Hi.

I will take a dissenting view on the filtering in the TS2000S.  While it is 
a better implementation of DSP than you find on the lower end rigs, I still 
think that there are occasions when I would rather put my money on a good 
crystal filter.  I have done some side by side testing between my TS2000S 
and the TS690S, and the TS690S consistently outperforms the TS2000S both in 
signal to noise characteristics and in sound clarity.

Having said that, I will also hasten to add that I do not think that the 
TS2000S is a bad radio, but I am not as big a fan of DSP as some.  I did 
buy a Autek QF1A from one of the guys on the list here, and found it to be 
a significant addition to the TS2000S.  Funny when that old technology 
still proves to be useful on a new radio.

Richard, if you are on the fence about the TS2000S, let me point out a few 
things about this radio that I do think makes it worth the purchase.

First of all, as has been pointed out out on this list, the accessibility 
on it is first rate, and that is worth an awful lot.  It is easily 
programmed from a computer and the Kenwood software is very screen reader 
friendly.  They are very good about giving you reference beeps for 
programming things like PL tones and even setting power and microphone 
levels.  Somebody put a lot of thought into the interface on this radio, 
and for blind users, they really did a superb job.

Also, with respect to intermod, the TS2000S compares very favorably with 
other radios in my shack, and is heads and shoulders above the Icom IC706 
MkII G which it replaced.

I understand from some others on the list that the Icom IC746 has a better 
receiver front end than the TS2000S, and to tell you the truth, that 
wouldn't surprise me.  Icom seems to put really good receiver front ends in 
their high end radios.  But, the Icom is significantly harder to set up 
than the TS2000S is, and being able to do all of the tweaks independently 
is important to me.

Lastly, I bought one accessory for mine that really adds to the personality 
of the radio--a replacement hand mic that has four program function keys on 
the face of the microphone.  These four keys allow me to go in through the 
menus and set up the first key to voice the frequency through the VS3 
synthesizer, the second key to read the S meter through the VS3, the third 
key to open the squelch, and the fourth key to listen on the input of any 
repeater that I happen to be working.  Sometimes it is these little things 
that really make a radio ultimately useful.

So, while I will admit that there are some trade-offs with this radio, I 
don't think you would be sorry that you made the purchase.  And I would 
close my remarks by saying that most of us would have killed to have our 
radios sound that good in the 1960s, or 1970s--at least those of us running 
old griefkits!

73, de Lou K2LKK



At 01:04 PM 9/28/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi everyone;
>I have done a little reading about the ts2000 and have a basic question or
>two.  I suspect this is old news for most of you so if anyone wants to reply
>off list feel free.
>Most of the affordable (cheap) radios I have used have had provisions for a
>cw and sometimes a 1.8 ssb filter.  There are no such options with the
>ts2000 and you can apparently do something similar with the dsp.  In looking
>at the key chart, however, I didn't see anything that seemed to perform that
>function other than the high and low cut options.
>Also I wonder if anyone knows when this radio came out?  Was it 2000?
>Finally there are separate antenna connections for 2 meters and 440.  If one
>has one antenna can you set one connector to be used for both bands?
>Thanks
>Richard

Louis Kim Kline
A.R.S. K2LKK
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