Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Ham Radio Transceivers
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Ham Radio Transceivers
Excellent, 1980's era HF radio -- the TS-820 is probably one of the highest regarded and appreciated radios of that time, and includes a mix of solid state technology, with only the final RF stage using tubes. Yes, you have to properly adjust the plate and load for each band, and this is an aging rig (but very, very easy to fix for a competent electronics-oriented ham radio operator). I'm a new ham (last 3 years) and I like this radio far more than the plug-and-play (but a bit souless) new radios. Also, if you work CW, the IF shift features are very, very helpful for reducing QRM. This is (despite the prior reviewer's comments) a great rig to get started on, as it has no fancy nested menus and all controls are accessible on the front panel. Pros: top notch, DX pileup busting power, excellent audio, top-of-the-line 1980's technology; Cons: aging, needs a handy ham who isn't afraid of getting out the soldering iron and DMM for any repairs that need to be done; must adjust plate and load for tubes; not good for the impatient or clueless.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
I've been a ham for many decades and owned every "gray box" model made by Kenwood. No 30-year old technology can compete with modern technology, but these old Kenwoods are as close as you are likely to come. I'm shocked by one "review' which claims the line of transceivers needed frequent repair and were unstable. Well, reliability and frequency stability were what made these rigs! They were among the first of the "hybrid" generation (if not the first) which means that they were all solid-state except for the transmitter section which consisted of three tubes; a 12BY7 driver and two 6146 final amplifiers --- basically a solid state receiver and vacuum tube transmitter. They were VERY stable, very heavy, and very solidly built of quality materials. The world "overbuilt" comes to my mind. Unlike earlier radios the power supply was internal and included with the price of the transceiver. Earlier rigs needed an external power supply as large as the radio itself, and much heavier. You still have to tune the transmitter for every band/significant frequency change just as with traditional transceivers, but warmup time was virtually non-existent compared to earlier vacuum tube technology. Vacuum tube finals will take abuse that transistors can only dream of, and the input-to-output wattage ratio is about 70% compared to the transistor's 50%. This rig will put out about 160 watts compared to a solid state rig's 90-100 watts. The solid state receiver circuitry was highly sensitive, and to this day I cannot find a modern radio with greater sensitivity or an equal noise blanker. If you find one of these "gray boxes" today about all you have to do is check the three tubes and make sure that the VFO lube hasn't dried out causing frequency jumps. These are the only issues I am aware of with these radios, and the tube issue is more a routine maintenance thing than a repair. In fact, I cannot remember any other source of failure with these rigs. You can also find online the original 80's product review articles when these rigs were new (try to find any comment about "instability" or "frequent repair") If I needed to get on the air with a limited budget, these old gray hybrids would be front runners for consideration. They are 5-banders and do not include the WARC bands, but how much time do you spend on the WARC's which have narrow frequency spans and very limited mode-of-operation permissions?Read full review
Verified purchase: No
I received the radio on time and packed very well it performs perfect. I have made contacts one 40 meters, 15 meters and 10 meters with great ease. Hope to use it for many more years. It was a great deal on an old classic.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
These are almost exactly the original. Pins are a little different shape, meant for plug-in sockets instead of soldering in place. But, the Yaesu FT-101 ZD uses them in a socket anyways. Drop in replacement, works perfectly as specified. These arrived in new condition.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I received this unit and it worked good but I knew it could be better so I tuned it up and it turned into a great transceiver. Would recommend the 820 for anyone wanting to get on the ham bands. Greg
Verified purchase: Yes