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write your own review of the Tempo (Uniden) 2020.
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PA3BSV
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 18, 2010 08:26
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Revived after 10+ years out of service
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After having not been active for more than 10 years, I decided to retrieve my Uniden 2020 from its mothball storage. After a bit of cleaning and lubricating, my good ol' days with this rig revived. Its excellent performance, in particular CW, had not noticeably changed over the years and the familiar sound of CW was again music to my ears. Its SSB performance is average, but that doesn't matter to me (CW only).
I guess the rig may benefit from realigning, but so far everything seems to be OK. I acquired this rig in 1981 and it will be with me forever.
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KG6YV
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Rating: 5/5
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May 19, 2010 08:36
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Excellent 70's Hybrid
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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These radios have a robust "cult" following and now I know why. Designed by Yaesu, built by Uniden this was a very "high-end" hybrid in the 70's.
1. Construction along the lines of the Yaesu FT-901DM (plug-in cards)with the addition of separate/independent receive front end and transmit driver circuits. The heterodyne oscillator has separate transistors for each band. Its heavy and rugged in its construction.
2. Interesting PLL implementation with a 100khz VFO span and vertically rotating dial drum to improve the analog dial linearity. The Digital readout for MHZ/100KHz segment it cool too. No noticeable drift on mine after 5 minutes warm up. The remote VFO which I have doesn't drift at all.
3. An extremely quiet/sensitive/selective receiver. Its better than my TS-520S/820S on the higher bands.
4. Front panel continuously adjustable RF attenuator in the receiver front end doe NOT cause the S-Meter to float up with added attenuation. The RF gain control is separate.
5. Dual range RIT, one narrow (~1khz) one wider(~5khz).
6. Noise blanker that is highly effective.
7. Solid power supply feeding a pair of 6146B's for 120W on 75M and 90-100W on 10M.
8. Reports indicate the transmit audio is smooth clean and punchy.
All in all, this is the "spiffy-est" hybrid I have ever owned, its fun to use with competitive performance even today even though it lacks the obvious DSP and other modern features.
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K0AWD
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 14, 2010 14:58
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Great vintage radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I am happy to say that I am the proud owner of a Tempo 2020. I was lucky enough to get this from someone who didn't really know what they had. It took a little work to get it on the air but that's half the fun.
The radio is solid-state receive but has tube finals and driver. Love it. The radio gets the best audio reports of any rig I have ever used. This old girl gets into the log jambs and carries me DXing all around the world on her 100 watts.
I have two other HF rigs, but the 2020 is the first one on and is used more than both the others together. If you can find one, grab it.
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JA1ML
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 16, 2006 18:22
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Great old rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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In Japan this rig was sold as the Uniden 2020 with the matching uniden VFO 8010. We have users group please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TEMPO_2020/
73s
Yoshi
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W9THD
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 5, 2005 05:28
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Fun radio
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Mine did not transmit when I first got it, but restoring this radio has been half the fun! Different segments of the transceiver have their own plug-in board, making it easy to work on.
The combination LED and analog drum display make the tuning of this transceiver unique.
There was no microphone when I got it. The original is a hand mic. I'm getting great audio reports using a 70's vintage Radio Shack high impedence microphone.
Probably the thing I like most about the 2020 is the receiver audio. The bandwidth on SSB make it susceptible to QRM in crowded conditions, but interestingly I've found that I can hear the state traffic net better on the Tempo than I can on my TS 2000 with its filters narrowed down. The signals are easier to understand without that noise generated by the DSP. I have the matching Tempo speaker and the audio sounds great. The CW filtering is very effective, with very little filter blow by.
Having to retune every time you change band segments makes quick switches problematic if you are contesting, and there is no computer interface for logging, so I won't be giving up my TS2000. But for checking into a net or general rag chewing I find myself sitting in the other chair in front of the Tempo more often now. There's something about the smell, the glowing of the tubes and large s-meter, the bright red tuning drum display, all those large knobs to turn, and most of all the sweet sounds coming from the speaker that make this radio great fun. And for me, that's what it's all about.
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RV3APM
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 19, 2005 12:29
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Old but very good
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have one and enjoy.
Really good and quality job .
Quiet RX . Compare with modern rig in BDR, MDR but with rich audio.
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WD5BCL
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 10, 2005 18:57
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Old Faithful
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had a senior moment a short time back, and sold my Uniden 2020 to a novice working toward his general. He has recently agreed to sell it back to me--what a relief! I missed the excellent audio reports, rock-solid performance, and fun of tuning up a rig with tube finals. Everything written in previous reviews holds true in my experience, and I haven't ever had a minute's trouble with mine. Oh, sure, it takes longer to QSY, compared with the new solid-state rigs, but I don't care. In my book, tuning to get the absolute best out of a rig is more than half the fun in ham radio.
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KB6YH
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 24, 2005 14:52
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Excellent XCVR
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought one brand new in 1977. The new price was $759 not $2800 as listed on this site. It has an excellent receiver with very good IF filtering, sensitivity and audio. The noise blanker is the best I have used.It has a 25KC calibrator and the calibration is right on. Both CW and SSB sound great on the receiver.It is easy to switch from one band to another or from one segmment to another.It is extremely stable and convienient to use with other receivers if you want to compare reception. I've worked all over the world with it. Finals last forever.
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W8IDL
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 4, 2004 05:09
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A True Classic!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Have owned one of these transceivers for many years. The frequency tuning method is quite unique and easy to use, and the frequency display is unlike any other transceiver around. It is of that mid-70's era where state-of-the-art electronics were half analog and half digital. The transceiver is built extremely well for both mechanical and electronic stability. The receiver is suprisingly sensitive with a very low noise floor and very smooth and comforting AGC. The transmittter is easy to tune, gets great audio reports, and has a pleasing CW note. The 2020 has withstood the test of time. Put this radio next to a Collins KWM-2 (or even an s-line) and compare the construction and performance: the 2020 is a superior radio in almost every way! For this reason, the 2020 has become a collectable vintage radio and the good ones are getting difficult to find. The external VFO is really worth the extra money for eye appeal as much as performance. The 2020 is truly a beautiful piece of radio art!
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N4SRT
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 30, 2003 02:23
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Great rig for the times
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My Tempo 2020 was my first hybrid amateur transceiver. My first rigs (Hallicrafters SR-150 and Heathkit SB-102) were good, but the Tempo was well beyond either of those.
It was stable and relatively quiet on receive. I usually received comments on the audio quality, even though I was only using a hand mic on the rig. The rig was built solid as a tank, and I sold it only to help finance the purchase of an all solid-state rig, a Yaesu FT-757GX. The Tempo 2020's receiver was better than the 757, and I still regret selling the rig too cheap.
The reputation of these rigs has kept their resale value high -- I've been keeping my eyes open on eBay in hopes of buying another. I would recommend the rig as a starter rig or a backup. It can run AC or DC, and it's perfect for Field Day.
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