| W5WAA |
Rating:  |
2009-08-22 | |
| First impression, WOW |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I couldn't possibly add anything to the glowing reviews already posted, just want to reinforce the fact that if you have less than $1,000 for a rig, I don't think you'll find a better one. I feel like a kid with a new toy, just got to tell someone how exciting this radio is. WOW is the only way I can describe it. A real keeper. |
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| K4WU |
Rating: |
2009-08-06 | |
| A ham radio classic |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have owned my 850 since the 1990s (bought it new) and have had some mods performed on it. It is a great CW rig and it is very simple to use. The automatic antenna tuner is fantastic and the matching Kenwood speaker has a great sound. I will never part with my TS-850. |
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| YO3IBW |
Rating: |
2009-05-06 | |
| Oldies but goldies |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I'm a proud owner of a Kenwood TS850s AT unfortunately without DSP100. What can I say, it's just a wonderful transceiver,the receiver is great, good quality on transmit,the Slope Tune it's a great feature,the noise blanker it's OK after the classic mod.
There are still some problems with the electrolytic capacitors on the carrier board, on the display board, some of them near the audio section and the battery that has to be changed.
Don't wait for those components to leak! Change them before they ruin your rig.
About the first DDS chips and they're failure. I don't know if the chips are the problem or the bad SMD electrolytic capacitors.
The first thing after I got this rig was to take off the cover and see if there something wrong and what do you think? On the carrier board near a capacitor there was electrolytic juice. He didn't do any damage yet but was close.
Once again, if you didn't change those parts and you rig is still working, DON'T WAIT for the problems to happen.
Ah by the way,this rig function great on 14V.If you experience the classic ALC problem check the voltage on the power supply and on the rig, near the connector. Don't let it drop under those 14V.
All the best from my side! 73's YO3IBW Dan. |
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| KD4FUN |
Rating: |
2009-04-25 | |
| Awsome Radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Upgraded from a TS-450 to the TS-850, very pleased, great reciever and many complients on my transmit signal. very good freq stability, a must have on the M.A.R.S. circuits. Plan on keeping this one for a while! |
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| KC2TMD |
Rating: |
2009-02-16 | |
| All Around Great Rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have owned an 850 for about 5 years.From what I can see,It's an amazing radio as long as you stay away from the lower serial numbers.The radios with a 20 and 30 million serial number are the ones to be aware of.The receiver is one of the best I have used. Compared to many rigs in the past I have owned and used it is one of the best.It is not a digital receive rig but once you get used to the filters and learn to use the other features such as slope,notch and AIP.The rig comes to life. Adding the DSP-100 is a big plus as well.As for transmit. I run an MC-60a with the amp off and it gets nothing but good reports.Most of the audio voodoo heads love the rig because of it's wide band transmitting. Again adding the DSP-100 for transmit does some wonderful things for quality.The rig is laid out well and is very user friendly.The antenna tuner works great and the radio has every feature you could want In an HF rig.
Parts for them are becoming increasingly hard to get.But many audio heads are still fixing them because of their hifi capability.If you buy one try to stay over the 40 million mark.The early serial numbers have problems with the DDS chips.The DC to DC boards have some problems and there was a run of them with Leaky caps on the carrier board.The noise blanker mod and battery relocation mod are both worth wile.All info on the mods and fixes for the rigs are very much available online.
If you can find one of these babies with a high serial and in good shape.Grab it.You can get them for a fair price on the used market these days.And they still hold up well against some of the newer DSP rigs out there.And if you Add the DSP-100 you have solved that problem.You get the best of both worlds. |
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| K2VI |
Rating: |
2009-02-01 | |
| 5 stars |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| NICE QUIET RECIEVER,ADVISABLE TO HAVE A DSP-100 ON THIS RIG TO MAKE IT SING.I REALLY LIKE THE ERGONOMIC LAYOUT OF THIS RADIO.IN THE DAY THIS WAS IN CLOSE COMPETITION WITH THE YAESU FT-990.BOTH HAD IMPRESSIVE ACCOLADES FOR THERE APPEARANCE AND EASE OF USE.IT'S NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND A DSP-100 WHICH IS IMPERATIVE FOR THE SO CALLED VOODO AUDIO.ON A SIDE NOTE...JERRY THE QUEEN UP IN CARROLLTON, MAKE SURE YOU REPORT MY POSTING ON .868.NOW SKIP ALONG. |
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| N9ZI |
Rating: |
2008-12-01 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Recently purchased a TS-850SAT & can say that it is one great radio. I have been mostly CW which it works wonderfully, but it also works great on SSB, am using the Heil goldline with GM5 & it gets terrific reports. The received audio is also great sounding. I have had several other rigs in the last few years, IC-746 - TS-570DG -TS-570SG - TS820S - TS-480SAT, also a nice radio, FT-450AT didn,t care all that much for, also have a little IC-706MK11 which is a pretty nice radio for the money. This TS-850SAT is a keeper for sure! |
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| N4GW |
Rating: |
2008-09-23 | |
| Very Fine Rig |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I picked one of these up on eBay. It was in Mint condition. The guy bought it new hoping to get interested in HF and never did, so never used it. When I got it, it looked brand new. I have not been dissapointed in this radio. It has fantastic receive and transmit audio. And it is a very quiet radio. Great analog sound. No DSP to give you that digital sound. Even though it has no DSP, it has a lot of QRM fighting features. The filters in it work great, and I have added additional filters. The slope features really helps trim out nearby signals, and the NB (with a simple mod) works really well. I liked this radio so much, that I shopped around and bought a second one in excellent condition. What a joy to use, and they look great too! These will be in shack for a long time to come |
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| N4WFK |
Rating: |
2008-08-16 | |
| Excellent radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I have had 4 of these radios over the years and currently own one of the last ones manufactured. I will not be letting go of the one I have now. I think we all have our favorite brands. For me, the Kenwood label has more of my favorite radios than any other brand, although I do have some picks from the Icom, Yaesu and Ten Tec lines. Of the Kenwoods, I currently own the 520, 830S, 930S, 850SAT and TS-50S. I am the second owner of the 850SAT that I own now. Because I wanted a DC powered radio which looked good on the desk, and because I had owned 3 of them in the past, I went looking for one and got lucky enough to find a decent one on Ebay a few months ago. (Price paid at the time was $800). That was a bit on the high side but I feel I got a good one. I use it along side my 930S. If you are reading this, you are probably comparing the 850 to some other radios. My 930 is probably the most refined rig of the Kenwood bunch, although at this point the 930 is pretty old. Still, if you search the reviews on the 930, you will find that a lot of hams prefer the 930 over a lot of the newer rigs. But, this review should be about the 850. The receiver on the 850 is on par with or at least close to the 930, although the 930 is a tad more refined. If wanting a DC powered rig or possibly a little less problematic rig, go with the 850. The 850 has a much smoother automatic antenna tuner and does a better job of matching antennas though. The controls are all logically placed where they should be, from a Kenwood guy's perspective. The feel of the tuning knob is smooth and precise. The fit, finish and quality of the rig has never been a dissappointment. It has all the modes and features that you basically need and more. One thing I have always liked about some of the Kenwood units was the slope tune setup. My 930 uses the same setup and both function comparably. My other 850's saw quite a few hours of rag chewing, usually used about 4-5 hours a night, at least on receive. Never a problem, at least with the 4 I have owned. I am not into CW as much as I used to be but when I was, the 850's keyer worked great. Of the 4 that I have owned, I have always gotten great signal and audio reports on all of them. I think we all can get carried away with splitting hairs when it comes to specs and features. I am more of a rag chewer and "all evening listener", therefore I am reviewing the radio as such. I typically touch the power button, band switch, volume knob, VFO and occasionally the slope tune controls during operation. From that perspective, my favorite two rigs are the 850 and the 930. I think a lot of other guys have delved deeper into some of the technical aspects of the 850's but I will simply give it a solid 5 and say that mine have all been great radios. I love mine and won't let this one go. Also, if you are reading up on the 850, my advice is to read all the reviews, not just the first few. Eham is a great resource and has really helped make some good decisions on radio purchases. Good luck with yours and 73's. |
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| M0HEM |
Rating: |
2008-08-14 | |
| exellent |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
http://flickr.com/photos/m0hem/tags/radio/ is till have the radio 2day not willing to sell it love it 2 bits
73 jon m0hem |
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