With the IARU HF contest underway this weekend, I decided to give the ol' Kenwood TS-430S a try under less-than-optimum conditions.
I've had good luck on 10 and 15 meters, where I've been able to work pretty much everyone I can hear. I'm still impressed with the receiver, though that changed a bit when I switched to 20 meters.
The rig is somewhat susceptible to front-end overload from nearby signals. I could hear artifacts from a very strong and trashy signal 40 kc away. I should have done an A/B test with my Icoms, just for comparison, but I was trying to make some Q's and didn't think of it.
In retrospect, I'm not sure any HF receiver wouldn't suffer from some overload during a busy contest period. Even with the artifacts, I continued to make contacts. Boy, I sure wish I had spent the $50 for that narrow SSB filter. The stock filter is 2.4 kHz, which is pretty tight for a stock filter. The TS-430S isn't subject to the desensing by strong signals that my Yaesu FT-757GX suffered from.
I'm running a Heil Proset with an HC-4 cartridge, and I've gotten more than one “nice signal” report during the contest. While I've missed some of the Icom's bells and whistles (band stacking registers, DSP, etc.), the old TS-430S can hold its own.
CW TOO. I've been using my Kenwood TS-430S on CW, and after getting accustomed to the 800 Hz sidetone, I've found the rig enjoyable to use. I've been making contacts on phone too. My earlier thoughts that the rig was down on power was way wrong; my wattmeter apparently was suffering from dirty contacts on the HI/LO power range switch.
While installing the CW filter, I noticed something interesting. This radio has never had any of the optional filters installed. The PC board is clean as a whistle, showing no signs of solder on the filter connections.
The TS-430S has some contacts that need cleaning. The “Narrow” button seemed intermittent at first when switching in the CW filter. I realized it wasn't an electrical problem but just a dirty switch. The RIT pot seems to have some dirt in it too, but only a little bit. I suspect I can work it out if I exercise the control.
I was going to use my new Vibroplex Zephyr to check in to the KSN last night, but the dash lever was intermittent.
This isn't an uncommon problem on older bugs that have been exposed to dirt. The dash lever is hinged by a yoke that is bent over and below the main keying arm. The lugs have holes in them, and the pivot pin passed thru the yoke and pins the dash lever to the main keying lever.
What happens is that dirt and grime wind up packed around the lugs, and this can actually raise the resistance of the dash lever (it should be at ground potential) to the point it is no longer a solid connection to ground. If I closed the dash lever, the contact was closed as long as I held slight downward pressure on the dash lever. If the dash lever was raised,or the pressure was reduced, it would come up intermittent.
All the contacts were clean, so I pulled the keying lever out of the key and disassembled it down to the basic main lever and dash lever. I sprayed the lugs with contact cleaner and scrubbed the lugs with a toothbrush. After several applications the lugs looked clean. On reassembly, the key played fine without a hint of intermittent keying.
All this came after KSN. Since I was unable to use the Zephyr, I used my old standby, my 1922 Vibroplex Original. The 1922 bug remains one of my favorites, partly because its action is so worn. It only needs a very light touch.
I've toyed with the idea of making some contest Q's on CW. Certainly the exchange is simple enough, and I think I can catch a number, even at 25 words per. I may drop down and listen a while.
That's all this time … 73 … dit dit ….