TS-50S_review_CQ_1993.pdf
CQREVIEWS: The Kenwood TS-50S Transceiver BY LEW McCOY,WllCP A viewofthe frontofthe Kenwood rS-505.Asexplainedinthe text. themicserves asauuunq control along with other front-panel control items A view with the topcoverremovedAttheuppertenis where thespeakersits(itis not visible in this photo). Note the largeheat sinkatthe rear. tam that competitors will follow) is going to openuplow-frequencymobile, plus put amateur radio within reach of many who do not have the space for large equipment. Before goany further, just howgood transceiver measures 179 by60by233 rnm. Thats about 7 Inches wide.2 3/B inches high, and11inchesdeep This is small enough to put in a desk in the living room; no one will ever know its thereI This radio(and you can be cer- -t.echnicafEditor,CO, 1500vveettaeno Street,Silver City,NM88061 E very once in awhilesomething comesalong that simply revolutionizes our thinking in amateur radio. Usually this is somemode ofoperation or new piece of equipment. For years amateur radioexisted for CW and AM phone operation. After World WarIIthehobbystarted to move. The first majorchangewassingle side- band operation, and this author was in on thebeginningof thisnewmode. SSB required considerable changesInre- ceiver design. Thismodesoon became theacceptedmethod ofphonetrans- rrussion Next, with theadventof solid- state devices,westarted to see revolu- tionarydesignchanges.Muchofthis canbeattributed to the huge success ofFMandrepeater operation.These modesthenledtohigh-speeddata- transmission design, and we quickly becameaddicted to packet and other methodsofhigh-speedinformation transmission. The advent of computer chipsreally revolutionizeddesign In transmitters and receivers. At a convention one time !presented a lecture on the future design possibilities and use ofcomput- ers in amateur radio. Many of my listen- ers thought Iwas blowing smoke(!),but ifthe facts be known,Ididnt evenbegin to approach whatwasgoing to happen. And that leadsus to thisproduct review. We all have marveled and wondered at Japanesedesign ability, particularly withcomputerchipsin transceivers. The Kenwood TS-5OSseemstobenear- ly the ultimate result of these tech- niques. Why? Letmespell it our tor you This is a transceiver witha qenerat-cov- eragereceiver going from 500 through 30 MHz, complete low-bandamateur coverage 160 through10 including WARC bands, and 100 watts output. Plus it has amultitude of special fea- tures including 100(!)memories; CW, SSB, AM, and FM modes; and more which we will cover in this review. But here is the real eye-opener and why wrote the above introduction. The 22COJune1993 Say You Saw It In CQ s I June1993CO23 words,it listened well. Keep in mind that this receiver is a full-blownjobusing doubleIF conversion techniques, or to putitanother way. the receiver works as well as larger Kenwood transceivers. In order to achieve the small cabinet size,manyfunctions are programmed IOtathe transceiver. For example, there is nomicnor RF gain as we normally would think of it. At first. I felt this would bea handicap-thelackof the two gain controls, that is The RFgain is set in three steps via oneof the buttonson the microphone.The gaincanbesetto100, 50, or 10wallsoutput.IIoundthat after using the transceiver.thiswasnot a real handicap. In drivingmyamplifier, the 100 watt positionwasadequate for full amplifier output, and of course it was simpleto retune the amplifier when I wanted less output. I also tried switch- ing the transceiver power outputdown to 50 and 10wallsto reduce amplifier drive, which also works fine,butthis of course required touchingupthe ampli- fier tuning. Themtcgain is set internally to either HIGH or LOW via aswitchonthe micro- phone. Thegaincanalsobeadjusted manuallybyremoving the transceiver cover. I didntdothis,butI received manyon-the-airchecksthatconfirmed that the audio gain was set correctly. Incidentally, the manual thatcomeswith the TS-50S is well written and extreme- lydetailed (60pagesplus diagrams). There are twobasicMENUsettings- MENU A and MENU B. By pressing the F-LOCKbutton twice, the trent-panel displaywill show the menu-selling num- berandthe function. For example, the 00MENU A will show 100 (or 50 or 10) asthepowersetting. Another example wouldbesetting05, which is a CW set- tingfor selling thebreak-in speeds (whichare FULU100/200! . ,.upto 1800 mS). These settings are allcontrolledby usingthetuningknobtocontrol the 1 ,J ri I (I FAST SLOW F.LOCK 1MHz CI CI;-,_ LI. LI.kHz-O.D.kHzf+-, MLM.SCRPRGSCAN LSB USB CN FMAMTONE ,I I SPUT I are selectivityandsensitivity. As to selectivity, for SSB the ratings are-6dB lor more than 2.2 kHz and-60dBfor less than 4.8 kHz. I foundthis selectivi- ty more thanadequatefor SSB work. The same filter and ratingsapply to CW. butthere is an optional 500 Hz filler available lor CW work it more selectivi- ty is desired. There is nodoubtthat this isgoingto bea popularDXpedition rig, so Iamsure that many operators will be interested in the sharper filter. AM selectivitycomes in at -6dBfor more than 5 kHz and-60 dBat less than40kHz. Additionally, in the SSBandCWmodesyoucan improve the selectivitybyusing the IF passbandtuning, a front-panel control. Sensitivity rating at 10dB(S+N)IN) isless than 0.25 uV from 1.7 through30 MHz. I found that the receiverhada quiet noise floor, andtouse an old timers phrase,was really hot. In other I I (f: I In this bottom view can be seen the compact construction techniques. Fig.1-This drawing. taken from the transceiversmanual, shows the display with the various functions. is this small radio? The first Questions I amasked arehoweasy is it to tuneand are the controlstoo small.Letmeassure you. I have large hands and Ihadno real problems tuning and using all the functions available. Letsgeton with the review, and youbethe judge. The TS5OS weighs in at 6.4pounds (power supply is separate). and power requirement is 13.8 volts (plus or minus 15 percent) at 1.45ampsreceiveand 20.5ampstransmit. As I mentioned above, maximum out- put is 100 watts for SSB, FM, and CW with lower steps of50and10watts. For AM the maximum is 25 watts.downto 12.5and2.5. Outputmodes are SSB (balancedmodulator). FM(variable reluctance), and AM (low-level). I very carefully measuredpoweroutput in all thecategoriesandloundthemanufac- turers ratingstobeexact. Important measurements in a new rig Say You Saw It In CO S.< Delault IReference . 1OO/5O/to 00 so - OfFf/d3/l12/dfId2 SIF S F)-J_ 9.27 OS12.4/6.Olr.HzHzj tAM.6.OkHz)20.22.43 ssezo,csseH FULU 10CV2001300! roo ,. 4OO/6OOJ8OOJ10001 400/1800ms 4O(I-tOOO roo23 ON/OFFOFF23 ON/OFFOF! ON/OF!ON<0 0/, 0<0 ON/OF!ON<0 0/ 0<0 ON/OF!OF! ONfOFFOFFeo ON/OFFON ro. 10/ ,00/ 1k/ 5k/ lOkHzi10l lAemoo, cNlronelscanswiteloe$behoeeallellloy channell(OHloronly me oes-edOFF). iFeQuencysteps,ze from mlc,opr.oneoneISSB and CW modesonlylSWITchesltl.OlJgh1;(8stepzes. Bus,.FStopfor e ,iOlyllCaIlSWilctes 12ber_OperaledlOlandCamerOpera.-=:;-7-;:;:-+-:-l menu number and the UPIDOWNmic buttons for the functions.thave incluc- edthetables forMENUs A and B to give you an ideaof all the functionchanges available. The actual tuningcontrolbears some explanation.The tuning knobcovers an increased tuning range as theknobis rotated faster. The range varies from 5 to200Hzsteps. In otherwords, the faster you turn the knob the faster the tuning rate, Also. the UP or DOWN but- tonson the panelandmiccanbe used lor tuning. plus there is a one MHz - , No.I 09Busy.ftchesthrougIl1fM!ls. 02AGemode1tChesbet.een$lOw(S)01fasllF). 1_-c:SSB=.cwandAMonly.NoH4ee100nonF.C,:;,;-_ OJIFfillaeI8ct-r.;sEfCW - .,-AMon-NoseIec1ion InFM.i,-f- SSB/ CWmodeswitchesbet.eelWO-$teps (ssel 04Iandthree-stepsCULC). Wkey;lldeO,!,.;.;o.,;o;:O;CFULL,o,.,C_-1-,; 05Inl.0<a Ifal.e inmilliseconds. -1.-_ 06 CWoffsetswitchesthroughtharangeof400tomoo 00I:l.z,n50HzslepSidetoneISI.edalaooHz. OTtCWreversefunction. - 08iTumllg cootroldisable,_ : : Ms.Vickie Says: Anew transceiver isgreat for talking with local friends. but a new PR()oAM antenna expands your wond to include new tnends! Go for it! Avoid shortchanging your trans- ceverwittlasecondrateantenna. Go!irst classWIthPR()oAM and enjoy the bigsignaladvantage! .-. :; Whatisthemost cost-enecnve way to improve the performance 01your2m/7QcmhomeStalOOor repeater?Withatop-line PR()oAMPA555.PA255or PA55 dualband antenna natural- ly! Theyareeasy to Install.1000ed- ib!y rugged, and deliver terrific gain tor reaching distant areas with ease. That is a wiseinvest- ment from any viewpoint! Consider the PR()oAM PA5551 PA2551PA55 advantages: Verticalradiatorweather protected insideextruded fiber- glass caseU %thiCker than loot<.alike antennas.Uttra longlife Coaxconnectorweather protectedillSldebasesectoo. Preiostaued radials lold into posnonlorquiCk and easy installation. Goes from carton to contact in onlymoutes! Pretuned, broadbanded. tow SWA Omnidirectional pattern.200 watt rating, Superb range! Made in the USA. Top-grade components, S,S. hardware. Model PA555 Height:204,7 inches Gain:2m:8.3db 7Ocm:l1 .7db M!Xlelft25 Height:98.4 inches Gain:2m:6.Odb 7Ocm:6.0db Mode:1f.A55 Height:67inches Gain:2m:4,Sdb 7Qcm:7.2db ADiVISionofVaJocEnlerarjses 1711CommerceDrive Pique.OH45356-0601 1-513-nB-0074 PRO-AM:THE WISE INVESTMENT (J2Xi-amTheu/tlmate choice for the PROfessional AMateur! Front viewofthe matching antenna tuner.Model AT-SO. CIRO.E16ONREADER SERVICE CARD 26COJune1993 SayYouSawIt InCO IQ) 0 _ _ 0 _ _ ./ Fig.2-In thisdrawingfromthemanual all the controls on thepanelareshown. U,SA/Canada: 10kHzIUseMe<luA,No171 0varystep$Ize Table11- Here is MENU 8, showing available function changes. . Dvsct,ptl(lfl Rel8<ence No. $electIOnDefault - . - BeepsoundswhenanybuttonISpressed. I ON/OfFON43.54 Modulationmodeselect SWItchesbetween . Mors,e<ONjorbeeP(OFF ON/OFFON Alarmoutput switChesbetweenMors8ONlOf . 52 tli!ep(OFFj. ON/OffON 53TonefrequencyseCtfOfrepeateraccess (39tones! .- 67.0- 25O.3Hz.88.5Hz 20.29 1750Hz Tone frequency typeforrepeateraccess 10.29 (b:burst, c:continuous) 0 ;?- PeakMete<Hold.ON/OFFONeo Memorychannelautomatic;naementafterdalais 56 .- ON/OHOFF- TuningcontrolabletochaflgefreQUenCyinMemory ON/OFFOFF modo - . 58ProgramScanHoldONIOFFOFF39 ss MelTlOlYProtect1.ONprevents_11111gtoOfclearIng - ON/OFFOFF14,35 60 :.:.:Prolecl2.ONpreventsOIeflOI.bno Of ON/OFfOFF1 4,35 cleafchanoetscontaJOIldata. AM B.oadcastbandl522tot620kHzlfreQUeocystep 9/10l<Hz9kHZ es size sw,lche$betweenlWOsizes in AM only, U.S.AJ Canada:522to1710kHZ) 62 1MHzbuttonreqlHlocystepsize switChesbetween looo/5OOlgnmenl00-99821MonilOf).35$ y.S2S.SOIoI.e.-sII;S y.S2).SOIoI.s.-._ YlaSOIoI,1lC0IIMI1 Y-4Z!,_,IlCOIIMI17I05 = 555Clf.l_ - - I I I,_, -,- B.KOSCILLOSCOPES 220200<Dualr,.IPlII 220ModS_1I:IiI SoOOIoI.OuaIT.114. 210_.DuoIT.S_, OuIOT_. 2toOOU.-T.DuoIT_, ll*rIs.-.,_ ._-,-,_- ,.02,_122t U3_-AC_ A.I. lOGICANAlY5ER5 e_roe;l._IYC-., e_ ._._ e,_,_,2_ .-.-. a ., ._.- . D._._. . 1_lCD_ .CoI.- - , $125 - - .- .D. -._. ,- $58,95 .- ,.-Boo ._- l-._wJCooo eoo_ $-136060MHz IT,DeleyedSweep .,.- $775. -.,_ ,mv_ ELENCO OSCILLOSCOPES $-1325 2511Hz$349 DuelrreeeOscilloscope $-1340 40MHz$495 DuelTr. ee Oscilloscope 10-_G _u _M_,-_ - - $129,00 l CALLUS FORALL COMPONENT NU DS T.-SupplyXPolI2lI $PI .-. I 1.lyeA. .4-I.P. .,. ._-_p.:so _ _ _ ._I_-._._$ ,- 10ORDER 48 HaUl!ElENCO;7(lan) easier to use controls, However, there isnodoubtthat I verymuchwant toown a TS-50S. Idoa lot of RVing,andmobile homeshavelittfespacetospare. Obviously, the TS-5OSis a solid answer to this problem, plus its general-cover- agereceivercomesInmightyhandy.So the bottom line: WhatdoI think of the TS-50S? The receiver is verygoodItISquiet, whichmeansmore technically, It has a low noise floor. Weak-signal detection CIRCLE 17ONREADRSERVICECARD 28COJune1993 say You SawIt InCO
