[amsat-bb] radio question

[Burns Fisher]

I have a TS-2000.  It has been fine with all the birds I have tried to
contact EXCEPT: SO-50.  The TS2K has a known problem with a birdie in the
SO-50 receive band which pretty much wipes out reception there for part of
the pass (doppler takes the downlink out of the birdie toward the end of
the pass if I recall right).

73,

Burns WB1FJ

On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 4:51 PM John Geiger via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
wrote:

> Hi Rich,
>
> I have had a couple of TS2000 radios in the past, and currently have the
> Yaesu FT991 (non A).  In terms of the Kenwood sensitivity, some people make
> that claim because you have to turn on the radio's preamp to have great
> sensitivity on 2m and 70cm.  But so what?  That is what the preamp is there
> for.  I made plenty of satellite QSOs, as well as tropo and groundwave QSOs
> on the TS2000.  The 100 watts on 2 meters are nice also.
>
> I really like the FT991.  The noise reduction on it works better than on
> the TS2000.  The noise reduction 2 (used on CW) on the TS2000 does makes
> some odd background noises (as does the NR on the FT991 at certain
> settings) but it does really help remove background noise and pull signals
> out of the background.  Noise reduction 1 (suggested for SSB) isn't near as
> good, and it muffles the audio on SSB.  Most of the time I just left it
> off.
>
> The FT991 has a better overall receiver with a 3khz roofing filter.  Both
> the QST numbers and Rob Sherwood's dynamic range table show quite a
> difference in close in dynamic range between the 2 radios.  The noise
> blanker on the FT991 is very good at taking out noises and has 3 different
> parameters you can set.  The noise blanker in the early TS2000 models seem
> better than the ones in the later models.  I am not sure when the change
> occurred.
>
> The FT991 has a CW memory keyer than can do contest serial numbers and has
> 5 different memories.  The CW keyer in the TS2000 has 3 memories and
> doesn't do contest serial numbers.  A 5 message voice keyer in standard in
> the Yaesu FT991, for the TS2000 it is a $130 option and stores 3 voice
> messages.  The TS2000 can have a voice synthesizer installed to read off
> frequency and mode.  That is not an option in the FT991.
>
> The FT991 has a USB jack on the rear of the radio and has an internal
> soundard so you can do radio control and the digital modes by using nothing
> more than a standard USB cable.  You can also do true FSK using the USB
> cable and MMTTY software.  The TS2000 has a serial jack and needs some soft
> of interface to do digital modes.
>
> The FT991 is smaller, lighter and the FT991A model has a real time
> bandscope.  They also do Yaesu's System Fusion digital voice.  I haven't
> tried that yet.
>
> Here are a couple of area where the TS2000 is better:
> 1. Does full duplex on satellites-You could use your Icom 706 for the 2
> meter side of satellite operations
> 2. Has 2 antenna jacks for HF/6 meters, and separate antenna jacks for 2m
> and 70cm.  How important this is depends on your setup.
> 3. Has the subreceiver, nice for monitoring local 2m and 70cm repeaters, or
> simplex channels during a VHF contest.
> 4. Has the 1.2GHZ option, not available on the FT991
> 5. Can do crossband repeat and remote operations on Sky Command, not
> available on the FT991.
>
> So for basic HF/VHF/UHF SSB/CW/Digital operating, I think the FT991 is
> better overall.  The TS2000 is better if you want to have full duplex in a
> single box, do 23cm operations, use crossband repeat, or do Skycommand.
>
> Good luck with your choice!  We live in a great time to have many different
> rigs available!
>
> 73 John W5TD
>
> On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 3:03 PM RG via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:
>
> > Hello fellow hams!I am looking into the Kenwood TS 2000,Older version on
> > Ebay and the Yaesu  FT 991A.The Kenwood is nice with the satellite
> features
> > and a built in TNC perhaps for filter selectivity than the FT 991A but
> have
> > heard some problems with RX sensitivity on the TS-2000.Dont want to spend
> > $1600 on a new one.The Yaesu is nice because it has digital radio but I
> > have DMR so not a big thing though nice.Anyway opinions would be greatly
> > appreciated.My motive is  obvious for full duplex for satellite use but
> > would like a good  nice base station as I run CW 85% .also and can use my
> > 706 for RX and portable usethanks all73Rich :)
> > marzo7088 at yahoo.com
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> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
> expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
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>