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Reviews For: Kenwood TS-870S

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

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TS-870S
Reviews: 164MSRP: 2399.00
Description:
The Leader Of The Pack
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.kenwood.net/products/index.cfm?AMA=open
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
251644.7
2E0DNP Rating: 2003-11-07
kenwood ts870 Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Excellent radio......easy to operate ....dsp is Very good.... would not change mine for any Other.....
KB0GU Rating: 2003-11-06
Best I've Owned Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Owned mine for 6+ years, a great radio, best I have owned to date. Made the difference for me to hear DX in the suburban noise environment. Have used it for SSB and always great audio reports, some use on CW super sharp receiver, now PSK and it never complains and IMD reports are always good. A remarkable mix of digital and analog, extremely sensitive. Being an older unit this one suffers from the blight of crowded bands as some owners mention with the front end overload problem but reducing the receive gain helps a great deal. I would buy another one. This unit has been almost all of its time at my qth 24/7 and never gives a problem. The optical encoder unit for the vfo is a little problem sometimes and I have seen this on other posts about the radio as well. I have developed a work around using the up and down on the Kenwood microphone. I considered the temperature controlled option but even on psk the rig is on frequency all the time.
W7USR Rating: 2003-08-31
WHAT I EXPECTED Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased the TS-870S. I have owned the TS-820 and TS-830 in the 80's and was delighted. After a ten year break I came back to the hobby acquired an IC 706, was amazed at what was available in a small package Bought a Jupiter which was ok but not what I remembered about Ham Radio (not enough weight). Bought an IC 756Pro, which is a good radio, and a TS-2000, lots of fun. But something was still missing. Sold the IC-756PRO to a friend that I wanted to see upgrade from a 706.

Then I bought what I should have initially. The 870S makes me - Feel Good!!

Actually I am glad I made the trip. (like Garth Brooks) Good experience for me and now I know what I am missing - nothing - well maybe the Orion and/or the 8700 will get a look as well.
N3MVF Rating: 2003-08-27
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First, I had a TS-2000 that had all the bells and whistles such as more memory, memory id etc. Since I primarily use HF, I wanted an HF rig exclusive. I bought the 870S and I am very pleased. This is my 3rd Kenwood so I like Kenwoods. The audio quality and filters are fantastic. I put the receive side by side with the TS-2000. Even though the TS-2000 has a preamp the 870 picked out signals much better and clearer. The preamp only seemed to amplify noise. Great reports on TX. Can't wait to use this on CW, PSK or RTTY. The receive is sharp. BTW....I like the TS-2000, but sold it after I landed the TS-870 for HF work.
K9XK Rating: 2003-06-26
GREAT Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It is hard to beat this radio in terms of its audio quality on both TX and RX. Impossible, actually, IMO.

The receiver is quiet and dynamic range is excellent.

The DSP NR is awesome and the passband tuning and shift capability is intuitive and highly effective. It even has an RS-232 port right on the back of the radio so you can easily "talk to it" from a PC with no additional hardware.

Mechnically well constructed with smooth controls.

With a true dual receiver it would be the perfect radio (for people that like contesting and DX work). The last rig that was any good that had this capability was the '1000D, but it was nowhere near the QRM-fighter right out of the box that the '870 is. The '870 was about 5 years ahead of its time. The '756 Pro is Icom's way of playing catch-up while "Vertex" is in the midst of dying if you look at the probs with the MP.
W4KWD Rating: 2003-06-25
Excellent Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The receiver is very quiet, and sensitive. It has the classic Kenwood receive audio without a lot of bells and whistles. I constantly hear praise about the transmit audio quality. It is a very user friendly radio which is also typical of Kenwood radios.
WA3KQA Rating: 2003-06-07
Nice audio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The 870 has outstanding receive and transmit audio but in addition, has a quiet noise floor compared to other radios I have used. The receive audio sounds great no matter what filter setting you use. Rig has a lot of features in the menu settings such as MENU A AND B -- and you can set the frequencies to change to your favorite mode automatically. You can easily adjust your audio for HI-FI quality with the mic equalizer in combination with the transmit width menus. CW sounds great also!
W2ZIG Rating: 2003-06-01
super rig Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
If you want a rig with hi-fi audio rx-tx then this is the radio for you.Works great all modes all the time. The receice audio on am,fm is amazing also ssb. Transmit audio is completmented with a simple W2IHY eq.Also very easy to operate.
KD4LYH Rating: 2003-05-30
Poor Service Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I thought this was a pretty decent rig. Mine didnt work right out of the box. It would only transmitt 10 watts. I bought a TS-450 (same problem) These rigs were new.After 5 weeks finally got repaired. Sold them both.
KG5FTK Rating: 2003-04-25
Tradition function Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This radio is great even though it does not have the tweeking ability new radios have. This is a radio that has one of the last really nice digital displays, has solid controls, and it has the ability to accept alot of accessories newer radios don't let you add. It also has a real meter. The T/R audio is very good as is the stability. The radio has a solid feel to it. This radio will appeal to someone who once had a KWM2 and wants to continue to have the same kind of experience with some new digital improvements. I like the new radios but this kind of xcvr never gets old.