Kenwood ts140S mods?

pumphouse · Jan 21, 2009

Hey all,

Anyone have audio mods for the Kenwood TS 140S for AM 10 meters? It sounds great on FM and SSB but frankly the am sucks. There seems to be a limiter inside the radio cause when i turn up the astatic power mic, the radio begins to sound muffled / limited.

Someone help me out please! I love this radio but the AM really is screaming out for help.

Thank you in advance.

Wire Weasel · Jan 21, 2009

Hey guy, I don't have any specific knowledge of the Kenny but my Icom sounds good on AM this way.

You must turn ON the Speech Processor. "Proc" button on the 140

On the meter, the very bottom scale in RED is the ALC.

With processor on, increase mic gain until the needle hits but does not exceed 100% on the ALC scale, with normal modulation imput (just plain talking.)

That's how the Icoms work and this is all I can suggest for the Kenwood.

good luck!

Captain Kilowatt · Jan 21, 2009

In almost all cases the AM mode sounds better if the processor is turned OFF. Wireweasel's advice on the ALC is good however.

W5LZ · Jan 21, 2009

pumphouse,
Sorry, no 'limiter' in that TS-140. The limits you find when using AM are a product of how the thing is designed, and are about the same for any solid state Kenwood radio (or Yaesu, or Icom). They were designed with SSB being the primary voice mode, so AM and FM are sort of just secondary modes. Don't expect much with AM, just not going to get it. Sorry...
- 'Doc

74IN · Jan 21, 2009

Ancient Mode is not an HF rigs strong point if you want CB type sound.

RX on AM with my 430 sucks, I guess the AM filter would work better if it wasn't sitting on top of the radio.:laugh:

Wire Weasel · Jan 21, 2009

Hi PH,

What the others are saying is partially true also. The newer solid state radios tend to do better on AM than the older ones. You can try my suggestion on the 140 and see what happens.

All I can state is that the modern Icoms sound very good on AM the way I described. My IC 746 is my everyday base radio on all bands/modes, and I use it on 11 meters AM everyday. Reports always loud, clear AM audio.

It all depends on the age, make and model of ham rig as to whether or not it will sound good on AM.

good luck

pumphouse · Jan 21, 2009

Thanks for everyones advice! I have tried what everyone has said here on the forum and the AM still did not improve. I did the alc thing with the proc on and the audio became more clear but also softer.

Bottom line. Looks like im going to have to upgrade to the newer ham rigs.

Kenwood TS 140S is now up for sale.

$220 shipped to your location.

qslkf9er · Apr 29, 2017

In the USER'S MANUAL on page 34, it shows V5 for mic gain. It is a little yellow pot (variable) on the front-right just behind the display if radio is facing you. PG 34 HAS DIAGRAM. Turn it up (CLOCKWISE). Try with and without the processor. Also, dead key should be about half to one-third of what you get on the peak (swing). Too little drive can cause distortion. Use the hand/stock mike and see how it sounds. I had a 140 years ago and it sounded good on am adjusted like this. I used the stock mic and processor. Good luck.

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Kenwood ts140S mods?

pumphouse

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74IN

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