I have had my new FT-950 for 2 weeks now

[KG0MN]

I had purchased it in hopes that it would be a better radio than the TS-2000 that I have setting beside it. I have done numerous on the air checks with stateside as well as DX contacts trying to see what other people thought of the two radios in a side-by-side comparison. It has almost be unanimous with audio reports going to the TS-2000 with the Kenwood MC-60 Mic as compared to the FT-950 with the Heil GM-5.1 which Bob Heil recommended when I spoke to him in Dayton.

As far as receive goes they are about equal when it comes to pulling a signal out of the noise. The TS-2000 is a quieter radio than the 950 and this goes against everyone else that claims the TS-2000 has a noisy receiver. So it looks as if I will be selling the FT-950 soon since with the 2 meter and 440 on the Kenwood the choice is obvious.

 

[KE3W]

Great review. BTW - You must have some great discretionary funds to have two of the finest rigs out!

Kenwood TS-2000 - EHAM Average Rating: 4.5/5 MSRP: $2300

Yaesu FT-950 - EHAM Average Rating: 4.6/5 MSRP: $1840

 

[TonyV225]

Its called saving here and there to build up for what you want then finding the best available deal upon purchase

 

[KE3W]

Its called saving here and there to build up for what you want then finding the best available deal upon purchase

Amen! Heck, I told the wife that we would only be able to buy half the amount of blood thinner she needs next month so I can save up!

Now, honest - I wasn't criticizing KG0MN - I was just having a little fun.

 

[Happy_Hamer]

I have to agree, the 2000 is a nice radio, I had 2.

It is REALLY nice to have dual RX, I can listen to 40 meter SSB on the main receiver and 2 meter on the other side. Kinda cool

I had the TH-D7AG HT and I could use Sky Command around town to talk on HF with the HT.

NO-ONE makes a radio that can do as much as the 2000

 

[Fuzzybr]

TS-2000/FT-950

KG0MN,
Nice review, but I have some commments/questions.
I have a FT-950, which is the best/nicest radio I have owned(FT-857/FT-897/FT-840/IC-718). I haved found that using the shift,width etc, that I can get away from adjacent signals. The 2 stage noise blanker works well for me in removing lawn mower and other ignition noise. The DSP again works well(remember a little bit at a time). The audio( stock mic) reports that I get say's-- strong signal/good sound. So much for the praise of my radio. It works for me.(using a 40 meter OCF dipole at 25FT).
Let me ask about your noise comparison. Do you have a noise level of 7 s units on the 950 and say 3 on the 2000? or are you talking of white noise?
Please I'm not belittling your report at all, just try to under stand it better.
I do not have both of those radio's side by side to make my judgment.

Mike
Fuzzy
Triple 111
KC9BUH

 

[KG0MN]

As far as having a lot of money that is a huge no. I was able to obtain one of the radios by trading some other ham gear that I have had for over 20 years. Seems like a lot of people are getting back into AM and so I traded E.F. Johnson transmitter and Hallicrafter receiver for the one radio. The TS-2000 I was basically given to me by the widow of a very good friend of mine that had passed away and she insisted I just give her a ridiculously small amount of money for the radio. Which I was able to do by selling a Drake TR4 I had. So under the right circumstances you can have nice gear with a bit of wheeling dealing and the loss of my Elmer and friend.

 

[Robb]

The TS-2000 is a fine eSSB rig too. That is, if you like that kind of thing; I do. Here is a thought: if you sell the Yaesu you might consider getting some rack gear for it and a great mic. Or, getting the ProTools software, Mbox2, and a nice mic and hooking it up to your computer. Either way will come up with cool results; so long as you don't scrimp on the quality of the mic.

The KENWOOD/ARCP software is a real nice addition to this radio. Getting a USB cable to the radio and spending the ~$25 is well worth it. That is, if you haven't done that yet. Makes it especially fun to operate it and it isn't that difficult at all to learn or to use. There are 'cracked' versions of this software on the 'net if you want to use it and try it out. The filter access in the software can be played with for some very wide eSSB audio. Go to DSP>Audio Editor>Samples. Choose the 'flat' curve and click on the flattest curve chart; then set it to 'TX'. Then hit 'Write'. Done.
Sweeeeet!

One of the nice things about the 2m/440 section, is that you can do SSB too. Not many rigs can do the SSB thang on 2m. This is great if you have a 2m beam.

 

[KE3W]

As far as having a lot of money that is a huge no...

Again KG0MN - my sincere apologies. I was only kidding (the wife warned me about my lousy sense of humor).

 

[6meter]

I think that I would be more concerned with the fact that the 2000 has a built in antenna tuner at no additional charge and that the 950 does not.

Actually the FT-950 does have a built in antenna tuner.

I have owned both the the FT-950 and the TS-2000 at the same time. Early last summer I tried alternating between running each rig for 6 meter openings. After a few weeks I stayed on the FT-950.

Initially I liked having 2m SSB capability in the 2000, but I soon found that I preferred to just run a stand alone Icom 2 meter all mode.

I found the TS2000 was a a bit clunky to use with the tiny buttons and controls. For my use the FT950 had better ergonomics.

Both radios can be controlled from your computer using Ham Radio Deluxe so that is even.

After I ran into a deal on an Icom HF rig I ended up selling the TS2000 as I was just sitting unused.