TS-990S_review_RC_2013.pdf

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1、 INTRODUCTION. During the latter months of 2010, Kenwood launched the TS-590S mid-range base station; this was their first new HF transceiver for over seven years. Building on the features of this radio now comes the TS-990S, Kenwoods new flagship top-end radio, offering the very highest in performa

2、nce and a most impressive level of functions, user control and information display. As a large mains-powered base station delivering 200W output power with dual independent receivers it is targeted as a top-flight DX and contest radio. BASIC FUNCTIONS. The TS-990S is certainly large, measuring 460mm

3、(w) x 182mm(h) x 449mm(d) and weighs about 25kg. The radio contains dual receivers, main and sub, both tuning 30kHz to 60MHz. They can operate independently over the whole tuning range although the performance is not specified over the full range. The transmitter is enabled on the amateur bands and

4、delivers nominally 200W output power. In the UK, transmit operation on 5MHz is not standard out of the box but can be enabled by Kenwood dealers. A low level drive output is also provided giving about 1mW transmit signal on the 136kHz band as well as transverter drive from any of the HF bands. As wi

5、th the TS-590S, the low level LF transmit range can be extended to cover 100 522kHz with a dealer modification, useful for the 475kHz allocation. Individual buttons select the bands with a band memory where 1, 3 or 5 last used combinations of frequency, mode and other settings is returned for each p

6、ress of the band key. Individual buttons also select the usual modes with both sidebands available on CW, FSK and PSK, and wide or narrow deviations on FM. A data button selects data mode on SSB and FM when interfacing to PC applications via the sound card and the various shifts and bandwidths are a

7、ll settable. Modes can be selected automatically according to band plans by setting up a mode-frequency map, and CW transmission whilst on SSB can also be enabled. The front panel is quite complex but well laid out, with most functions directly accessible from front panel controls in a logical way.

8、The rear panel is fairly uncluttered. There are four antenna sockets and separate in/out sockets to connect a separate receive-only antenna, a separate receiver, transverter or extra front end filters. The antennas can be named on the panel display. Twin key jacks, one on the rear panel and one on t

9、he front, are each configurable for different keying arrangements. A 13-pin DIN connector provides audio and interfacing lines for the datamodes and other accessories, and a separate DIN connector is used for linear amp control. This provides control for both fast QSK linears and older style slower

10、linears that need higher voltage or current control. Menu items allow separate switching characteristics for HF and 50MHz but there is only one linear control line. A dedicated connector interfaces to the AT-300 external ATU but there is no separate direct access to band data. Separate external spea

11、ker sockets provide output from the two receivers. There are two USB-A connectors on the front panel to connect a USB keyboard or external memory and a USB-B connector on the rear, primarily for computer control and audio lines. The usual 9-pin D connector COM port is provided, a LAN Ethernet connec

12、tion, optical audio input and output lines, a DVI connection for an external display and a socket to connect external analogue meters. The meter connection is identical to the Icom IC-7800 and allows external units such as the LDG DM-7800 to provide dual large S-meters and multiple simultaneous mete

13、ring on transmit. The menu system is extremely comprehensive, with over 200 items in the main and sub menus, with every conceivable parameter available for user selection and adjustment. The high resolution display makes access easy, straightforward and unambiguous. Many parameters are adjustable vi

14、a bargraphs and other forms of graphical displays. Two entirely separate sets of parameters may be stored, configuration A and configuration B. This can be useful for optimising different operating environments such as contesting and local rag-chewing or for field day operation where two operators h

15、ave different preferences for the way the radio is set up. Configurations and message stores can be saved to external USB memory. Quick access to commonly selected menu items or many other settings including some otherwise inaccessible functions can be assigned to any of the programmable keys. There

16、 are two programmable function keys on the front panel, one is rather obscurely placed, and a further two if keys are reassigned. A further eight keys may be accessed via a (home constructed) keypad connected via the rear panel. The up / down keys on the microphone can also be reassigned for this pu

17、rpose and a further four with the MC-47 microphone. My preference is to allocate one function key to enable TUNE. There is no microphone provided as standard with the radio but Kenwood have a range of compatible hand and desk Kenwood TS-990S 18 Equipment Review June 2013 u RadComPeter Hart, G3SJX u

18、e-mail: peterg3sjx.freeserve.co.uk 100 YEARS 1913 - 2013 R S G B Radio Society of Great Britain New flagship HF AGC can also be switched off. RECEIVER FILTERS. The TS-990S is well equipped with channel filtering functions. The IF channel bandwidth can be set over wide limits, down to 50Hz. On voice

19、modes the upper and lower passband edges are set independently (HI/LOW) and on CW and data modes the centre frequency and width are set (SHIFT/WIDTH). SSB and SSB-DATA can use either method. In addition to these settings, the overall shape can be set to sharp, medium or soft. On AM and FM modes the

20、quoted bandwidth is somewhat misleading. On FM it relates to the audio filtered bandwidth; the IF bandwidth is fixed. On AM it also relates to the audio bandwidth after demodulation but the IF bandwidth is filtered to about double this value. The sub display shows the actual set values as well as a

21、graphical overlay on the audio spectrum. The audio bandwidth can be set overall to narrow, medium or wide and, on CW, an audio peak filter can be enabled. This has three selectable bandwidths 80, 160 or 320Hz and is tuneable across the pitch frequency. In FSK mode, a dual peak audio filter may also

22、be selected. Last, but not least, an audio equaliser is incorporated with six preset profiles or three custom profiles, where each of the 18 channels can be independently adjusted. This is easy to set and graphically portrayed as one of the setup screens. Three separate sets of bandwidths for each m

23、ode may be stored and toggled from a front panel key. This includes IF, AF and roofing filter settings. Separate keys are used for the two receivers. Four different notch circuits are provided. Implemented at IF is a manual notch with adjustable centre frequency and wide/narrow setting. An IF auto-n

24、otch is available on SSB for automatically locating and attenuating a single interfering tone. A separate IF notch, termed Band Elimination Filter, is a manual notch with adjustable depth and stopband. Implemented at audio is a beat cancellation filter for voice modes, often called auto-notch on oth

25、er radios. This automatically locates and removes multiple tones with two speed settings, one setting is more effective on continuous beats and the other on intermittent tones. Two separate DSP noise reduction functions are provided that use different algorithms and differ in their effectiveness dep

26、ending on the prevailing situation. Finally in the armoury for combating interference are two noise blankers. NB1 is a conventional IF gated analogue system and NB2 performs blanking using DSP. Quite a selection to choose from. Again, all functions are duplicated between the receivers, with separate

27、 controls. TRANSMIT FEATURES. The transmitter power output is variable on all modes down to about 1W. The maximum power output can be set separately for each band in 1W steps with different settings for data modes and tune power very comprehensive. Metering indicates power output, SWR, ALC, compress

28、ion level, temperature or PA voltage or current. The radio includes a built in auto ATU covering all bands from 1.8 to 50MHz and will tune antennas with up to 3:1 VSWR. The ATU can be set to be in circuit on receive as well as on transmit. On voice modes VOX, speech processor and a transmission moni

29、tor are provided and the audio bandwidth may be tailored by adjusting the low cut and high cut response. In addition an audio equaliser may be enabled that has 18 selectable profiles similar to the receiver equaliser. On FM, receive and transmit tone decoders and encoders are provided for CTCSS oper

30、ation and repeater access and these can use different frequencies. On CW the rise and fall times of the keying envelope are settable from 1 to 6ms and there is the usual provision for full and semi break- in with the drop back delay adjustable from the front panel. An electronic keyer is built in an

31、d has various operating modes. It operates over the speed range 4 60wpm, with the speed in wpm indicated on the display. The weighting can be varied and made to increase or decrease with speed. Eight message stores are also provided storing up to 50 characters each and can be programmed from the pad

32、dle, the MULTI control or from a USB keyboard. Automatically incrementing serial numbers are allowed and messages can be set to repeat after a delay. The message stores are controlled from front panel keys. DATAMODES. The TS-990S includes fully featured built-in encoders and decoders for RTTY and PS

33、K operation. Unlike many radios where this feature is provided, but rather simplistically, the higher resolution display in the TS-990S together with an external keyboard connected makes real operation much more feasible and enjoyable. The main screen in extended mode allows for 12 lines of received

34、 data with 43 characters per line and 3 lines of transmit data, together with an FFT scope displaying audio spectrum and a waterfall. In addition, the sub display shows an X-Y scope or vector scope depending on mode. Together these tuning aids are really effective. PSK operation allows both BPSK and

35、 QPSK modes with either PSK31 or PSK63. A host of configurable setups is provided, tone frequencies, shifts, UOS, AFC, tone reversal etc. The text buffer for transmission will store up to 4300 characters and there are eight 70-character message stores for each mode. Incoming messages can be saved to

36、 external USB memory. BANDSCOPE. A versatile spectrum display or bandscope is incorporated into the TS-990S that provides a higher resolution than any other self-contained radio currently available. It also provides a waterfall display, which is often better for identifying weak or keyed signals. Th

37、e displayed range is 80dB. In centre mode it displays the spectrum centred on the main or sub receiver frequency with spans from 5kHz to 500kHz. In fixed mode it provides scans within each band between presettable limits. Markers indicate the receiver and transmit frequencies and the display can be

38、paused, averaged or maximum-held to assist in different situations. Touching the bandscope display will tune the radio to the touched area but this can be switched off to prevent accidental QSYs. An audio scope function can also be enabled for the main display. This functions on both receive and tra

39、nsmit and shows the audio waveform, spectrum and a waterfall display of the spectrum. Frequency span, level and sweep time are adjustable. ADDITIONAL FEATURES. A voice message store is provided, recording short messages for repetitive calls such as CQ calls or recording the receiver audio. There are

40、 six channels available for short messages with a total recording time of 100 seconds. Messages can repeat automatically after a time interval. Up to 30 seconds of receiver audio can be recorded per file on internal memory or up to 9 hours if using external USB memory. The voice store can be set to

41、record continuously but retain just the last 30 seconds. 20 Equipment Review June 2013 u RadCom 100 YEARS 1913 - 2013 R S G B Radio Society of Great Britain Main display with bandscope.PSK decoder screen. p18_22_kenwood_review_radcom_june13.indd 2007/05/2013 13:53:40 The voice guide provides voice r

42、eadout of the status of various radio settings depending on how it has been set up. This includes the frequency, meter readings and virtually any other settings and key presses, and can be a great help for those with impaired vision. If not needed, the voice guide access keys can be used as programm

43、able function keys. For use with transverters, the display can be set to indicate the transverted frequency up to a maximum of 4.2GHz, with any offset to a resolution of 100Hz. The transmit drive source for the transverter in most cases will use the low level 1mW drive output which disables the tran

44、smitter PA but there is a menu option to use the PA at its lowest power level (5W). Make sure you avoid transmitting into the transverter IF output when the transverter is disabled by using the receive-only input on the radio. Other features include clock displays and timers and timed recording, pow

45、er- on messages and screen saver. The radio is fully supported by Kenwoods suite of software, ARCP-990 and ARHP-990 for full remote operation from a PC or via the internet, and via radio with the Sky Command System II. This includes packet cluster tuning and crossband repeaters. MEASUREMENTS. The fu

46、ll set of measurements is given in the table. The main receiver sensitivity reduced by 3dB with the sub receiver enabled and then both receivers gave similar results. The sensitivity holds well at LF, achieving -123dBm at 136kHz (preamp on) and only starts to reduce significantly below 100kHz. Sensi

47、tivity is reduced by about 18dB over the medium wave broadcast band. The S-meter calibration was similar for both receivers and showed about 3.5dB per S unit; all modes were the same except FM, which was highly compressed. The rejection of IFs and images for the main and sub receiver downconversion

48、path (SUB1) was typically 70dB to 90dB. For the sub receiver upconversion path (SUB2) these figures were somewhat better, typically around 100dB. Other spurious responses and birdies were very low, with none of significance. The AGC attack characteristic inserted a hole of up to 10ms in the signal,

49、often seen in DSP implemented systems, which can impair signal copy in noisy situations. The default AGC decay times were quite closely spaced and the user may prefer to widen them. Using a wider roofing filter than necessary can result in close-in desensitisation, as the AGC responds to signals inside the roofing filter bandwidth. The strong signal performance of the main receiver is top class, with front end IP3 approaching +40dBm on some bands and intermodulation limited dynamic range approaching 115dB in 500Hz bandwidth. The sub receiver is also excell