[Mobile-Portable] Mobile equipment used by WD8ARZ - TS-480HX Part 1 of 3

Sun Aug 9 12:56:12 EDT 2009

Love using the TS-480HX transceiver here in all of its capability,
especially mobile. Rag chews on the base or mobile, tuning
shortwave and just plain loving the transmit and receive audio of the
long standing Kenwood tradition. The rig here is ran just about 24/7
in digital ALE mode.

Great rig for digital, hot mobile and those high duty cycle operations!
Excellent cooling package for hot mobile and summer environments
in the 480 series. TS-480HX 200 watt radio can be operated at 100
watts or less, at near full duty cycle for long periods of time (hours,
not minutes) due to extra cooling fan and design not available in most
100 watt radios. Both 480 versions have the same excellent heat sync
and air flow design for cooling. The HX has a second fan, so be careful
with the duty cycle of the SAT when doing high duty cycle operations.

Choose internal filters to add to the 480 based on how you plan on using
the radio. Internal filters are better than just using the DSP by itself. In
fact using internal filters will improve the DSP operation. Getting those 
weak
signals out of the stronger signal band pass requires tighter filters to 
avoid
the effects on the ALC that reduce the sensitivity of the radio when using
filters too wide for the conditions / mode in use. YF-107C500 Hz CW Filter,
#2981YF-107CN270 Hz CW Filter, #2972YF-107SN1.8 kHz SSB Filter.
I find the 1.8kHz filter to be a great addition for for rag chews ....

Want information about the activity of your rig announced while your driving
to you? Want to record a short session of what your hearing to an audio clip
that you can play back when you want to? The make sure you get the VGS1
Vocal confirmation of frequency audio module. Can also record / playback of
received or transmitted signals.

Don't forget the high stability temperature compensated crystal oscillator
SO-3  . Helps out those narrow tighter digital modes by not drifting out of
the detection band. Especially for those hot field day or mobile operations,
and it might be required for some out of band mars operations etc.

Above items available for more information at:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0480.html

Some digital modes more than others need proper audio levels for good copy.
Use the digital interface jack on the radio and not the mike input or
speaker output connectors.

Fast tx/rx time is needed for your external interface audio / transmit
control. Some external audio amplifiers are not always good enough for
faster modes, such as some modes of ALE. Would suggest avoiding any
interface that uses VOX and doesn't use actual push to talk and RTS signals.
Vox systems miss the beginning transmissions of received data for faster
modes. It is also possible that it will be difficult to link with some
hardware ALE radios, or carry on reliable information exchange. Hardware
handshake timing is too quick for VOX. Start tones can not be used in
software to key the Vox fast enough, so a start tone will not fix the Vox
Ptt timing issue. Avoid interfaces that have sound cards inside of them.
Fast digital modes do better with the internal sound cards that support
48kHz sampling rate

A great audio input / output and keying interface is already part of the 480
series of radios. By using the digital interface jack on the radio with the
RIGblaster Data Jack Plug and Play, an excellent and fast system for
interfacing with the external world is the result. Cant get much easier.
Plugs right into the 480 data jack and the USB port on the computer, and is
USB powered. This provides true cat keying with out the delays in external
soundcard versions. Rig keys before audio is sent and no Microsoft operating
systems audio get transmitted over the air (as when in using Vox of the
radio). http://www.westmountainradio.com/RIGblaster.htm

External Tnc's also interface nicely with the 480 digital data jack
interface. For those that don't like making up those small data jack cables
(the RIGblaster Data Jack comes with one pre-made), here is a great break
out box that makes your interfacing soooo much easier. The RCA-14 is a
breakout box for the accessory jack on most popular transceivers. It comes
with cables with the right DIN plugs and all the output are simple RCA
jacks. Plug the RCA-14 into your radio's accessory jack and all of your
ports are right at your finger tips. The RCA-14 comes with a DIN-13, DIN-8,
DIN-7, Mini DIN-8 and Mini DIN-6 cables. Compatible with these radios and
many more: Icom: 703, 706, 718, 746, 756, 7000 and 7800. Yaesu: 817, 857,
897, and 840. Kenwood: 480, 570, and 2000. Ten Tec Orion and Orion II.
http://www.ldgelectronics.com/c/252/products/6/21/1

Many HF rigs use relays for bandpass filter switching, and other tasks.
Unfortunately when changing bands, these relays cycle to the configuration
needed for each band range. When using software to scan the bands, these
relays are being cycled with each band change request from the software.
This can contribute to excessive wear and premature failure of those relays.

The TS-480 series of radios allow using a dual VFO mode that the Software
can use to scan in such a way that the band relays are not cycled. Software
uses a band pass selection that allows for receiver performance during
scanning, but switches in the relays for band selectivity and transmitting.
This approach saves relay wear and tear. The TS-480 Series are such radios
that allow scanning with dual VFO mode, avoiding heavy relay cycling wear.
Icom radios also have a less than desirable computer interface that limits
some of the digital program support / features.

For an external tuner, conceder the digital and scanning operations that
will be employed. Make a choice that includes reconfiguring the ATU 'before
putting RF on the relay contacts'. what memory combination to select for a
match BEFORE any RF is generated. This is available with the computer
interface of the AT-200PC that is available through W4RT.
http://www.w4rt.com/ After entering his site, you will be at
http://www.w4wb.com/index.htm Drill down through LDG Auto tuners Icon, Auto
Tuners Icon, then select the AT-200PC Icon for this tuner. Great price too.
For some programs, this ATU is selectable and is the standard way to operate
some Ham and Mars digital programs. Also have  the AT-200Pro here, but only
use it when for some rare reason I must have a control panel on the tuner
when no computer is available. But frankly, the auto tune and memory
operation of the PC version is identical to the PRO. Plus can update the
firmware of the PC version with out changing the rom chip as in the PRO
version.

The 480 series of radios can be part of a bigger system. For Sky Command and
HF performance, consider the following package:

TS-480HX, Six Meters through 160 Meters, 200 Watts, remotable head, stand
alone package for base, mobile or portable operations to cover voice and CW
needs. Sky Command Compatible, meaning no computer required to interface to
other compatible gear. Unique power requirement of this radio easily met by
a power supply package. Additional applications of this radio include the
ability to access / use it over remotable control head from a few feet to
several hundred feet by cable. Computer accessible locally or remotely for
full operation of the radio for voice and digital modes, using local area
lan, the internet or direct plug in of computer / laptop. Access and control
of the radio over radio links using compatible dual band mobile and dual
band walkie talkie. Excellent cooling package for hot mobile and summer
environments when air conditioning is not available. TS-480HX 200 watt radio
can be operated at 100 watts or less at near full duty cycle for long
periods of time (hours, not minutes) due to extra cooling fan and design not
available in most 100 watt radios. Yes, it has a digital interface
connector for great audio isolation and fast keying.

List of Radios for Digital Modes and ALE:
http://hflink.com/hardware/

TM-D700 / D710 Two meter and 440 FM mobile. 50 Watts with APRS and Sky
Command Compatible. Can cross band. Easy interface to the AvMap G5 for GPS
and Navigation Displays that includes APRS display / tracking. No Computer
required to interface these two items. D700 version even allows for a
keyboard to input text directly rather than use the menu for alpha / numeric
entry of the message.

TH-D7AG Two meter and 440 FM Walkie Talkie. Data communicator is equipped
with a built-in TNC and APRS. Sky Command Compatible. Available in the used
market.

AvMap G5 Navigator has built-in highly sensitive 20 channel Sirf 3 GPS
engine, has a ultra bright, non-glaring, 5 inch, TFT Touch Screen, and comes
with cable to interface to the Kenwood D700 / D710. See those APRS stations
on your display map!

End result is a selection of individual gear that operate totally as
separate units, Base, Mobile or Portable. However they can be configured to
give the HT remote control access to the dual band mobile leaving the HF rig
alone, or using the dual band mobile as an interface to the HF radio, the HT
has remote control and transmit / receive access. Due to Katrina, the FCC
granted legality for using Sky Command for such HT to HF operation.

As a bonus, in combination with the AvMap G5 Navigator, GPS information can
be fed to the D700 / D710 or the HT as needed. APRS info is sent to and from
the G5 making for a seamless interface that doesn't require a computer. It
is nice to have received APRS stations displayed on the 5" screen with out a
separate computer being used!

Why go with the individual pieces rather than say the an HF rig with two
meters and four forty?? Two reasons.

1) Flexibility to use each radio independent of the other, or together as a
system.

2) HF performance. Yep, it turns out HF rigs 'with out' two meters and four
forty perform better due to front end design. HF radios, even those that
include six meters, can have tighter filter front ends that have to be given
up to support the higher bands. (An exception is the RS-2000 series that
uses separate models for he higher bands).

Down load the TS-480HX/SAT In Depth Manual at the link below, and read it
right from Kenwood experts.
http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/software_download.html

Links:
=======================================

TM-D700 / D710
http://www.universal-radio.com/CATALOG/fm_txvrs/0710.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TM-D700/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TMD700A/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TMD710A/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TM-D710_TM-V71/

TM-D700 External Keyboard (now out of stock)
http://www.coastalchip.com/Kenkey.htm

TH-D7AG
http://www.universal-radio.com/CATALOG/ht/4211.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kenwood_TH-D7/

TS-480HX
http://www.universal-radio.com/CATALOG/hamhf/0480.html
http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/software_download.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TS-480/

Sky Command System:
http://www.universal-radio.com/CATALOG/ht/4211sky2.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skycommand/

AvMap G5 Navigator
http://www.universal-radio.com/CATALOG/fm_txvrs/50630710.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Avmap_G5_APRS/

Link700 Support for TH-D7, TM-D700 , TM-G707, TH-F6/7, TS-480 and TS-2000
radios. Link700 is offered as shareware. It is totally functional, but has
"nag" screens when you perform certain operations. In order to remove the
nag screens, it is necessary to register Link700.
http://www.wa3hrl.com/link700/

Internet Remoting Toolkit - Attach the TS-480 Control Head miles away from
the body of the rig.
http://www.w4mq.com/toolkit/index.html

For the software with the D700, I like both the Kenwood and the Link 700.
The Link 700 has a great features when doing multiple radios. Such as
TM-D700 / TS-480HX & TH-D7AG. I can build a file that contains the memory
and menu settings of the D700 for example, and then copy it to a D7 file
format. Upload it to both radios and they then are the same, matching memory
locations etc.

Considering the D710 my self, but I have not heard if the Link700 will work
with the D710 and its changed communications protocol. Does any one else
know? I would hate to lose the cross sharing of memory files.

Note that the D7 walkie talkie can remote control the D700/D710 dual bander,
and the D700/D710 can interface with the TS-480 HF, allowing remote control
of the 480 over HF by the D7. All using Sky Command. Very Cool! Other radios
can do the sky command codes, but it is more awkward to use than a rig that
is already compatible.

73 from Bill - WD8ARZ
http://hflink.net/qso/