I purchased a new IC-7300 in June 2018 to revamp my /P setup – after mixing the KX3 and FT-857 depending upon my operating mood, band conditions etc, I wanted something that had a) a good RX b) a visual display. My options were limited within the scope of “portable” (not to mention budget) and I wasn’t prepared to go down the KXPA+PX3 route (around £1800 just to have 100-watts, an ATU and the Panadapter).
- Icom Ic-7610 Vs Kenwood Ts-890
- Kenwood Ts-890s Vs Icom Ic-7610
- Icom 7610 Vs Kenwood Ts-890s
- Ic-7610 Vs Ts-890s
Obviously, that left the IC-7300 which had been on my radar since choosing the TS-590SG over the 7300 back in April 2016. It was a difficult choice but I think I made the right one as I much prefer the Kenwood as a “workhorse” for the Shack with its big chassis, twin cooling fans and traditional radio layout.
Kenwood TS-890S The weak point of the TS-990S was phase noise in the LO (local oscillator). Likely only a problem in high RF environments This limitation is 100% corrected in the new TS-890S. To get accurate RMDR measurements I had to purchase several Wenzel low-noise crystal oscillators. However measuring dynamic range (DR3) was.
- Review of the Kenwood TS-890S. Fbe5ee78-ea10-48a0-a98d-dd3a27c1af66 The TS890S is the latest top-of-the-range transceiver offered by Kenwood. Reviewed by: Ron Stone, GW3YDX. (the odd placement of the main RX AF/RF gain well above that for the sub-RX on the IC7610.
- Click the button below to add the Kenwood SP-890 Flagship Filtered Speaker for TS-890S to your wish list. Icom IC-7610 160-6 Meters SDR Transceiver.IN STOCK NOW.
- May 11, 2020.
2020 Update: Since writing this nearly 2yrs ago, I’ve found myself using the 7300 more for casual listening owing to the convenience of being able to move around the bands easily (without wearing out physical buttons) plus the visual display makes it so easy to gauge a band’s state. It’s no surprise that I’m considering whether the FTdx101, IC-7610 or TS-890s should be replacing the TS-590SG at some point. The Yaesu wins on specs although most of us are unlikely to take advantage of those extra few dB in a typical QTH. The Kenwood wins because it’ll be an easy transition in terms of operating (but its menu is ugly), whilst the Icom wins for familiarity because of the 7300. I’ve written about my current radios here in Radio Ga Ga.
Decisions!
Some of my initial pros+cons remain below along with some comments on what I found as a new user:
Pros
Putting aside that “shiny+colourful new radio” look, as an operator of CW, SSB and Digital modes, I was pleased to find a number of aspects to aid operating them:
Putting aside that “shiny+colourful new radio” look, as an operator of CW, SSB and Digital modes, I was pleased to find a number of aspects to aid operating them:
- Easy to drive – I only had to resort to the manual a few times
- TX audio is very punchy – easily able to get a clean 100-watts peak (within the safe ALC zone)
- SD Card to store/recall settings (eg: different operator settings)
- Playback+record TX/RX audio – great for “CQ Contest” calls and logging notable QSOs
- Nice “main dial split lock” feature (see below)
- CW “auto-tune” surprisingly good (much like the TS-590SG), and faster/better than the KX3
- 4m / 70MHz – the only downside here is that I had to make a dipole for it!
Cons
What don’t I like – well, there are a few issues, and this may just be a result of making the transition from the KX3 as well as having a TS-590SG in the Shack. Sure, there will be differences – but just what stands out as being a bit “meh”?
What don’t I like – well, there are a few issues, and this may just be a result of making the transition from the KX3 as well as having a TS-590SG in the Shack. Sure, there will be differences – but just what stands out as being a bit “meh”?
- Cooling Fan – it starts up quickly (voltage surge) and is a fair bit noiser than the (pair of) fans in my TS-590SG. It also comes on immediately during TX – there doesn’t seem to be a time or temperature threshold (that I’ve noticed yet). Personally, I’d favour a “min TX time” threshold which is overridden by a temperature sensor – so during brief “599 TU” exchanges, it won’t come on unless the the radio temperature is above a certain threshold. I’m aware of the “CPU” fan mod – but the suggested fan (Noctua NF-A8) doesn’t push as much air as the stock fan.
- TX/RX QSK Relay – Far noisier than the TS-590SG and annoying if you’re not wearing headphones. As I’ll be using this radio when /P, I don’t think it’ll be an issue for me so much.
- Lack of quick access to a tuning carrier – You have to enter a multi-layer menu and switch from paddle to key in order to get a constant carrier from the radio for tuning purposes. There is the option of using a push-button attached to the Molex “Tuner” socket but it would have been nice if Icom had offered something a little more user-friendly – especially given that the internal ATU is not a wide-ranging one. With the TS-590SG, you can assign the “tune” function to one of the PF A/B buttons.
- Tuning Steps are “global” between Band Stacking VFOs, so if you prefer 1Hz res for CW, it’ll be that when you cycle through the VFOs (I use the 3 VFOs for CW, Data, SSB). I’d rather they were unique to each VFO – so that CW is set to 10Hz but SSB 500Hz.
- Annoyingly, the waterfall “base” level is global, too. This means that if you suffer a particular nasty bit of local QRM on 1 (or more) bands, you can’t compensate on a “per band” basis. The Pre-Amp settings are, however, unique to each band – odd!
Driving the 7300
I’d say that it’s easy to drive – especially as the menus are large+clear. However, it is often the “long press” of buttons which take you to the relevant settings, eg: if you press the VOX/BK-IN button it’ll toggle through Semi Break-In, Full Break-In and Off. If you hold the button down you’ll get the “hang-time delay” setting. Same with the Noise Blanker+Reduction buttons which offer the settings menu for each.
I’d say that it’s easy to drive – especially as the menus are large+clear. However, it is often the “long press” of buttons which take you to the relevant settings, eg: if you press the VOX/BK-IN button it’ll toggle through Semi Break-In, Full Break-In and Off. If you hold the button down you’ll get the “hang-time delay” setting. Same with the Noise Blanker+Reduction buttons which offer the settings menu for each.
Stacked VFOs
The Stacked VFO makes life much easier for a multimode operator like myself. With each press of the same MHz (Band) button, you can cycle through CW, Data and SSB sections of the bands with ease, eg: without having to spin the VFO dial, change modes/filter settings etc.
The Stacked VFO makes life much easier for a multimode operator like myself. With each press of the same MHz (Band) button, you can cycle through CW, Data and SSB sections of the bands with ease, eg: without having to spin the VFO dial, change modes/filter settings etc.
Display : Spectrum/Waterfall
What’s not to like about this? You can easily see a large chunk of the band as well as narrow-down to +/- 2.5KHz to watch for that 5NN during a CW pile-up. Being able to take a screenshot of the display (example below) is a nice touch – allowing for captures to be shared on websites/social-media. Audio recording (RX+TX) can be useful for special QSOs or for giving audio to your QSO partner during audio/signal testing.
What’s not to like about this? You can easily see a large chunk of the band as well as narrow-down to +/- 2.5KHz to watch for that 5NN during a CW pile-up. Being able to take a screenshot of the display (example below) is a nice touch – allowing for captures to be shared on websites/social-media. Audio recording (RX+TX) can be useful for special QSOs or for giving audio to your QSO partner during audio/signal testing.
It amazes me that there are some people who regard a waterfall display as “not being real radio” – I find this quite a strange opinion. If you are “sampling” a wide frequency range (or even just the audio passband), why not take advantage of it and plot it visually? In my opinion, it makes for a more efficient operating experience as you can see how busy the band is, find a signal to investigate and even find some space to park and call CQ.
In this day and age of electrical QRM, it can also make identifying (and locating) spurious emissions a lot easier by ascertaining how often they appear, frequency spread etc.
One of the amusing aspects of visually seeing a band’s activity is the before and after effect of a big contest: Here’s the last few moments of the IARU Contest and immediately after:
USB CAT / OmniRig
I had some initial issues getting the radio to communicate with OmniRig and display live freqency+band info on PZTLog. This was simply teething-trouble as far as baud-rate, CiV and other parameters went. After a bit of tweaking, I got “Rig2” in OmniRig to work nicely and was able to switch between the Kenwood and the Icom within PZTLog.
I had some initial issues getting the radio to communicate with OmniRig and display live freqency+band info on PZTLog. This was simply teething-trouble as far as baud-rate, CiV and other parameters went. After a bit of tweaking, I got “Rig2” in OmniRig to work nicely and was able to switch between the Kenwood and the Icom within PZTLog.
I had to modify PZTLog to use CAT-based PTT so that the digimodes window could key the radio – This is because OmniRig “grabs” the serial port which meant basic DTR (CW) and RTS (PTT) had to be issued via OmniRig. The radio does NOT have any kind of Data/USB “VOX” so I wasn’t able to get PSK/JT modes to key the radio upon an audio signal being present via the USB sound device.
Voice Record
With the SD Card slot comes the ability to not only store the radio’s settings *away* from it, but to put that card into another 7300 and recall your personal settings. The built-in voice recorder is great for capturing activity and keeping the voice alive during long operating events like field days or contests.
With the SD Card slot comes the ability to not only store the radio’s settings *away* from it, but to put that card into another 7300 and recall your personal settings. The built-in voice recorder is great for capturing activity and keeping the voice alive during long operating events like field days or contests.
Main Dial Lock with “Split”
A particularly nice touch was a menu option to lock the main dial during “split” operation. This means that you can keep the DX station whilst holding the XFC button to tune around listening for the station they are working. On the TS-590SG, the lock was VFO independant, so worked “out of the box”. This menu setting (SET>Function>SPLIT>SPLIT LOCK) was not enabled on the demo unit at ML&S so I was a little miffed that I’d not be able to easily navigate a split pile-up without losing the DX station on VFO-A.
A particularly nice touch was a menu option to lock the main dial during “split” operation. This means that you can keep the DX station whilst holding the XFC button to tune around listening for the station they are working. On the TS-590SG, the lock was VFO independant, so worked “out of the box”. This menu setting (SET>Function>SPLIT>SPLIT LOCK) was not enabled on the demo unit at ML&S so I was a little miffed that I’d not be able to easily navigate a split pile-up without losing the DX station on VFO-A.
CW Auto-Tune
This is a great feature for zero’ing onto a caller’s frequency to ensure pitch-perfect (and filter aligned) Morse. It reacts well, seems better than the one used on the KX3 and (thankfully), operates on RX-only when you have RIT engaged: So, if you are on 14.050.00 and are called slightly off-freq, you can engage the RIT and hit “Auto Tune” to bring the pitch in-line with yours (but without affecting your TX freq) lest you end up chasing each other up+down the band!
This is a great feature for zero’ing onto a caller’s frequency to ensure pitch-perfect (and filter aligned) Morse. It reacts well, seems better than the one used on the KX3 and (thankfully), operates on RX-only when you have RIT engaged: So, if you are on 14.050.00 and are called slightly off-freq, you can engage the RIT and hit “Auto Tune” to bring the pitch in-line with yours (but without affecting your TX freq) lest you end up chasing each other up+down the band!
Fate stay night visual novel for mac. 4m / 70MHz
More and more EU countries are getting an allocation on 4m and it’s certainly something I’d like to try now that I can generate an easy (and clean!) 50-watts on all-modes. This also meant that I needed to make an aerial for the band – I settled on a “lock-nut” RG58 dipole-centre which I mount to my interlocking poles via a long bolt. I used 10mm ali tube from the local DIY store which, in the stock 1m length, gave a nice VSWR across the band.
More and more EU countries are getting an allocation on 4m and it’s certainly something I’d like to try now that I can generate an easy (and clean!) 50-watts on all-modes. This also meant that I needed to make an aerial for the band – I settled on a “lock-nut” RG58 dipole-centre which I mount to my interlocking poles via a long bolt. I used 10mm ali tube from the local DIY store which, in the stock 1m length, gave a nice VSWR across the band.
Easy Headset Wiring
OK, you still need to wire a 3.5mm socket to 8-pin chassis connector but if using a cheap “electret” headset, you only need to wire the Mic and Ground connections, no resistor+capacitor as Icom have all that inside the radio. The downside is if you want to use a dynamic microphone (like a vocal mic or non-iC Heil), a blocking capacitor is advised. My own headset adapter is the 8-pin front panel connector with 2 short lengths of screened cable: a 3.5mm for the headset mic and a phono for a foot-switch.
OK, you still need to wire a 3.5mm socket to 8-pin chassis connector but if using a cheap “electret” headset, you only need to wire the Mic and Ground connections, no resistor+capacitor as Icom have all that inside the radio. The downside is if you want to use a dynamic microphone (like a vocal mic or non-iC Heil), a blocking capacitor is advised. My own headset adapter is the 8-pin front panel connector with 2 short lengths of screened cable: a 3.5mm for the headset mic and a phono for a foot-switch.
Verdict
Here’s a simple Q+A which may help you decide if it’s right for you – this is based on my experiences owning the following radios: Yaesu FT-817ND, FT-857D, FT-450D, FT-950, TS-590SG and Electraft KX3.
- Would I buy this as a main Shack radio?Yes, but only if I absolutely needed an in-built spectrum/waterfall display
- What would I buy as a main Shack “workhorse”? I like the TS-590SG, simply for its build-quality, large chassis+cooling. It’s a cracker on CW+Data.
- What’s the best “first HF radio” with a £1200 budget? There are a few within that price-range. At the bottom-end, the FT-450D is a great HF+6m set: Small, a good compliment of buttons to make swift changes a breeze plus good (300Hz) filtering. The FT-857D is a great “Shack-in-a-Box” but lacks selectivity on CW+Data unless you add £120 of filter to it. Failing that, it’s a tough choice between the IC-7300 and TS-590SG.
There are numerous other reviews, resources and YouTube videos of the radio in action – so use Google and make up your own mind as to whether this is the radio for you. I’m certainly happy with my purchase in terms of what’s “under the hood”, so providing it performs fault-free, then I’ll be a Happy Ham.
Icom Ic-7610 Vs Kenwood Ts-890
As always, I am not a Doctor and YMMV ?
I’ve been using the Kenwood TS-990 HF transceiver for almost a year. I’ve loved every minute of learning about the features of Kenwood’s great new flagship radio. In addition to having a superb receiver, this rig has the ability to produce some of the best sounding “Kenwood audio” available on any HF rig without using any outboard processor. However, as with any feature rich HF radio, there is a learning curve, and it takes a while to arrive at the best transmit audio settings for the operator’s voice and microphone.
After quite a bit of experimenting with my Electro Voice RE-27 interfaced to the TS-990 (and after quite a few local hams giving me advice about the settings), I came to the conclusion that I had arrived at the best set up. There’s not just one setting to be concerned about, but after adjusting them all I arrived at the best settings for everyday use of the radio. I use different settings when working DX in noisy conditions, but the settings I am about to describe are what I use for “normal operations”.
Kenwood Ts-890s Vs Icom Ic-7610
As I stated above, and as I also mentioned when I described my settings for my old FT-2000, these settings work for me, but your mileage may vary. Also keep in mind that you can only get so far listening to your own transmitted audio through headphones, so I would encourage everyone to get a few helpful hams on the air with you to give you advice as you experiment.
First things first. I always start with the Mic Gain control and make sure my transmitted audio stays within the ALC zone on the meter. On the TS-990, you will need to set your meter to show your ALC when you transmit. You will find your meter selection on the right hand column of your main screen. It is the second soft button from the bottom. I like my ALC to be right at the top edge on peaks. I was able to achieve this with the Mic Gain control set at the center (50% or 12 o’clock). The Mic Gain control is the center control of the far left knob on the bottom row. I also have the speech processor activated and set at 60%. The speech processor control is directly below the F3 key, with the adjustment knob below and to the left.
After getting the Mic Gain set, I moved on to the Transmit Filter settings. Next to adjusting your Mic Gain, I believe that your transmitted bandwidth is the most important setting to achieving good sounding audio. The sky’s the limit here, but I was looking for good conversational audio – not too high and not too low. On the TS-990, you will select your bandwidth adjustment screen by pressing and holding the “TX-FIL” soft button, located at the bottom of the right hand column of soft keys. After a bit of tinkering, I settled on a low cut setting of 200 and a high cut setting of 2800. The TS-990 has three programmable transmit filters, so I would encourage you to set up one for everyday use, one for DX and one just to play with.
TS-990 Transmit Filter Display
Now, this is where the REAL fun began with the TS-990. Not only does this radio have an internal graphic equalizer for transmit and receive, it has 18 bands of adjustment ranging from .3 kHz to 5.1 kHz. This provides the user the opportunity to really tailor how their transmit audio sounds. It also presents the opportunity to make things sound very bad! The good news is that Kenwood has provided six pre-programmed equalizer settings, along with three user definable selections. I would encourage you to experiment with these settings until you find one you like; however, I found that after much tweaking and adjusting, the pre-set that Kenwood has labeled “Conventional” worked best for me. I use “High Boost 1” for DX and some nets.
Again, your mileage may vary, so use the User 1 through 3 pre-sets to create your own settings. To activate your transmit equalizer, press the “TX EQ/SEL” button. In the center right of the main screen you will see a box labeled “TXEQ” with an arrow pointing to your selection. If “Conventional” is selected, your will see a “C” displayed there. If the EQ is out of line you will see “OFF” after the arrow. Press and hold the “TX EQ/SEL” button and a list of available pre-sets will be displayed. Use the arrow keys to select the present you want. If you want to adjust any of the selections, move the arrow keys until your selection is highlighted, and then press the “ADJ” soft key (F4). You can then adjust each of the 18 bands with the sliders.
TS-990 18 Band EQ Adjustments
Icom 7610 Vs Kenwood Ts-890s
By the way, another cool feature of the TS-990 is the built in Audio Scope. You can use this to view the characteristics of received audio, but it will also show you your transmitted audio characteristics as well. With the bandscope active (“SCP” key) , press RF/AF (F2) to display the audio scope.
- TS-990 Audio Scope
So, there you have it. After completing these settings, everyone I have spoken with has given my great audio reports. I see no need to use any outboard audio equipment with this radio, and believe that with the broad customization that it provides, most users will be able to find a setting or settings that fits all of their operating needs.
Ic-7610 Vs Ts-890s
In summary, here are my settings I use with the TS-990 for transmit audio with my Electro Voice RE-27:
- Mic Gain at the center (50%)
- Speech Processor Activated and set at 60%
- Transmit Filter Bandwidth low at 200 Hz and high at 2800 Hz
- The 18 Band Equalizer for Transmit is set to the “Conventional” pre-set.
Have fun playing with the transmit audio settings on your Kenwood TS-990!
73,
Bill