Mt Washington Wx CAM
New Kenwood TS-990S HF Transceiver
It has been a very long time since Kenwood has come out with a new high-end HF Transceiver. I never considered the TS-2000 a high-end receiver, in the class of the Icom 7800 and the Yaesu FT-5000D. According to Sherwood Engineering, the Yaesu FT-5000D has the best receiver on the market. This is because Yaesu finally started incorporating Down-Conversion in their receivers. Kenwood did make a hit on the receiver list with the TS-590S. It is ninth on the Sherwood Engineering Receiver Test Data List that is listed by "Dynamic Range Narrow Spaced".
At this year's 2012 Dayton Hamvention, Kenwood announced a new ultra-high end HF + 50 MHz transceiver, the Kenwood TS-990S. This rig is supposed to become available around November 2012. If the radio lives up to the numbers, it should make it at or near the top of the Sherwood Engineering Receiver List. But, we will have to wait for those numbers after it becomes available. I know of a lot of DXers and Contesters that have gone to the Elecraft K3 and the new TS-990S will probably cost half again to twice as much as a K3.
By first appearances this will be a top-notch rig and I am sure that it will pick up a following. The numbers and the theory behind this rig is astonishing and I hope it lives up to these numbers. So let's get a look at this rig and the known numbers at this time:
Known Specifications:
- Display: Dual Color TFT with spectrum scope
- Frequency Range: HF + 50 MHz
- Transmitter Power: 5 to 200 Watts
- Receivers: Two (2)
- Modes: SSB, CW, FSK, PSK, FM, AM
- Roofing Filters: Five (5), all Down-Conversion (Best Kind)
- Main Receiver at 300Hz, 500Hz, 2.76 kHz and 15kHz at 8 MHz
- Sub-Receiver at 11 MHz
- Sub-Receiver is a Kenwood TS-590S receiver
- DSP Processors: 3 @ IF-DSP 32-Bit
- Interfaces:
- DVI - Digital Video Interface
- Optical Input/Output
- Serial COM Port
- 2 @ USB Ports
- Network Interface Card (NIC) - RJ45
- Built-In CW Keyer
- Power Supply: Built-In Switching Power Supply
- Antenna Tuner: Built-In Automatic Antenna Tuner
- Weight: 57 Pounds (~25.85 Kilograms)
- Price: $5,000 to $10,000, but not to exceed $10,000
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