On Mon, 30 Jun 2003, Bob & Fran Striegl (K2DRH & N2KMA) wrote:
> I've never owned a TS-2000, but I wan't really impressed with its specs as a
> HF radio, much less a VHF/UHF multimode. After owning several multimode
> radios over the years such as the TS-700A, the IC-271A and the FT-726R and
> comparing them to my first VHF setup (a Yaesu FT-101ZDMkIII and FTV-901R 3
> band transverter), I soon realized that their selectivity was lacking and
> that strong signal performance was generally horrible.
I got to use a TS-2000 for the first time this weekend on FD. It was
being used for the AO-40 satellite station. It's an interesting radio but
I just havebn't gotten used to menu-driven radios yet. It took the owner
of the rig about 5 minutes to figure out how to get the keyer to work on
CW! The only feature I was impressed by was the "tracking" feature on
split operation, where the transmit and receive frequencies change at the
same rate as you tune it around.
>
> My first one was a Ten Tec 6M transveter that I still think is about the the
> best bang for the buck around. I coupled it to a TS-850S and was just
> amazed at how well it worked.
I got a TS-850SAT about a year ago and I have to say it's the best radio
I've owned and one of the best I've ever used. No complicated menus,
controls are easy to learn to use, and it has one of the best receivers
ever made. An excellent home station IF rig but a little too much for
portable hilltop operations.
>
> I now run DEM transverters and TS-850's from 6 to 432 now. Why DEM?
> Because their front ends spec out a little better than SSB and they are a
> heck of a lot cheaper too! As long as you don't compromise them with
> in-brick preamps that have way too much gain and higher noise figures, they
> are practically crunchproof. Those new DB6NT transverters have even better
> specs, but are awfully pricey.
Steve is very active on VHF+ and I'm guessing he designs the stuff the way
he would want to use it, then produces and sells the gear. It's a lot
cheaper than SSB and DB6NT transverters. Plus, he's always been willing
to help if I had questions or problems.
I'm about halfway through converting an HTX-100 as an IF rig for the
microwave bands. I removed the back panel with the heatsink and the final
transistors and made an aluminum back panel that has two BNC connectors
and a few power leads for transverter switching. I'm putting a 144
MHz transverter inside the rig so the separate 144 MHz receive and
transmit lines will be on the BNC's. There's an article by Rus Healy NJ2L
on doing this that can be downloaded from the DEM website. Since I'm
building my own transverter, I can make it have adjustable gain, etc. It
should draw a lot less power than the straight HTX-100 with 5 watts into a
transverter IF switch that has to just throw away that unneeded power.
And it's small and lightweight if I want to carry it up a hill.
73, Zack W9SZ
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