The link to the SG MP3 manual is kelvinsite.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/ts590sg.zip

----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Forst  <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Friday, January 1, 2016 10:45 am
Subject: TS-590sg first thoughts

>
>
> Hi all, and Happy New Year.
> 
> I heard from a couple of people off-list who were curious as to whether 
> I had gotten my 590sg, and what I thought of it.  Thought I would post a 
> few initial thoughts.
> 
> It arrived on Tuesday, but I had second thoughts about pulling a VGS-1 
> out of one of my other radios, so I ordered one Tuesday afternoon, and 
> had it here before lunch Wednesday.    Installed it later that day, with 
> no problems, other than dealing with those 4 little screws that hold the 
> cover over the voice board.
> 
> The SG seems identical in shape, size, and front and rear panel layout 
> to the older S version.
> 
> It does have a powder coated finish compared to the older flat-smooth 
> finish of the S.   The powder coat, and some differences to accents on 
> the front panel are supposed to make it look more like a little brother 
> of the TS-990.    Probably the easy way for a blind person to tell the 
> difference between is to just feel the top or bottom cover:   slightly 
> rough texture is an SG, and smooth is a S.
> 
> The menu structure, firmware, and control software are totally different 
> between the 2 versions.
> 
> A cool feature is that when you enter menus, the first entry speaks 
> firmware version.   This makes it real easy to determine what firmware 
> is installed.
> 
>   The radio has a additional (or at least different) roofing filter, is 
> supposed to have more dynamic range, and some tweaks in the DSP to 
> improve  RX slightly.  I'm not expecting a tremendous improvement in 
> what was already a fine radio,  just a few tweaks as science marches on.
> 
> One cool thing blind ops will like is the ability to add 4 additional PF 
> keys to the front panel.  There are no additional keys, but you can 
> remap  the RIT, XIT, and Clear keys in the upper right hand corner to 
> act as PF keys.  Of course you lose the original functions of these keys.
> 
> Also the multi channel knob now acts as a push button as well.  It can 
> also  act as a PF key.  It will actually perform one function while in 
> any mode other than CW.  Default is to adjust power level.  In Cw mode, 
> default is CW keying speed.  These can be changed in menus, but the 
> ability to push the knob in, turn to change a setting (like power), then 
> push the button again is pretty cool.
> 
> I think another new feature is the ability to connect the Drive 
> connector  to a SDR receiver.
> 
> I was  listening  a bit last night, but probably won't be on the air 
> with it until tomorrow.   I need to get my menus and settings 
> straightened out first.  There are now a total of 5 amp keying options 
> that I need to figure out.
> 
>   I've not found a lot of accessible docs for this version, but  the 
> active elements site has an audio reading of the manual.
> 
> 73, Steve KW3A