kenwood ts50

[nikeshox]

hi,right I have been doing more testing and now its output power on 3.5mhz lsb and fm is showing 150 watt on my meter, am 100 watt, 7mhz lsb and fm its showing 100 watt output and on 14mhz usb and fm its showing 70 watts,strange,is it not worth repairing,i'm thinking of buying another radio anyway.

 

[nikeshox]

one more thing I bought alinco ems 14 desk mic for my ts50 and it worked perfect, I was impressed with it, I could sit 10 inches away and talk, only for it to stop driving ,I had to put mouth close to it to talk,at first I thought it was faulty mic, I was told to do a reset on radio and it will work, I did that and yes it worked but not for long,its the same again so i'm thinking its something to do with voltage drop like you said

 

[Robb]

one more thing I bought alinco ems 14 desk mic for my ts50 and it worked perfect, I was impressed with it, I could sit 10 inches away and talk, only for it to stop driving ,I had to put mouth close to it to talk,at first I thought it was faulty mic, I was told to do a reset on radio and it will work, I did that and yes it worked but not for long,its the same again so i'm thinking its something to do with voltage drop like you said

If you reset the radio and it worked; then the same cause that caused the CPU to go into protection mode is still happening. Think I'd carefully check your antenna system out and look for a fault.

Also, sp5it may well be onto something with the power cord and corrosion idea. This kind of thing does happen from time to time. Look for corrosion in the fuse block and connections. Very important.

 

[bob85]

Without doing some basic measurements its precision guesswork at best.
Yes a dodgy power cable can cause issues but its unlikely to allow 150w on some bands and way less on others. Still needs checking.

I have had 3 ts50's through here years ago via the local ham radio shop that they could not repair. 2 early versions one late version.

The fault was erratic power output due to bad caps anything from low output to 150w+ ssb pulsing off and on as if the mic was chopping the audio up.

 

[nikeshox]

hi,bob85,first of all thanks for that advice, you are right its doing what your saying 150+ and pulsing off and on on 3.5mhz and mic chopping audio same as you describe...........ps I can't see it being antenna problem as I have another radio and it works fine with both antenna's and swr is ok and power is ok,so I think this ts50 has had its days..

 

[Robb]

I would have expected that Kenwood would've used a higher grade of cap this radio and not begin to fail just at the 20 year mark.

 

[DainBramage]

hi I have 150 watt dummy load and tried that aswell its showing same high power around 70 watts medium power around 30 watts and low power 5 watts it used to be 10, 50 and 100 watt that's the standard for this model i'm no teck guy so I ain't got a clue why its playing up I need to send it away to someone to service it..

is this rig on a power supply with an ammeter?... check the amperage draw @ the different power levels.
if it doesn't draw the correct amperage at the different power levels, then the power cable/fuses are the prime suspect.

BTW, both the Kenwood and the Icom cables are infamous for resistive fuses.

 

[BJ radionut]

http://www.qsl.net/bg4aaf/book/kenpic/ASB1035.JPG

Could be something here also...nothing harder to find than intermittent issue...I am not sure CLIFF at avid is still working on these...He has started to drop working on certain models due to parts, not available and time value to working on them...
So best check before sending...EX...4 hours of labor and $50 USD in parts is more than the radio is worth IMHO...
All the Best
GL
Gary

 

[nikeshox]

it seem to be drawing different amperage on 1.8 MHz through 150 dummyload its showing 100 watt output and drawing 18 amp,on 7mhz its 100 output 18 amps draw,on 3.5mhz its 140 watt 20 amps draw,on 14mhz its 60 output and 12 amps draw on 18mhz its doing about 80 watt 17 amps draw, but the if you check again it may show more or less sometime,sometimes it well over 150 watt,my yaesu 707 tuner was very hot to the touch ,earlier I had a few contacts with 59 reports to different country's and it was doing about 150 watt and 100 watt on 7mhz no issues, but there is something wrong,i've changed fuses on the power line but its still no better,i think I will just buy another radio as its my birthday tmoz he he he, I don't want something exploding or catching fire!!

 

[BJ radionut]

Let us know your budget...we may have some suggestions on what is available in today's market...
Receivers most certainty have taken Great Steps forward since that rig was made almost 30 years ago...
All the Best
Gary/W9FNB

 

[nikeshox]

i'm looking to spend about £500 to £600,what about the yaesu 450d is it any good,i have ft 817 and yaesu 757gx but even that is drifting....

 

[jon666]

i have a 450d. its a fantastic radio.
i have talked all over the world with it.
i love mine

 

[nikeshox]

they are great radios, I've read lots of good things about them, but i'v just bought a kenwood 570d for £400,i should have it in a couple of days

 

[jon666]

i also have a kenwood ts 2000 i bought new a few months ago.
another great radio. a bit pricy at 1.500 dollars. i think i like the kenwood over the 450d

 

[nikeshox]

great shack in a box the kenwood ts 2000