Hi Walt,

I like  the TS 2000 a lot and more about it in a moment. First the TM 231A
is an old 2 meter FM mobile 50 watts out.  I bought mine used about 10 years
ago and used it for packet but also a few times on FM so I know the mic was
interchangable with the one I use on the 430.

My main mic was a MC-80  desk mike which works on all my Kenwood stuff.

Kenwood did offer a Heil Gold Line desk mic with any HF rig but I think it
was to end at the end of October.  It may have been extended and I beleive
that they are offering $250 off the TS 2000 until the end of the year.  I've
used the  Heil mic a few times and get good audio reports.

The  TS 2000 has about 50 buttons and i only have 10 fingers.  It all seems
to be laid out pretty logically and it didn't take me long to find my way
around.

I haven't had it all that long and still am learning the ropes.  The huge
number of menu options can be daunting  but they seem to be laid out
systematicly.   And most I will never touch anyway.  Others will be set once
and forgotten.  The auto tuner works like a dream and if it can't tune will
send "swr" in cw.  Modes are announced via a cw letter:  "L" for lsb "f" for
fm, etc.

Most of my work is HF and the DSP filtering is easy to use.  So is setting
power level.  It beeps at 100 w and at the low of 5 watts.  If you lose
track of power setting, just turn knob all the way up till it beeps (100 w)
and then down a click at a time (5 watt increments) till you get wher you
want.  Or turn it all the way down till it beeps at 5 watts and then turn it
back up a five watt click at a time  till you get where you want.

Sorry this went so long.  Maybe I didn't tell you anything really important
to you.  I like this rig a lot but still  have along way to go to use it to
it's best.  On last weeks CQWW CW contest I worked my first ever 5R.  had to
crank the bandwidth down to 100 hz to  get him clear.  Could have never done
it with the 500 hz filter in the 430.

73 de Steve KW3A  [log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Walt Sebastian" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 9:33 AM
Subject: TS 2000


> Hi Steve,
> I am thinking strongly about getting the Kenwood TS 2000.  I was wondering
> what your opinion of the accessibility of the rig.  I have read several
> articles on it and and according to them, if it isn't accessible, there is
> usually a work around.  It is nice that Kenwood has mikes that are
> interchangable.  Refresh my memory, what is the TM 231a?  Also, what mikes
> do you have.  I understand the TS 2000 comes with a hand mike and Kenwood
> will send a desk mike to you when you send in a coupon or something to
that
> effect, unless it has been discontinued.  Thanks and 73.
> Walt and GEB dog Opus
> WA4QXT
> New London CT
> mailto: [log in to unmask]
>
>