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Reviews For: Kenwood TS-570D(G)

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TS-570D(G)
Reviews: 168MSRP: 1,100
Description:
A compact, affordable, full-featured HF transceiver.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/ts570dg570sg.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001684.6
KG4GLI Rating: 2002-02-21
Poor Audio and Poor Receive Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased 570D about a year ago and was not all that impressed with the audio and receive. however the rig did operate with out any problems.
The FM part of the radio work very well but just low audio.I like the fact that Kenwood does offer and antenner tuner with the rig. I sold the rig about 6 months ago. I purchased a Yaesu ft 847. This rig is really Hot on Tx and Rx Audio reports are really great. Friend wanted to know what I did to get such great Audio, and Transmit. The only thing is I wish Yaesu would have put an Antenna Tuner in the rig. Rx is very clean also. Maybe Kenwood will do better the nex time.
K7XDX Rating: 2002-02-19
Great performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Best performance for the dollar. I have had for about a year, no reason to look at anything else to date. Worked the world with wires and beams on 100 watts in all kinds of conditions. Easy to run, works great on PSK and with computer hook up.
Picked up used on the net for $850.00
STEVE Rating: 2002-01-20
fine kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this radio from a mate cheap,i had a buyer for it before i got it.Just a lucky deal to make a few pounds,what a big mistake that was i showed it to the new buyer it was only one hour after i got it home,ican tell you i tryed all the tricks in the book to put him off buying i was so taken back by this rig IT WAS FAB a real joy to use,some-times deals go wrong this one did i lost out big-time on a real good radio.DONT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID.KEEP IT.
ON4VP Rating: 2002-01-15
A wolf in sheep cloths ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I never could believe that Kenwood would produce a rig that works so well and has a very competetive price tag. First, when I looked at the brochures I guessed it was a lot of marketing promises. But now I now theu are true and they work.

I recently got my hands on a alomost new TS570DG. It had few running hours on the bench and looked like new. After reading a lot of the reviews, I wanted this rig. I'm really NOT dissapointed.

I like the receiver. It outperforms many DSP rigs on the marked. The receiver does not overload on lower bands, and selectivity is OK.

In CW it is very nice to set narrow DSP filtering and this works very well even without a 500 or 270 hz optional filter. In SSB you need it when it gets really croudy a few Khz up or down.

I have both the 500Hz and 1.8 Khz filters ready to install real soon. They come out of my old 530 (solder type) but a friend of mine did the same with is 690 withaout any troubles. The filters mounted upside down and the feet soldered with small wires to the pins on the board. Saved us a lot of money.

This rig is full of usefull features, I like the TX monitoring, TX and RX equaliser, easy split setup, CWTUNE, the big read-out display, two antenna connections. I have the DRU option installed.

If you look for a really good radio and don't want to spend 2000$ but like to have a 2000$ rig, go for the 570DG, a keeper and winner.

Phil, ON4VP
www.2die4.be
N1UMJ Rating: 2001-11-19
great radio! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had my TS-570DG for almost a year now and I love the radio more then any I have owned. I love the recieve, very quiet and picks out the weak signals very well, sounds incredible and I haven't had 1 single bad report yet on it. I am mainly an SSB person but use CW once in a while and this is by far the best radio I have ever used on both. I generally only keep radios for a couple years and then get a new one but think about replacing my radios after a year of use, this one I have never once thought about getting rid of it it's a keeper. I have had the TS-440, TS-450 and now also have a IC-706MKii to use in my camper and this radio blows them all away. I have no complaints on the radio at all the TS-570DG is 1 great radio.
G4AON Rating: 2001-11-17
If you mainly use SSB it's superb Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Around 10 years ago the TS850 SAT cost roughtly 50% more than the TS570D (G) costs now, both rigs appear to be designed to meet the same requirement of a middle of the range transceiver.

The good points about the 570 are:

Audio on receive is of high quality and a pleasure to listen to.
The receiver has excellent strong signal handling.
The audio DSP functions work well.
The advanced features seem easy enough to remember as there is a scrolling text message describing the function.
Adding the optional filters is quick and easy, for CW use the 500 Hz filter works well.

The "bad" points are:

The CW side tone is too loud on phones if set on the speaker, or too quiet on the speaker if set on phones.
Adjusting the power level or keyer speed involves pressing a button on one side of the front panel and rotating a control on the other side, quite awkward for CW operators to adjust power and keyer speed quickly.
The displayed key speed is optimistic, 30 words per minute on the display sounds more like 22 wpm.
The CW memories only store 50 characters each and there are only three of them. The good point about these memories is they can be activated by just one button press and can be played in sequence.
The auto ATU will only attempt to tune if the SWR is 3:1 or lower. The TS850 ATU was much better in this respect.
For digital mode users, the drift of the transceiver is noticable, there is quite a heat build up during the first hour or two of operation that gives 50 Hz drift on 28 MHz over a 90 minute period of receive, at room temperature. This "defect" is probably no worse than other similar transceivers. From previous experience with a TS850, the optional SO-2 high stability oscillator will reduce this drift to as little as 2 Hz.

Other reviewers have mentioned an erratic keying on CW, with spurious characters being sent. I'm not convinced my new TS570 hasn't also done this. I've changed paddles and not noticed it occur on a different paddle. The problem may be due to dirt on the paddle or a lack of screening on the paddle lead causing rf pickup. In any event, it's not an issue now I've swapped to my spare paddles.

Maybe I've been a little harsh on what is a very good general purpose transceiver, it's got one or two little irritations for CW use but if you mostly operate on SSB it's superb.

Dave
UK-SWL Rating: 2001-11-17
It's got the lot !!!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The TS570DG is so versatile very simple menu everything in there recveiver is great I run it with TRX-Manager logging and control software and it is superb psk31, rtty, etc, no problems I can't think of anything I don't like just so easy to operate and sounds great received audio with a external speaker is outstanding I love my old Icom 765 but this is so much more adaptable go get one today for me a bargain secondhand so much better than the rest and I have tried lots !!!! but many still to try ???
collecting a Ten Tec Pegasus this week value for money if it compares to the 570DG I will be delighted
good luck
Ian Hatton (Derby England)
WA6HYQ Rating: 2001-09-26
OUTSTANDING VALUE, GREAT PERFORMER! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When Kenwood made the TS-570D(G) they hit the mark. It provides a fine receiver, wonderful transmitter, and incorporated all the bells and whistles one needs into a simple menu driven radio that has a great display.

Some people know this, but for those who don't this radio has become the front line ACS/RACES HF radio for the State of California, Governor's Office of Emergency Services because of the features, ease of operation and cost. It's a plug and play radio, you don't have to spend 3 hours trying to dial in your transmit audio after paying $3600.00 dollars for a high end unit. It truly just works right out of the box. If you want, the radio offers the ability to tailor your transmit and receive audio, but it's really not necessary to make it sound good.

It's stable in ALL the digital modes, has a built in RS-232 level converter, software supported by various logging and communications programs (WIN/Log EQF, AIRMAIL, Xpware just to name a few).

I've operated MANY HF radios during my 25+ years of operating, and being a Radio Amateur. I can tell you the Kenwood TS-570D(G) is by far the best for the money and extremely versatile. So reliable I even bought my 83 Year Old Father, WD6FKF one for Christmas because I know he won't have to dink with it, just turn it on and talk.

Best to all and may God Bless,


John.
KC4ZGK Rating: 2001-09-11
Great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Of all the radios I have owned which include Kenwood 830, 450, 570S ( not a G ) as well as Icom's 746 and 706 my 570DG is great. I really like the big display and the very quiet reciever. This radio is tops for me. 73, Ed
KI7CH Rating: 2001-09-11
The best radio I've had Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just bought this TS 570dg. This is the best radio I have ever had. I live in a restricted area(ccand Rs) so my antennas are small at best. I connected my slinky first and found a station I could hardly hear. Tried to get in but couldn't get through. Went to the mobile stick and it was the same. then put the 20mt dipol on and it went thought with out a hitch. 59.
This diopole is 6 ft off the ground. The radio was quite, easy to use and the sound was great. Needless to say I will have this radio for a long time.