| WA3REY |
Rating:      |
2000-10-02 | |
| WOW! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Used the TS-850's full break-in keying this weekend for the first time. Unbelievably smooth. I had to watch my station monitor to convince myself that I was really putting a signal on the air.
Not only is the QSK great but the selectivity is also outstanding. Using the low-cut and high-cut controls I narrowed the receiver's bandwidth to eliminate all sorts of adjacent 40 meter signals. |
|
| NK6T |
Rating:      |
2000-09-07 | |
| Great Rig, Wonderful RX |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've owned a number of rigs over the years, including an FT 840, TS 430, FT 920, IC 746, and two TS 850's. By far the 850 has the best receiver, in terms of sensitivity, filtering, and strong signal handling capability. The QST review also commends the wonderful RX in this radio. The VBT is a useful feature that very few new rigs have. Probably a victim of the "dsp" craze. The radio is a nice size, without too many knobs, and has very good ergonomics. I mistakenly sold my first 850, thinking I needed dsp. After running both an FT 920, and an IC 746, I bought another 850, which I'll never sell. |
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| K3IVB |
Rating:   |
2000-09-07 | |
| Your Kidding! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I had to write this being I have owned the TS850 for just about a year and feel I can give "fair" review. I disagree strongly with all the reviews of how great this radio is big time! I have owned too many radios and this one has a noisy receiver. The noise blanker is useless; some knobs were loose on the one I had, "bought it new". You need a power supply even though it's not a small radio. Yes you can load it with filters, so what, who is listening with 250Hz bandwidth all the time. I went back to the TS830S because I like the receiver better. For all the fancy stuff, my TS570SG blows it away. This was the only Kenwood I regretted buying new, now you have my opinion too:) |
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| W0UX |
Rating:      |
2000-09-06 | |
| Great Base or Portable Transceiver ! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have owned and operated numerous HF Radios, and the TS-850 has one of the best receivers s I have ever encountered. Coupled with the filtering scheme that allows the use of up to three (3) IF Filters, used in conjunction with the manual Notch (missing from many of the newer "DSP touted radios), I can just about tune out and tune in the signals that I want to hear. There are a few shortcomings in the radio (i.e. separate receive port for a separate receive antenna, filtering indications don't necessarily match the actual filter in the radio). Aside from these minute shortcomings, the radio plays like a champ ! The Digital Recorder Unit (DRU) sounds most real life like (according to numerous on the air reports), and the display isn't cluttered or difficult to figure out. The selectable AGC level (mid range) is a welcome plus. The receiver is very sensitive and quiet effective in pulling out weak ones. The used prices on the 850 allows just about anyone to obtain what I consider a "high end" receiver caliber for the shack.
I don't understand why the "higher end" dollar transceivers don't have a manual notch or PBT/VBT/Slope tuning capability. Everyone touts the "IF DSP" which in many cases, is DSP outside of the AGC loop, making the "DSP" an audio filter. Useless, but sounds nice to the ear.
Anyway, if you are looking for a very reliable, well designed, easy to use and effective transceiver, the TS-850 is an excellent choice.
I have compared the TS-850 to some of the following:
IC-751A: Nice but not close
FT-920: Nice, but receiver selectivity isn't where it should be.
IC-756: Nice, but limited in features and a useless display
TS-830: Very nice receiver also, but the 850 beats it.
TS-940: Comparable, but not an 850 by a long shot
IC-775: Very similar in performance to the 850, but priced way off the scale
IC-781: Very similar in performance to the 850, priced off the scale and too busy ergonomically.
IC-706: Limited ability and receiver weak.
FT-100: Nice, but limited in ability and numerous complaints on the receive side (on the air feedback).
For your dollar, the 850 is an excellent item to pick up as a second rig, or back up or main rig. Alot of bang for your buck !
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|
| N0NB |
Rating:    |
2000-05-30 | |
| Good radio, but... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I owned my '850 for about 2 and 1/2 years. and just traded it last week for an FT-920 (we shall see!).
I can't disagree with many of the good points in the other reviews, but I wound up having to return it twice for repair and after the second trip to the shop I never felt comfortable with its durability. Since it replaced my TS-830S on the desk, I formed most of my opinions based on how it compared with the '830 which I had used exclusively for 11 years.
Some things I really found annoying.
Poor noise blanker. Why on earth couldn't Kenwood had dropped the NB from the '830 into the '850? I routinely have line noise that the '830 made disappear that the '850 wouldn't touch. This is truly a deficiency in an otherwise fine radio that has been noted by others on the Kenwood email reflector (kenwood@qth.net). In comparison both my FT-890 and the new FT-920 have no problem removing this noise.
Noisy receiver. I found the receiver to have far too much background noise for my liking. Anything less than S2 was often unreadable in the noise. When I had the rig serviced, both times the report was, "it all checks out fine." Perhaps mine was the exception. I felt the '850 had a great receiver until I bought my FT-890 just over a year ago and did a side-by-side test with both radios and found out how noisy the RX truly was, now the FT-920 confirms my suspicions.
Filter blowby. This is particularly noticable on a strong CW signal and manifests itself by being able to hear the station on the other side of zero beat. To be fair I only had the INRAD 250 Hz filter in the 8.8 MHz IF, as I didn't want to bother with removing the 455 kHz SSB filter to make room. Not a fatal flaw, but it really surprised me the first time I heard it as I never experienced this phenomenom on the '830. I wonder if that as radios use more integrated circuits and use fewer discreet components whether filter blowby has become the rule rather than the exception.
Inaccessable CW sidetone control. This falls into the "I can't believe they would do that!" category. The '850 had many features that made it a fine machine for the CW op, but the CW sidetone level can only be set by a trim pot located on the IF board. To access this pot one must, at a minimum, set the radio on its side and carefully use a small but long screwdriver through one of the vent slots on the bottom cover then make the adjustment. Of course if one sets the level for casual operating so it can be heard in the speaker, it is much too loud for headphones. The cure is a nifty mod that allows the sidetone level to be set using the SSB monitor control on the front panel. The mod doesn't change the monitor's functionality at all. More information on this mod can be found at: http://www.mods.dk/
Lack of an indication on the display when the tuner is switched on. The light comes on when it is searching for a match and then goes out. Other than seeing the small switch depressed, there is no indication it is inline. Made for some interesting noises from the '850 while retuning the MFJ-986 on the Zepp!
Somethings I really liked.
The filter selection capability. This is one reason I hesitated to trade this radio for nearly a year. One can do many things by installing the INRAD filters while leaving the stock filters in place and then selecting any combination.
Three AGC settings plus OFF.
Three attenuator settings.
Slope tuning. This is very effective and works so well that Kenwood eliminated the IF shift in the radio. Be warned that it only works well if two filters of the same width are installed, i.e. the stock SSB filters or a pair of INRAD 2.1 kHz filters.
Quick frequency excursions using the memory selection knob. Settable to 5 or 10 kHz/step, this control allows rapid QSY. It also works very nicely for SWL work as it will step from one channel to the next (5 kHz) or BCB listening (10 kHz).
Overall, the '850 is a good radio, but not a good as it should have been. Perhaps I had a lemon and all the others are superb in every way. For the money it is a good value, but try before you buy. YMMV, etc.
73, de Nate >>
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|
| N6DE |
Rating:      |
2000-05-15 | |
| Great value for multiple uses |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The reviews so far have echoed most of my thoughts
about the TS-850, so I will try to add something new:
Not only is the 850 a great base station radio, but it is also a terrific traveling rig. I occasionally use it at my apartment, but mainly bring it along with me when I guest operate at
other stations during contests. I have also taken it to Field Day, county expeditions during the California QSO Party, and recently on a DXpedition to the US Virgin Islands. After all this, my 850 still performs like new.
I feel that the TS-850 is the best combination on the market for a home/traveling rig. You get all the features you need at home (with the exception of dual VFOs), and you don't have to compromise power output (QRP rigs), performance, features, and front panel layout (Icom 706/Yaesu FT-100) when you travel for DXpeditions and contests. It is light enough to pack on trips without lugging
your heavy FT-1000D. Plus, the price for a used TS-850 today is a COMPLETE BARGAIN! I highly recommend the 850, and will be holding on to mine for many years.
73...
-Dean - N6DE
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|
| VE3EFJ |
Rating:      |
2000-03-07 | |
| An Absolute Winner! |
Time Owned: unknown months. |
| The TS850 has it all. A solid design, great ergonometrics, beef, 'sound' and features. For reasons that I cannot explain, the resale price *seems* to be lower than other, more glitzy radios. This radio is absolutely WONDERFUL. The one area that I don't really like is the DIN plugs on the back for interface. There is also no separate RX antenna socket. This radio has manners and poise. Find a good 850 and never look back. |
|
| NO9E |
Rating:      |
2000-02-04 | |
| Best bargain in used rigs |
Time Owned: unknown months. |
I bought an early model TS-850 a year ago. In tests, it could clearly hear signals on 80m that were buried in intermod noise on my IC-735. Compared side by side to TS-830S, it was not only more sensitive but also got better SSB reports. Compared to FT-100, it got SSB reports 1-2S stronger (both with 100 Watts). Compared to IC-746 on receive, TS-850 had better filters and PBT. Very good receive on 160m where S2 stations can be heard with 59+40 stations just a KHz away (except for clicks). IPO (preamp off) helps sometimes especially on 160 and 30m. My early model has a bit slow AGC action although there are many AGC choices. Also 8.8 MHz filters have some blowbys at about -60 db, but with 455 KHz filters in the rig, it is usually not important. Thus TS-850 is not a perfect, but I have heard of problems in IC-781 or FT-1000MP.
I replaced the 455 KHz ceramic filter with a crystal one, and the skirts are much better. My rig came with a 500 Hz filter at 8.8 MHz, and I bought a 250 Hz filter at 455 KHz for $99 from AES. I have found an outboard DSP (MFJ) a very useful companion to TS-850.
Ignacy no9e@arrl.net |
|
| LY2OX |
Rating:    |
2000-02-04 | |
| Solid trcvr for modest price,but maybe I'm unlucky |
Time Owned: unknown months. |
| I changed to TS850 S from my old TS830 several years ago feeling the need to start contesting with computer.I felt great positive difference at TX side:higher output ,phantastic audio and good RF speach processor.But at the Rx side 830 is unbeatable.maybe I am unlucky with my particular purchase or I'm in RF noisy location,but I always have big interference/crossmodulation oh all bands starting 18 Mhz and higher,especially when band is dying ,but lower bands like 14 Mhz still high:I can hear 14 Mhz stations on 28 sometimes,not mentioning broadcast whistles.The picture changes if I 'm using single band low pass ant,but I have KT34XA.That meens -low pass entrance filter is a bust in this transceiver.So I 'm starting to think on something new to buy... |
|
| K4ZA |
Rating:     |
2000-01-12 | |
| The 850 Kenwood is a "sleeper" rig |
Time Owned: unknown months. |
I always felt my 850 wasn't quite as good as my souped up 830, but the tuning rate was certainly better. And the monitor circuit WAS, indeed, super. And it was great for contest use--enabling you to make quick band-changes, etc. It's light enough to carry on a DX-pedition (especially with a switching pwr supply). Overall, you won't find a better rig for less than $1000--in performance terms. The rating's really a 4.5!
With two ten-tec Omni rigs setting side-by-side on the operating desk, I often figure I should sell the 850, but then I think about all the stuff I just mentioned. It's hard to part with such a good rig, that offers so much performance in one easy-to-carry box. |
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