TS-2000_review_PW_2001.pdf

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1、I ve waited for a very long time to try out the recently introduced Kenwood TS-2000 but this is understandable when you consider just how much design work has to be put into modern transceivers. The results of Kenwoods endeavours is such that to be fair to the transceiver and to keep readers as full

2、y informed as possible, this equipment evaluation is being presented by two PW Staff. Tex Swann G1TEX, PWs Technical Projects Sub-editor will be presenting his opinions on the v.h.f. and u.h.f. aspects of the transceiver together with comments on the accompanying computer software, etc. I on the oth

3、er hand, will concentrate on my h.f. work with this very interesting transceiver. Whats On Offer? So, to start off my evaluation of the latest transceiver to come from Kenwood TS-2000 Ill describe just whats on offer. However, Ill try to avoid the list-all-the-details and specifications approach (in

4、tending purchasers can read those at a dealers) and try to present you as much information in a concise form before passing on my opinions on the TS-2000. I say this because reviews are all about opinions arent they? The Kenwood TS-2000 is an all- mode transceiver covering - as supplied - all the Am

5、ateur Radio bands from 1.8 to 430MHz and includes an automatic antenna tuning unit (a.a.t.u.) as standard for h.f. and 50MHz. Further coverage can be added, using an operational module to enable the transceiver to operate on the 1.3GHz (23cm) band. The main transceiver receiver circuitry is a quadru

6、ple conversion superhet on a.m., c.w. s.s.b. and frequency shift keying (f.s.k.) modes and uses a triple conversion on narrow band f.m. (n.b.f.m.). The sub receiver is based on a double conversion superhet for the a.m. and n.b.f.m. modes. General coverage reception is quoted as starting from 30kHz.

7、However the receiver I had tuned to below 30kHz and Kenwood confirm that this will normally be the case Intermediate frequencies (i.f.s) for the quadruple conversion superhet main receiver are as follows: The first i.f. on the general coverage range (300kHz to 60MHz) is 69.085MHz or 75.925MHz (the i

8、.f. is selected automatically when satellite mode operation is in use). For 144 and 430MHz the first i.f. is 41.894MHz and for the 1.2GHz band its 135.495MHz. The second i.f. is 10.695MHz, the third is 455kHz and the fourth is 12kHz. On the sub-receiver (dual conversion) the first i.f. is 58.525MHz

9、and the second is 455kHz. The transceiver is provided with dual high speed digital signal processing (DSP) facilities. These provide high speed automatic gain control (a.g.c.) and fully adjustable filters down to 50Hz for c.w. Maximum transmitter output is 100W on c.w., s.s.b. f.s.k. and n.b.f.m. on

10、 all bands from 1.8 to 144MHz. Maximum output is quoted as 50W on 430MHz and 10W on the 23cm (1.2GHz) band. Minimum quoted power output on h.f., 50 and 144MHz is 5W, and 1W on 1.2GHz. The maximum quoted power output on amplitude modulation (a.m.) 25W on 1.8 to 144MHz and 12.5W on 430MHz and 1W on 1.

11、2GHz. The minimum on h.f., v.h.f. and u.h.f. is 5W and the lowest output available on 1.2GHz is 1W. Other important features include: a built-in 9600/1200bps TNC for DX packet cluster tune (PCT). Theres also an Instant Satellite communications key. Switching On In my opinion the acid test for the ev

12、er increasingly complex equipment arriving on the Amateur Radio market is switching on the unit for the first time. In my experience this can be a process fraught with difficulty, but it wasnt so with the FT-2000 because it only took a moment and was achieved Cost: 1699.95 Company: Kenwood Contact:

13、Sales Tel: (01923) 816444 FAX: (01923) 212477Website: Webstie:www.kenwood-electronics.co.uk GALL IN ONE PACKAGE GFig. 1: Close up view of the very clear, simple and straightforward l.c.d. main display, showing the multi-function meter. The selected DSP filter parameters are displayed under the Filte

14、r logo in the form of bargraph segments (see text). So much technology is packed into the new Kenwood TS-2000 that two PW staff have had to share this review! Tex Swann G1TEX looks at the v.h.f, u.h.f. and computer aspects while Rob Mannion G3XFD leads off with his h.f. evaluation. 38Practical Wirel

15、ess, May 2001 The TS-2000 HF, VHF and UHF Transceiver GKenwood UKs user-friendly TS-2000 which Rob G3XFD considers to be a worthy stablemate for the TS-870. Kenwood Review A/w/May 3/29/01 3:10 PM Page 38 without referring to the manual - quite remarkable when you bear in mind the complex nature of m

16、odern equipment! However, the supplied manual is really excellent and to get the best out of the transceiver many features it really is required reading! Once the transceiver was on I was greeted by the synthesised voice from the (optional) built-in unit which told me the frequencies. Normally Im no

17、t happy with these annoying voices but this one was very friendly, and did not seem to have an accent. And (unlike Tex who told me he switched it off!) I found the facility very helpful when tuning around as I worked. Undoubtedly, I feel that operators who have no sight at all, or more commonly have

18、 failing sight, will find the facility very helpful. The TS-2000s large l.c.d. main panel and display is excellent. Its extremely clear, with a light yellow- buff coloured background, and due to its size I think that the digital frequency display is ideal for anyone with visual problems. The multi-f

19、unction l.c.d. meter is also very useful, clear and has many functions. In use I found that the front panel display showing the settings on the DSP filtering to be excellent. Tailoring the filter to your own satisfaction is made so much easier because you can see just what configuration has been sel

20、ected. At first I wasnt too sure about the front panel ergonomics and the general lay-out of the controls - bearing in mind that Im an enforced left-hander of course! However, despite this I was soon feeling very much at home when operating the transceiver at home and to a very limited extent - when

21、 operating from my car in the portable mode. Incidentally, although I feel that Kenwood have thought of this transceiver generally as a main station rig.its my opinion that it will prove very useful for portable operation. Its just the right size for either option as far as Im concerned. Kenwood hav

22、e obviously put a great deal of effort into designing a good front panel. Im very impressed and felt very much at ease during the hours I had the transceiver on the air. So, with that reminder its time to recount just how much I enjoyed using the 2000 on the bands. On The Air It was my intention to

23、carry out some of the on-air testing from home and enjoy longer spells from my preferred h.f. portable site at Holt Heath near Wimborne. However, the spreading tragedy of the Foot and Mouth disease put paid to any ideas of extended h.f. portable operations. Despite this, I managed one afternoon and

24、several evenings on the way home from the office. With the facility of running at reduced power I found that the 2000 did very well indeed from my car. In fact its small enough to place above the instrument panel, directly on the drivers side of the windscreen. What a delight it proved to be! Using

25、the TS-2000 from the car proved to be a great idea and I had QSOs with stations all over the UK and into Ireland and far beyond on both c.w. and s.s.b. Incidentally, the built in electronic keyer meant I didnt need to take my own keyer unit, all I needed was my paddle (Im finding a straight Morse ke

26、y difficult at the moment due to my arthritis). Ive no adverse comment whatsoever about the built-in keyer, it was ideal for me and the menu control, like all the menus on the transceiver seemed exceptionally easy to use even for this dinosaur of a Radio Amateur! Operating mostly on 7, 14 and 18MHz

27、- with short excursions to 3.5 and 28MHz, I quickly found that the receiver was excellent, with the added support of the very efficient DSP facilities for difficult conditions. However, on my favourite band of 7MHz I found that the DSP really came into its own - proving to be superbly effective. And

28、 up on 14MHz the annoying QRM from packet stations operating almost directly on the 14.1MHz cw. beacon frequencies was dramatically reduced. Even under the worst QRM I found it possible to copy the fairly low power beacons - despite the best efforts of the h.f. packet transmission to drown them out!

29、 Operating from my home I found that conditions on 7MHz were difficult enough to put a strain on my own base-station transceiver which is used with a W9GR DPS -II unit. Normally, I find that this little add-on unit works extremely well with any of my own transceivers which range from two to over 20

30、years old, but conditions were so difficult that the W9GR unit did not have the flexibility of the DSP provided on the TS-2000. On c.w. I soon found that the claim of brick-wall selectivity provided by DSP filtering was again proved right. Im sure that once theyve tried it out, even the most experie

31、nced c.w. operator will be most impressed with the flexibility and effects of the DSP filtering on c.w. Despite my praise for the effect of DSP on the c.w. mode, I feel that the most spectacular effect for the operator has got to be the improvement if offers on s.s.b. QSOs - especially on 7MHz, and

32、particularly 3.5MHz during the evenings. This was clearly demonstrated on several weekends when I either listened into, or joined in with, the Worked All Ireland net Practical Wireless, May 200139 GFig. 2: Inside top chassis view. Note the relatively large loudspeaker which provides excellent audio

33、quality on Amateur transmissions and broadcast stations (see text). GFig. 3: Under chassis inside view. Kenwood Review A/w/May 3/29/01 3:10 PM Page 39 GALL IN ONE PACKAGE on 7.068MHz - here the help of the DSP was remarkable, reducing noise, splatter from nearby channels and generally assisting in t

34、he reception of the relatively low level signals from mobile stations very effectively indeed. Listening for long periods, whether it be Amateur transmissions or h.f. broadcast stations, was made much easier by the DSP. A far cry from the switchy-sounding audio effects I first reported on a few year

35、s ago when reviewing DSP equipped transceivers. The audio quality reports I was able to provide pleased me and the stations I worked. Additionally (a very important test I think) a number of stations commented that my voice was very recognisable. An excellent compliment to communications quality rad

36、iotelephone s.s.b. speech I feel! Tex Swanns Opinion So, now its Tex Swann G1TEX turn to give his opinion on the TS-2000. To begin he provides his own quick overview of the complete transceiver package. “I was asked to have a look at the v.h.f. and computer control side of the TS-2000 and to voice m

37、y opinions and comment. So, what did I find? Well, I found a rather pleasing rig, that is not only a very capable radio, but can also receive from v.l.f. through the short wave bands, and includes the 144 and 430MHz bands. Anyone who would like to try the new v.l.f. band might need to look no furthe

38、r. The receive side starts at 300kHz and goes right through to 60MHz without a break. But thats the receiver side, the transmit capabilities are almost as good. covering, with the exception of 70MHz, all the amateur bands from 1.8 - 430MHz. The TS-2000 seems to break the Amateur Radio bands into two

39、 main areas. Theres the h.f. band (which on the TS-2000E includes 50MHz) and the v.h.f./u.h.f. bands, cover 144 and 430MHz. The 1.2GHz (23cm) band will drop neatly into this latter section if the optional 1.2GHz module is fitted. But sadly there doesnt look as if there will be a 70MHz option, fallin

40、g as it does, between the two major area of Amateur activity. The antenna sockets on the back panel seem to reflect the band layout. Socket labelled Ant 1 and Ant 2 cover the h.f. bands, both cover 0-60MHz - operator choice. Though they seem to be interchangeable, in reality one of the outlets would

41、 be for the real h.f. bands of 1.8-28MHz bands and the other could feed a 50MHz specific antenna. Both the 144 and 430MHz bands have their own non-selectable dedicated antenna output sockets. This would also apply to the optional 1.296GHz unit, for which there is a space for its antenna outlet marke

42、d on the back panel. While trying out the TS-2000, I spent a little time just using it as a receiver, where I found it to be a creditable one at that tuning continuously from l.f. to 60MHz, rolling round at either end. But the v.h.f. and u.h.f. bands started and ended with Amateur frequencies only.

43、Again rolling round at both ends of the bands. I found little to complain about while listening on h.f., but I found the v.h.f. reception a little prone to a rather powerful data mode 40Practical Wireless, May 2001 GFig. 4: Rear panel view of the TS- 2000 (see Tex Swann G1TEXs review comments). GFig

44、. 5: Starting the installation process for the ARCP-2000 software, standard with the TS- B2000 black-box version of the rig, but a useful optional extra with the TS-2000E. GDesign your own audio filter. This one, G1TEX designed earlier is suitable for a c.w. session. GThe virtual scan facility in us

45、e showing signals and their levels. This display is to be treated with caution, the strong signal was only present momentarily though, looking like a single signal, but in reality it could be heard almost anywhere in the band. Kenwood Review A/w/May 3/29/01 3:10 PM Page 40 transmitter not too far aw

46、ay from my QTH (its not the first rig thats had problems at my location). I suffered no problems on u.h.f. and I was impressed with the clean 100W output from h.f. to 144MHz and with the 50W available on u.h.f. I am unable to comment on 1.2GHz as the module was not available. Wide band reception is

47、also available as a dealer modification. The modifiction provides airband (a.m.) and marine band. Conversation With Locals In conversation with a group of amateurs local to myself (10- 30km) I had favourable comments from Roger M0AUI, Steve G0TOT and Mark 2E1CEQ using both 144 and 430MHz. So, with t

48、he minor niggle of the data transmission breakthrough, I found that the TS-2000 is a pleasant to operate rig that both implies and delivers quality in all things. Computer Software I also had the optional ARCP-2000 computer software to fully control all the functions of the TS- 2000 from a nearby co

49、mputer. The ARCP- 2000 software package can, as you would expect, replicate all the function buttons of the front panel. The ARCP-2000 software is an option with the standard TS-2000, but is part of the remote control head version, the TS-B2000. I found the programs ran quite smoothly on my P90 laptop computer, talking to the rig at up to 56Kb to control it. The software also allows you to do clever things like create your own parameter DSP filters, and to apply them to particular modes and bands on both transmit or receive. It also make tuning very much simpler and quicker. Another tr