I don't own any Kenwood stock, but I must say that my Kenwood TS-950SD which
"lives" on Ascension Island, and probably has 250,000 QSOs under its cover
has been FLAWLESS. I arrived on the island last week, and although the
radio hadn't been touched in over a year, it fired-up from the get-go.
Regards comments about signal quality, I've received countless positive
comments about the quality of my SSB audio (using a Heil HC-4 mike). And
when Glenn ZD8A used my station in the 99 CQ WW CW, I had my first
opportunity to listen to the CW signal, while I was in Brazil. Might be a
little "biased", but the CW note sounded great and "potent".
The ZD8Z radio has only stock Kenwood filters in it, but seems to "do the
job". (How many other radios out there currently hold three CQ WW world
records? As Casey Stengel would say, you can look it up........)
John N6AX tweaked the radio a couple years ago, and John might be a good
source for work on your radios. He is a former HRO Tech. (Dunno if he's
actively soliciting any work).
Vy 73
Jim Neiger
N6TJ/ZD8Z
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Beckwith <swca@swbell.net>
To: <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2001 10:52 AM
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Kenwood repair
>
> >After two years and five returns to the Kenwood factory, they told
> >me to go to Hell. I responded that I would go to ham conventions
> >and hand out papers describing accurately my experiences with
> >Kenwood support. They responded by sending me a USED TS-950SDX
> >with fewer filters than were in my broken SDX.
>
> I would have hoped they'd at least have sent Bill's own filters back. I
take
> the filters out when I send in the radios.
>
> I had a similar ongoing situation with Kenwood with my TS-850. I also
have a
> 950 and two 930s, and I am not inclined to turn my back on Kenwood if only
> because of how much I prefer the radios when they ARE working. The 850
works
> enough to send my callsign and exchange as the second radio. Mostly it is
an
> SWL rig now.
>
> But I know this frustration. One day after Field Day, the receive signals
just
> didn't sound good like they used to. Then the bad signal reports started
> coming
> in. After multiple trips to Kenwood repair, the last time the rig came
back,
> they said over the phone basically:
>
> "We can't help you, your rig is a pile of junk, we found multiple damaged
> components, we don't know what you did, we don't know how to fix it, have
a
> nice
> day, that'll be $270."
>
> So, yes, I also know what Bill went through, and I wish they would have
offered
> ME a working used 850. I suspect it was a static discharge or Field Day
> station
> proximity which killed it (all that massive ERP, of course), but it is
> definitely "off the mark" now.
>
> Mark, N5OT
>
>
> --
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