The superb Kenwood TS990: first impressions with a brief overview of the main features
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Hi there, widely regarded as one of the best HF rigs ever and arguably the best rig on the market right now, here are my initial thoughts.
Thanks for watching. Keep safe. 73
She is one gorgeous rig. I'm so happy for you, Clint; you will get many hours of enjoyment from this radio. You deserve the very best!
Thank you my friend. 73!
I 'shouted' myself the TS-990S as a retirement present. I have two external speakers and it is, as you have said superb. I am about to delve into FT-8 with it. I'm very pleased to learn, that I just need to connect it to a PC with a USB B cable, load several bits of software, configure the radio and away I go. 73 Phil VK2NE
Thanks for sharing Phil! Such a great rig! 73
Received mine in exchange for a FT-DX101MP….. never looked back. Have had all the top radios apart from the Yaesu FT-9000, which I wouldn’t have in the shack. The 990 is the only one that I cant find any fault with… fits my requirements perfectly.. hope you continue to enjoy yours, very interesting Kenwood videos on how they are made and interviews with the designer. Also, advanced manual available from Kenwood…
Love the 990 myself - such a great rig - but your comment re the TS990 as a replacement for the FT-DX101MP says it all!!
Absolutely fantastic my friend! Hope you enjoy it for years to come!
Thanks my friend!
Love to see it with the wellbrook and broadcast bands…. Beautiful radio….. I’ve been using a kenwood ts 850…. and ico pro 756 ll…. Always preferred the kenwood.
At some point will definitely be doing that. 73
After a Yaesu FT950 which I still have, a 7300 and a 7610 I wanted a TS 990 and I found it some 8 months ago. It was hardly used and in absolute mint condition, it came with two SP 990 speakers and a double analogue meter made by LDG. Like yours it has no dust build up in the turning knobs or any other traces of usage. I wanted a 990 to have knobs and buttons for everything, I don't like screen menu settings. This is of course a personal choice, I'm not saying screen menu settings are bad. Anyway, the 990 is fantastic! The receive, TX/RX audio, you name it and it works really good. All the buttons and knobs look confusing, but is really intuitive and you can find your way around fast. I use the sub receiver in tracking mode to have a mix of settings between the main and sub so the weaker signals come in more clearly. It is big, it is heavy, it's just great. 73
Thanks for the background info. on your TS990....a keeper for sure! 73
Great Clint ...
my compliments for the excellent purchase ... a dream.
73. Giuseppe.
Thank you Giuseppe - I hope you and your family are keeping well. 73
Thank you! I am trying to make a decision on how to slim down my shack while retaining the capabilities. I have been researching the higher end rigs and I keep coming back to the TS-990 mostly for the 200W and the buttons instead of menu and.. a little nostalgic look to it too.
Honestly, if you can, buy one - you'll never need anything else!
I have had mine for over 5 years and absolutely love it. I have two 32" monitors hooked up to it, one for the control app and one that mirrors the main display. I like the fact you have the knobs to make quick changes and see where everything is in a glance. The control you have of the NB and NR is particularly impressive. 73 de KI1Y, Cocoa Beach FL.
Thanks for your comments - I totally agree with you on the ergonomics. 73
Very VERY nice set!! Altough i am an Icom lover, the Kenwood has a more premium look and feel than my 7610!
Thanks Robert. 73
Awesome review, I've not owned a TS-990S, but I do own a FTdx-101MP, and many of its predecessors. I've now gone back to an older hybrid FT-901DM, and the audio quality from that rig is second to none. Purely outstanding on both TX and RX.
Thanks!
The FTDX-101D(MP) is a somewhat complicated rig....not for the occasional rag chewer/technically challenged
Congratulations to own and to operate this beautiful radio! Here, watching and learning with each of your videos! All the best regards, Tom ABØJ
Thanks Thomas. 73
Hey Clint, first..Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.... and, now that your 990 has a few hours of operation, how do you feel it's doing and is it worth the HUGE dollars to purchase.... your comments appreciated !! Thanks much...73
Thank you Dave and Season's Greetings to you too! It was definitely worth the huge ££££ but I did pay roughly half of the new price. 200W out of the box, no PSUs required, just a brilliant rig that has so many useful features you'd have to live to be 200 years old to learn them all! Cheers and 73!
Love ❤️ Kenwood radios the sub receiver is as per TS590s
That's the one - the TS590...cheers John. 73
I have the Icom 73oo hundred and it is over my head. I have first edition of the 590 and I like it.
I know what you mean Francis!
Idea #473.. Sling a simple RX LoG antenna out on the lawn and connect to the RX jack - thern stick that on VFO#2, click TRACKING and engage.. Then put headphones on and be amazed :)
Cheers, Callum!
fantastic radio this is the best radio I have 73 from kb2uew
Cheers!
That is a quit your job and stay in the shack radio right there Clint!
Very nice piece of gear, which really needs a serious antenna system to make the most of it.
Look forward to seeing more of it as you explore it's feature set.
Enjoy and 73's!
Quite, Adam. Thanks and 73
Man you were so right on spot! My 590 does seem to have a bit of a raise it’s good for it around 20 to 30 m😊
I can only wish. I’ve owned a 101mp. And a flex. But this is my dream rig.
Funny you should say that because those were the other two rigs I was considering when I got the TS990!
@@OxfordShortwaveLog I loved flex. And I loved the 101mp. I am a display kinda guy. Love the waterfall and looking at it. If you check out my videos you will see several videos of the rigs I’ve had. Or qrz on the 101mp. Call sign is AA1US.
Hi Mikey, I'll take a look at your channel. How about the FT-DX10?! I've used one and the 3D display is immense - even if it's not that useful lol, 73!
@@OxfordShortwaveLog never used the 10. Just the 101mp.
It's just a fantastic transceiver, set up correctly the audio via the built in EQ is very good.
I use the 2nd vfo with a baby loop, always handy for cw or rx on dx.
I'm led to believe the sub is based on a ts590, it has a slight more gain on rx around mid HF. I would recommend a good dynamic microphone. Best 73 GM0KET
Thanks Ray
Very nice, I hope it brings you lots of fine contacts Clint, thanks for showing
My pleasure Michael. 73
Wow, what a beast. It would be interesting to hear how it does receiving AM Broadcast stations compared to your favoured SWLing receivers.
I'll be trying that soon!
I've always liked these radios, but could never justify the cost .. especially now considering radios like the FTDX10, which I have just purchased.. but also run a ft1000mp mk5 field, which is nice as well... Appreciate you taking the time to give a flavour of what you think of it.... good luck with it, hope it all works out for you... Yoki...
I've used the FT-DX10 and it's a great rig for sure. Thanks my friend.
Absolutely lovely radio. It will give you hours of enjoyment and is still the best on the market for interface, user ease and audio quality. Congratulations. 73
Thanks Tom!
I have a 440 and love it the 990 is a beast! would love to own one someday.
Cheers Fred
Love my 990 its used mainly on CW but ssb reports with the inbuilt EQ and a Heil 781 are incredible .
Hope you enjoy the beast.
73s
G0PWX
Thanks again Gerry. 73
looks like something you see in a spaceship
I'll go along with that!
Nice radio mate you’ve made a great choice enjoy 73s 👍
Cheers and 73s
Couple of comments: Get a decent calibrated swr power meter and test both rigs on max output into dummy load.
That will confirm the actual output.
Long wire antennas are notorious for RF on the audio, and it will.be worse on some rigs too.
Balanced antennas are way better.
The second RX in the 990 is basically another 590.
Good looking for sure!..
Busy with another old TS940 restoration.
Thanks William. 73
I think I know which radio that is from Moonraker - cracking deal. Very nice addition to the shack - M0XXT also swears by it!
The other thing that is cool is the multiple receive antenna inputs so you can tx on perhaps the end fed and have a receive feed from the Wellbrook!
Thank and yes I totally agree! 73
Yep!
I have the TS990. It will take you a long while to explore it completely. Be careful if you enter a frequency by buttons and unknowingly hit the DVR button when you press the 2. You can barely see the DVR on display if happens. And you wonder what is wrong with the radio. My friend does it too once in a while on his TS990. 73...Dave K6TQ
Thanks for the tip Dave. 73
Lovely transceiver Clint👍
Thanks Jerry
Beautiful radio, but about 10 times more than I can afford. Enjoy it.
Thanks and yes, you're right
welcome to using a top notch radio . cant bare to part with my ic7800
Thank you Ray.
I wonder what the a.m. transmit performances like? What is the maximum Peak positive modulation this radio is capable of in am mode and how is the audio quality how does it compare with class E rigs with their broadcast quality audio?
Not sure about AM TX - but the audio is excellent - according to reports I'm getting. 73
@@OxfordShortwaveLog reason I ask is there's a bunch of HAMs here who run Class E rigs and the audio is broadcast quality when I listen on a spectrum analyzer with the RBW set to 10KHz. WA1QIX developed the design. Best audio I've ever heard on ANY band, including commercial AM band.
Just upgraded from 991A to the 890
Great stuff!
Hi Clint, thanks for this very informative video, I've been considering one of these for a long time and think I actually saw the one you bought. I would be very interested to see how you get on with the rig and wonder if you considered the Icom 7851 flagship which I believe is not discontinued?
It's a brilliant rig - just all the peripheral equipment attached to it is no good apparently! 73
Sharp looking rig!
Cheers!
Beautiful rig! A friend of mine upgraded to Amateur Extra class license (US), so as to justify buying this rig for his retirement gift to himself! Will you get a front facing speaker for it?
Good for your friend! I won't bother getting a speaker for it - I find the audio from the built in speaker is fine. Thanks and 73!
@@OxfordShortwaveLog Enjoy!
73 de W4PKR
A great choice.
Thanks Kevin.
Its a beauty !
Thanks Dave
much more money than I can afford.
Where can we even find one?? I'm here in the USA.
No idea! Kenwood?
@@OxfordShortwaveLog Yes Sir.
За такие деньги получаем чемодан с красивыми ручками и технологиями "тридцать лет тому назад"...
No that's not true. At the time it was state-of-the-art for amateur radio/non-professional.
I see the TS990S is out of stock everywhere right now and read that Kenwood has stopped production due to parts availability ? I wonder if it's true ?
I was told they are still manufacturing in batches - and in the process of designing new products. 73
@@OxfordShortwaveLog I sure hope so !
They ARE NOT manufacturing the 990 but have several in stock and you can still get parts
SIMPLY PUT, THE KENWOOD TS-990 IS THE BEST RIG IN THE WORLD!! OF COURSE,,IM EXTREMELY BIASED TO KENWOOD ANYWAYS!! (KD8EFJ)
I agree!
where can i find one of these to buy?
ML&S have one now!
@@OxfordShortwaveLog whats that?
Lovely rig Clint !
( Is that the User Manual I spy. Surely you are not reading that ? - Must be a first :o) ! )
Thanks Jon...it might be lol
Nice rig, fb
Thanks!
were did you get that from nasa.you lucky man..
Lol cheers
Yes, in a couple of years kenwood will pull the plug on radio and you should be able to fetch these for mere pocket change
I doubt that very much!
All that money for a 5-9 report lol..... Looks cool tho .
Lol
All you need now is a 30 metre tower and a 20m 6 element monobander…
Lol
Other than the fact that the 990 has dual receivers, the 890 is far superior
Why is that?
@OxfordShortwaveLog
There is no question the close-in phase noise (RMDR) is vastly better on the 890S. In my non-hostile RF environment, I never stressed my 990S in that respect, which I gave to N0QO after he fixed the blown microprocessor after an EMP came in on the key jack line.
The bandscope and waterfall of the 890S runs circles around the 990S bandscope and waterfall. Aside from the obvious lack of a 2nd RX, which I rarely use on my IC-7610, and only occasionally used on my 990S, the two Kenwood rigs are pretty similar in performance overall.
The transmit IMD of the 50 volt PA of the 990S is about 5 dB better than the 13.8 volt PA in the 890S, as one would expect.
The new rig is about 35 pounds, where the older model is over 50 pounds. A replacement power supply in a 990S, which almost never fails, cost about $900 three years ago. The 890S in my shack runs on an Astron RS-35M
Not a portable then, Clint!
Not exactly!
What kind of ant are you running
A home-brew end-fed wire.
Ok......
Thanks
Я вас понимаю - "так надо"....
Thanks
more buttons than carter has liver pills.
Wow ! That is a truley amazing rig. I know your pain on trading stuff in having done the same to purchase the 9700 in my shack, but my word, that is one heck of a transceiver. Look forward to hearing you on the air via the TS990 ! 73 2E0FWE.
Thanks my friend. 73
Can someone buy me this radio!!!
Lol
I should not be watching this. My wallet is giving me angry stares...
Lol go for it Steve - you only live once!
I'm not worthy
Yeah you are!
Hey, I didn’t realize Rodney Dangerfield’s doctor was a ham! 😂