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Reviews For: Kenwood TS-850

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

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TS-850
	Reviews: 137	MSRP: 1,999.99
	Description: High Performance HF Transceiver with full coverage receiver
	Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.qsl.net/sm7vhs/radio/kenwood/ts850/ts-850.htm
# last 180 days	Avg. Rating last 180 days	Total reviews	Avg. overall rating
2	3.5	137	4.8

UT0IG	Rating:	2008-08-14
Trouble-free as AK-47 :)			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The excellent receiver, the good dynamic range, convenient ergonomics. Up to TS-850 I used IC-756. I have changed him and I do not regret. TS-850 - Russian AK-47 among transceivers of the class!:) If you have superfluous money - spend them for good antennas! And in a complex with TS-850 it will be simply magnificent.

MM3XXW	Rating:	2008-08-10
Just excellent			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The most effective radio I've had the pleasure of using to date. Outstanding audio reports from the stock mic, hears things my 990 doesn't with the same antenna! Won't repeat all the info contained in the reviews of this radio, cos they're all spot on, simply to add if you get the chance to pick one up you WILL NOT be disappointed at all. Simple, intuative and so easy to use. Just a great radio can't say more than what's been stated previously.

KB3LAZ	Rating:	2008-06-13
Sad to see It go			Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Let me start off by saying Im not a big kenwood fan, however this radio was amazing. I got mine a a really nice price (500$). The radio was as close to new as they come. It had cw and ssb filters in it which were impressive. I didnt have it very long as I decided to downsize my shack. Also sold many other rigs with the intent of buying a new Ten Tec and a pro3. All in all I really miss my 850 :(. Give the chance to do it over I would have keep her she was an awesome rig. Does it compare to all of these new 3k$+ rigs heck no. But with the DSP 100 and a little audio gear its a superb radio. I would definitely suggest buying one if you can come across a nice one reasonably priced.

N7IBC	Rating:	2007-12-06
Great radio!			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had one of these in about "95". Got foolish and bought an FT-990 and sold the 850. Good radio, but not like the TS-850.I now have another, and find it great for SSB,especially as it has all the filters it can hold, and as I added a Clearspeech DSP speaker to it.I am ashamed to say that my ProII is now relegated to digital modes and SWL,but,with the filtering and DSP, it does real well there. I like the 850 rxcvr as it pulls things out of the depths, that are hard to hear even on the ProII. It has all the updates and will probably last a long time. I would encourage anyone looking for a little older rig, if they can find one of these, to get it and with the filters, it makes a wonderful backup rig or front line rig.

N0XAS	Rating:	2007-12-06
Worthy replacement for my 930			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
When my TS-930 bit the dust again, I decided to try something newer. I picked up a TS-850SAT for considerably less than they're going for on eBay, even with the matching SP-31. Had to fix a minor ALC issue ($10 part and $11 shipping from Pac Parts) and a bad 7404 on the digital board, which only affects the serial interface. The rig is very nice, especially once the filters are in place! The receiver is almost as good as the '930. I'm not a fan of the RIT/XIT setup, but I can live with it. Everything else is pretty darned good for a rig of this vintage. Serial control is a snap, used it to test out my snazzy new USB interface (www.HamGadgets.com). Operation is smooth and pretty much intuitive, and the internal tuner is fast & quiet. Pros: Great receiver, great audio, pretty smooth break-in, good controls for the most part, clear display. CW-R and IF SHIFT really help work around QRM. Lots of memories. Good filter selection. Cons: RIT/XIT could be better (there's no CLEAR button!). Had to mod the noise blanker (easy). I miss the '930's VBT. DRU-2 is pretty much impossible to find. Doesn't make coffee for me, I have to go get it myself. Overall, I like this rig so far about as well as any I have used. The price is certainly right! And having done two mods and one repair, I can say the rig is pretty easy to service.

OE6MDF	Rating:	2007-11-14
Great HF rig			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great Kenwood radio, nice audio. Sold this radio and bought a FT2000 instead. Was no good idea. Wish I had kept it.

2E0TZM	Rating:	2007-11-05
The Best			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Only owned for a short time but have to agree that they don`t come any better than this, lovely audio rx and tx and really seems to pull the signals out. Shame kenwood don`t make anything this good now.

N1DZ	Rating:	2007-10-09
The last Great Kenwood Radio			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using my TS850 for over 10 years. This is a very good radio. The receiver can handle big signals. (see Sherwood receiver testing) No DSP! All analog. The layout and the controls have great ergonomics. I use mine with a Timewave DSP-599+ audio filter. With this set up it can compete with the best of the new HF sets out there. A great value compared to the current crop of DSP based transceivers.

N9TA	Rating:	2007-07-15
Best for the money			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Best all-purpose radio you can buy for $700. Great audio on RX/TX. Good CW features...NICE keyer!! Kenwood would sell a BOATLOAD of these rigs if they just re-introduced them. The sad thing is...they probably couldn't produce this quality of rig again at a price that would be competitive in todays market. You will want to have some filters stuffed in this rig...but these radios are good old fashioned QUALITY radios. Other rigs have come and gone in my shack (Some high dollar/big name rigs) while the TS-850 stays around and is still used daily.

SM5HUA	Rating:	2007-06-08
Great essb radio			Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
My TS-850 and DSP100 is ofcourse voodoo modified by Mike WZ5Q. Its a wonderful radio because it has all different TX and RX bandwidths from 2.7 up to 6kc. A great radio for those of you wanting to get hooked by essb. Sounds a bit more digital than the TS-950SDX but overall in my opinion, the second best sounding radio on the market. 73's de Peter / SM5HUA

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Category:

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

Product:

Kenwood TS-850

Summary:

Rating:	Time Owned:
Great! Good OK Needs Help Poor Awful!	0 - 3 Months 3 - 6 Months 6 - 12 Months More than 12 Months

Remarks:

Describe your experience with the Kenwood TS-850 and tell us why you give it the rating you did (required). Other useful information would include your experience with similar products, infomation on a product that you would purchase instead of this one, and so on.