Hey bud if yur still out there THANK YOU. I am just getting back into radio after clearing out all my equipment 5 years ago. I nabbed a very nice 950-SDX on QRZ Swap Meet which happened to be 20 minutes down the road today for 1k. There are so many radio RUclipss that basically show what a lot of RX sounds like and maybe a few main elements. I was hopin' and a prayin' that someone took the time to go across the whole face of the radio in person before I ever drag my weary eyes across that manual. This was the perfect Big Bad Radio 101 intro course. Thanx again.
Glad I could help! Since posting this I upgraded to the 'SDX then to an Elecraft K4 but I still appreciate the design and effort that Kenwood took to fit all of this into a nice looking radio! Let me know if you have any other questions or issues.
I bought a TS-950SD at the Orlando Hamcation and I am very pleased, only fault I've found is RF Gain pot is a bit scratchy, likely some Quietrol will correct this. But I noticed one characteristic is a surprise: the manual states that the operator can practice with a paddle or straight key by putting the rig in any mode but CW. I've found that I get the keyer sidetone in CW mode only, so I set the Power control at 0 and connect to a dummy load for sending practice.
Not quite sure what they meant by that as I only ever heard a side tone in CW mode as well, but to “send” CW without transmitting, just make sure VOX is turned off (turning VOX on enables transmit in CW mode).
Nice video and very helpful. I have a 950SDX and notice that quite often the antenna tuner tuner just won't tune even though my SWR is low (1.2:1) - you'll just hear the tuner making that chugging sound and then beep at the end without tuning it. Wondering if you've ever heard of this type of problem on the SD or on SDX? Thanks!
I have not experienced any difficulty with the built in tuner except for some squealing of the capacitor bearings in the 950 SD I had before this radio. If you know the SWR is low on a certain frequency you shouldn't need the tuner anyway - Sometimes it's difficult for the tuner to get any better than what you already have and it can just make things worse.
Tune the radio to a known frequency like WWV or some other standard that you know is good (like another radio) and then adjust the 950’s TCXO until you zero beat with the frequency of interest. The TCXO is on the PLL board (I think, it’s been a while since I’ve had one open). Say WWV zero beats on 10.000.010, the idea is to tune the 950 to 10.000.000 exactly and then adjust the TCXO until it zero beats again.
You can add frequencies to memory by using the M.IN button. You press it once select which slot you want the frequency to be stored in, then press it again. To recall stored memories, you use the M. CH selection buttons for either VFO. You can then use the M.CH knob to cycle through memories.
Hey bud if yur still out there THANK YOU. I am just getting back into radio after clearing out all my equipment 5 years ago. I nabbed a very nice 950-SDX on QRZ Swap Meet which happened to be 20 minutes down the road today for 1k. There are so many radio RUclipss that basically show what a lot of RX sounds like and maybe a few main elements. I was hopin' and a prayin' that someone took the time to go across the whole face of the radio in person before I ever drag my weary eyes across that manual. This was the perfect Big Bad Radio 101 intro course.
Thanx again.
Glad I could help! Since posting this I upgraded to the 'SDX then to an Elecraft K4 but I still appreciate the design and effort that Kenwood took to fit all of this into a nice looking radio! Let me know if you have any other questions or issues.
I bought a TS-950SD at the Orlando Hamcation and I am very pleased, only fault I've found is RF Gain pot is a bit scratchy, likely some Quietrol will correct this. But I noticed one characteristic is a surprise: the manual states that the operator can practice with a paddle or straight key by putting the rig in any mode but CW. I've found that I get the keyer sidetone in CW mode only, so I set the Power control at 0 and connect to a dummy load for sending practice.
Not quite sure what they meant by that as I only ever heard a side tone in CW mode as well, but to “send” CW without transmitting, just make sure VOX is turned off (turning VOX on enables transmit in CW mode).
Very nice demonstration.
a great video. i have just bought a 950s but the on-off switch does not seem to work. any suggestions
Nice video and very helpful. I have a 950SDX and notice that quite often the antenna tuner tuner just won't tune even though my SWR is low (1.2:1) - you'll just hear the tuner making that chugging sound and then beep at the end without tuning it. Wondering if you've ever heard of this type of problem on the SD or on SDX? Thanks!
I have not experienced any difficulty with the built in tuner except for some squealing of the capacitor bearings in the 950 SD I had before this radio. If you know the SWR is low on a certain frequency you shouldn't need the tuner anyway - Sometimes it's difficult for the tuner to get any better than what you already have and it can just make things worse.
I have the 950s but it's off frequency any idea how you get it back on frequency
Tune the radio to a known frequency like WWV or some other standard that you know is good (like another radio) and then adjust the 950’s TCXO until you zero beat with the frequency of interest. The TCXO is on the PLL board (I think, it’s been a while since I’ve had one open). Say WWV zero beats on 10.000.010, the idea is to tune the 950 to 10.000.000 exactly and then adjust the TCXO until it zero beats again.
recall memory on sdx??
You can add frequencies to memory by using the M.IN button. You press it once select which slot you want the frequency to be stored in, then press it again. To recall stored memories, you use the M. CH selection buttons for either VFO. You can then use the M.CH knob to cycle through memories.