes like I did...when not operating, I monitor the Maritime Mobile net on 14.400 as well as a few other nets) The display would occasionally go blank with loss of vfo (no RX/TX), and occasionally the receive sensitivity would drop by about 4 s-units or so. Both of these problems were caused by bad solder joints, not unusual in a rig of its age, especially if it has been mobile. I easily found and cured these problems, and with a little tweeking of the reciever alignment, the rig has performed excellently since. Even though I have had some extended rag chew contacts, the fan never came on until I keyed it down in CW (100W) mode for about 10 minutes into a dummy load. Under normal operation the back of the rig (the whole rear panel is a heat sink!) doesn't even get warm. Very easy rig to work on. I get good transmit audio reports with a Radio Shack hand mic, or my homebrew headset. The receiver has good sensitivity, and selectivity, and the audio is very nice. An exernal speaker is nice, but not a necessity as with some other rigs. Overall a very nice rig, especially as a starter or second rig for the shack.
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WA8NAZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 7, 2000 11:06
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Still a great buy
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned several of these over the years. They are a great starter, backup, mobile, or travelling rig.
One of the few rigs with a good internal speaker. Tx audio sounds great with a good mic, try an mc-50 with these.
This radio comes with digital readout, speech processor, warc bands, vox, rit, optional filters, rf att., nb, and if shift. really only lacks notch and selectable agc to be fantastic little radio.
A lot of bang for the buck here, often available used
for around $300-350, depending on condition and options.
They will drift a tad from warmup, this is in specs, not abnormal. They are a little larger than today's
mobile radios. On the other hand it is possible to work on these radios if something goes wrong. Not much ever does.
Yes it does lack a few modern amenities, but I give it a 5 based on what is available used in this price range. I think it is one of the best values out there.
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N7FDU
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 14, 2000 21:30
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Good Rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This rig was my first radio 17 years ago and it I still own it. It is one of the only fully solid state radios with a true VFO.
I have operated it mobile, portable and at home. It has a good reciever, however, the audio out of the speaker isn't the greatest. Transmitter is solid. Only have had one resister smoke on me, and the dial light burned out over the 17 years of use.
All in all it's a solid rig. (BTW mine is not for sale.:)
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KB0WOB
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 29, 2000 11:16
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5/5 STARS
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The TS-130SE is an oldy, but goody. I was looking for an cheap reliable small HF rig with WARC bands as a starter for home use ... this radio was perfect. I've used it for three years without any problems.
This radio is one of the few models Kenwood has made that has never had a recall of any kind.
Also the noise blanker works great if used mobile, something that can't be said for most modern mobiles.
Best feature is the price. You can pick one for around $300. About the price you would pay for a decent FM/CD car radio!
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