[CQ-Contest] TS850 vs. IC765 on cw

[David A. Pruett]

At 09:37 PM 8/29/02 -0600, Matt & Carrie Trott wrote:
>Could I humor those of you who have used both to compare the TS-850 vs. the
>IC-765?  Which would you rather have?

Matt,

I own both radios.  I've had the IC-765 since 1989; it is one of my 
favorite radios which is why I still keep it around.  I bought the TS-850 
in 1998 as a traveling radio for Caribbean trips.  Both are excellent 
radios; the consideration of one vs. the other may be personal preference 
more than anything else.  Here's my thinking.

Both radios are excellent on CW.

IC-765 Advantages:

- Simpler, larger controls
- Slots for cascaded CW filters in both wide (~500) and narrow (~250)
- Standard on-board tuner (helpful for operation without an amplifier)
- Less internally-generated noise
- Separate keyer paddle and straight key (for computer keying) inputs
- Internal power supply (convenient for home use)
- Receive path brought thru jacks on rear panel (good for beverages of BPFs)
- Convenient connector types (RCA) for things like amp relay keying

TS-850 Advantages:

- CW reception on either LSB or USB
- CW spot function for zero beating
- External power supply (use a light switcher for traveling)

Some of the IC-765's advantages can be incorporated into the TS-850 thru 
modification.  Whether this is acceptable is up to you.

A couple things I don't like about the TS-850 are its use of DIN connectors 
for a lot of common connections, some of these are wierdo configurations 
that I defy you to find here in the USA.

My biggest gripe about the TS-850 is the fact that the !@$%^#&^ RIT cannot 
be cleared; the control has to be re-centered or the RIT function turned 
off.  Yes, I know that with an RS-232 connection your logging program could 
clear the RIT if it wanted to, but do that a few too many times and you'll 
find the pot at the end of the range.  Yeah - it's a pot like a TS-830 - 
1980's technology.

Although your questioned focused on CW, I'll add that IMHO the TS-850 is 
the better SSB radio.  The receive bandwidth on SSB is better than the 
IC-765, and the TS-850 has a real RF speech processor with adjustments 
where you need them.  However, the RIT still sucks.

FWIW

73,

Dave/K8CC