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Reviews Categories | Transceivers: HF Amateur (including HF+6M+VHF models) | Kenwood ts-450 Help


Reviews Summary for Kenwood ts-450
Kenwood ts-450 Reviews: 66 Average rating: 4.5/5 MSRP: $1,639.00
Description: HF Radio
More info: http://www.kenwood.com

You can write your own review of the Kenwood ts-450.

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VO1GXG Rating: 4/5 Jul 8, 2008 07:17 Send this review to a friend
Warning.  Time owned: 6 to 12 months
The Kenwood TS-450S is a excellent radio. with the internal ATU the radio is fantastic. There is one thing people who are interested in the Kenwood TS-450S ( SAT ) should know is that on the carrier board are two processing chips, these chip's WILL go bad i had to replace the board in mine. It looks and sounds like a bad PLL board but it was not and this cost me big. a replacement board was over $90 used!! and over $200 from a Kenwood part store. Other then this the kenwood TS-450S is a fantastic rig and i really love operating it, i have the matching MC-60,PS-53,SP-23 and i have a control cable connected to ham radio deluxe. This is a deadly combination and i get great audio reports.
 
PA3HGT Rating: 5/5 Jun 5, 2008 14:10 Send this review to a friend
Good value for the money !  Time owned: more than 12 months
I had this TS450SAT ,fully installed with filters for holidaytrips and i was very glad with it.
The rig can be operated very easy and has a reasonable good receiver.
RX on 80 and 40 have some overload.
If buy one of this babies for holidaytrip or backup rig....you will never regret !
This radio is a good performer for current price and has no flaws so that's why i give the 450 a 5.

73,Hans,PA3HGT
www.pa3hgt.nl


 
N7SGM Rating: 5/5 Jun 5, 2008 08:35 Send this review to a friend
GREAT HF RIG  Time owned: 3 to 6 months
I bought my TS-450SAT and matching PS-53 Power Supply used from a gentleman who recieved it as a gift but never got licensed. The radio and PS were basically unused. It is easy to use and the onboard tuner is working well with my homebrewed 20/40 meter dipole antenna. It also tunes my Solarcon A99 vertical antenna for 10, 12, 15, and 17 meters with an extremely good SWR. I have read in earlier posts that the two noise blanker settings were basically worthless. The manual states that the NB settings are for alternator noise when used mobile rather than in the shack. I get good signal and audio reports with the 100 watt output and the supplied handheld MC-43S microphone. I would say it's a great radio for newcomers like myself to the world of HF. LDG is coming out with an autotuner for this rig in late summer 2008. They will include the interface cable that connects the tuner to the rig so that you can press the tune button on the radio. It should be a great combination. Bottom line: If you find one in good shape, buy it, you won't be disappointed!
 
KC9FUT Rating: 5/5 May 18, 2008 04:45 Send this review to a friend
Great mid range Rig  Time owned: 3 to 6 months
This is the second 450-sat that I've owned I made the mistake of selling the first because some budds talked me into the 570D well the 570d is a nice rig hugh display DSP and a lot of udated features,the 570 dosen't have the recieve not even close to the 450 the 450 with the SSB filters installed and the lightning fast tuner all though not real widebanded is one great rig.I can't compare it with any of the big daddies 756 and bigger because I have never owned one but for a ham with a limited budget this is one nice rig and I will never get rid of this one.Great all around hf rig..and not to forget that Kenwood Audio Quality to boot.
 
KK8ZZ Rating: 5/5 May 10, 2008 16:44 Send this review to a friend
A Great Legacy Radio  Time owned: more than 12 months
This is probably one of the most understated bargains out there if the price is $450 or less. Digital display, easy operation, great Kenwood audio. These came and went on the sales stage far too quickly around 1991 - 1995 or so.. a great value for the price used... de KK8ZZ
 
MM3XXW Rating: 5/5 May 9, 2008 00:12 Send this review to a friend
Decent little radio  Time owned: 0 to 3 months
Recently picked up a nice clean model (450S/AT), which had very little use, and I must say that for a radio of it's age I'm suitably impressed.
Haven't had any problems with it (touch wood!) and consistently receive good audio reports using the MC60.
The internal atu tunes both my dipole & vertical very quickly and with ease albeit it's a wee bit noisier than some more modern rigs. I've had 3 x 570's and the rx section on the 450 far out-performs them despite the inclusion of DSP on the 570!
If I had to be picky I'd prefer it to have an audio 'monitor' facility and a 'zero' button for the RIT/XIT but over-all very happy with this piece of equipment.
Obviously it's not in the same stable as the modern DSP rigs but it is what it is a decent simple radio which'll appeal to anyone with a limited budget or someone looking for a 'back-up'.

If you've the chance to buy one I'd say "go for it".
 
DK1AT Rating: 5/5 Feb 9, 2008 02:33 Send this review to a friend
Best for its money  Time owned: more than 12 months
The QST review is definetely wrong. This tiny thing has one of the best RX ever ! TX audio is great. I will never sell it.
 
330AT112 Rating: 5/5 Feb 1, 2008 08:43 Send this review to a friend
fine TRX  Time owned: more than 12 months
I bought it 3 years ago.It is very well made Kenwood mid range radio.Many peoples write about noisy receiver.It is true.Noise level is higher than normal.But with installed filters... It is another radio.Also installing roofing filter is available (the same as in ts850,ts950).CR2032 battery mods and change is recomended.Fine and depentable radio with one click buttons.
 
VE7LFN Rating: 5/5 Jan 30, 2008 22:00 Send this review to a friend
great but change the battery  Time owned: more than 12 months
Bought my 450SAT brand new in '92 (i believe). Was a great radio then and still is. You could do a lot worse than picking up one of these.

One thing you have to do, and I'm sure lots of radio models require this as well, is check/change the internal battery every few years. I've done two 450s and have put up a webpage on how I did it. Have a look at

http://www.geocities.com/lfnca/450bat/450sat_battery.htm

 
KT4WO Rating: 5/5 Jan 1, 2008 22:46 Send this review to a friend
Best in Class  Time owned: more than 12 months
The 450 has a GREAT RX for that class of radio! I sold mine to "Upgrade" to the TS-570D/G..what a mistake!!..the 570 would not hear thunder if lightning hit the antenna!..the 450 was much better RX. Sold the 570 and found a 450 agn.
as far as PSK goes..not prob here driving to full output..try a diff. soundcard with "speaker out" not "line out". My 1st one did have the loose SO-239 problem..fixed that with a little solder.
This IS the last good mid-priced rig kenwood made.
 
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