Hey Eric. My Elmer had this radio too. He turned it on and went to a 15 meter net and we heard Africa. I was absolutely hooked! Love the analog meter. That was the last of the larger Kenwood HF radios with the analog meter. They still had the TS-440 and TS-140 with analog meters but they were smaller. A classic for sure. Keep it! 😊
I’m just starting out on my radio journey and I’m going for my license next year so I’m going from a listener to transceiver once I’ve taken the exam.. and looking at the beautifully stunning Kenwood gives me goosebumps,it really is amazing.
I have one. Used to have a 930 also. Very similar inside. Mine didn't work when i got it. They are famous for cold solder joints on the header pins of the control board. I suggest you pull the board and reflow all the connectors pins. Theres less than 10 . Will be 99% of problems with this radio. I love it because its big and heavy and no menus. Tuners noisy but works good and we should really be using resonant antennas anyway. Tuning a gutter isnt wise with anything. The 940s are commonly turned up to 150w but its not safe. Good luck with your radio and thats cool story!
Great radio and great amp! You probably already know this by now, but you can use the IF out to an SDR on a pc or laptop as a Pan Adapter. I have done it with both my TS-940S and TS-830 radios, and it works great. Many Kenwood station monitor scopes contained pan adapters on them, but they don't give you anywhere near the level of detail your used too. My Kenwood SM-220 station monitor scope pairs up nicely to both the TS-940S and TL-922A amp I have. Great for checking an amp for linearity using the trapezoid pattern or for modulation. A must-have when using an amp if you ask me. Have fun!
Hey Eric, the 940S was a great flagship radio. I owned one long time ago. Sold during my divorce but just recently bought another. They well some have flux flow issues. That give the dot display error. Yours seem to have a meter lamp out. Change meter and sub display to led there is a new power supply and output amp replacement for that radio. But with filters and slope tubing it’s fantastic. Radio runs warm so new power supply fixes fan issues. Or use external fan . Heat kills it. Nice radio. I have one and a parts one too.
Slope tune: cuts out adjacent signals, use with graph button. Mic: I use a Yaesu desk mic and a Heil headset. Good audio with no mods. Receive: Best of any transceiver. With mods I see 0.05uV. Repair: theres a shop in Atlanta that can do all updates, mods, repairs and reflow solder joints. HRO in Atlanta should be able to tell you the current name. Used to be Skyline tv. IF out: its very clean. I use a LP- Pan Digital: I use mine for JS8Call, vara, winlink, etc. Its excellent for weak signal work. I use a signal link from tigertronics. Plug and play din cable is available and plugs into the back. Cat control is solid. Power: let it cruise at 100 watts. I run mine at about 40 watts when I drive a dentron with an 8877 and 20 watts on JS8 up 24/7. Chrystal filters: there are quite a few cw and roofing filter options. Power supply: provides 40 volts but brings that down to 28 volts for the finals. A board is available to feed the radio with an external 28v supply. Frequencies: I've used mine for all amateur bands and MARS. Antennas: I use double bazookas on 80 and 40, cubical wuads on 20 and 10, and trap verticals.
I believe that that amateur radio is a constant learning activity so I say fair play to you mate, Love the videos keep up the totally amazing work Best regards Matt M7EOM
I own own of these. If it has the antenna tuner then it is really the 940SAT. The antenna tuner is actually motor driven. There are two batteries. One is right behind the clock display. The other battery is on the CPU card. It has a Z80 8-bit microprocessor . I have not used mine yet on the air, only into a dummy load (because it needed repair). Under the sliding top door is the CW power controls and VOX adjustments.
Im not an expert with these types of radios but, I am familiar with user error leading to the assumption features do not work. I typically throw prior assumptions out the window when I received new equipment and find out what works and what doesnt for myself. Good luck with this new toy and great story! KN4MRG
✋73's🎙KD9OAM🎧📻📡 I've only been a ham at age 74 for 4 years now, I monitor our clubs 440,220, and 70cm, but my heart is stuck on 75 meters and CH23. Nice story Eric, this hobby survives on guys like Patrick and you and I passing it along.