01 Prologue; About The Release Of The Ts-990S; Features Of The Ts-990S - Kenwood TS-990S In-Depth Manual

01 PROLOGUE

About the Release of the TS‑990S
Since the TS‑900 was launched in 1973, the Nine Hundred series of KENWOOD (TRIO) transceivers has been our
flagship high‑end HF transceivers. Following the TS‑900, the TS‑930, TS‑940, and TS‑950 were launched. However,
more than 20 years have now passed since the TS‑950SDX was launched.
At the end of February 2013, we started shipping our long‑awaited new Nine Hundred series lineup.
The TS‑990S is positioned as a top‑end transceiver in the KENWOOD HF transceiver lineup, both in name and reality.
We accomplished the engineering of the TS‑990S enabling it not only to succeed the TS‑950 but also to be reputed as a
flagship transceiver despite the TS‑990S being the last‑entered flagship transceiver in the marketplace.
What we engineered with the most careful attention to position the TS‑990S as a flagship transceiver, is the fundamental
transceiver performance. The performance includes not only the transmit and receive characteristics that can be
measured as mathematical values but also what you will have been sensed that can be comprehensively received
through actual transceiver operation. The detailed design aesthetic extends from the circuits and components all the way
to the texture of the chassis and the operability of the panel.
The TS‑990S has the functionality required for advanced DX operation as well as an eye‑catching dual TFT display and
touch panel that let the user view a wide range of information. There are surprisingly many buttons on the TS‑990S,
shown in the photographs in catalogs. However, we believe you will understand our design concept for the TS‑990S as
transceiver when you see and operate it.
The KENWOOD HF transceivers aim not only to receive signals from and transmit signals to locations further away,
but also to transmit and receive signals with more natural sound. In other words, the TS‑990S has been designed as a
flagship transceiver not only for DX'ers but also for those operators who seek for better sound quality.
This in‑depth manual is written by the TS‑990S designers to describe the technologies and techniques used to
implement the concepts mentioned above. We hope this manual will help you to have a deeper understanding of the
TS‑990S.
Features of the TS‑990S
The TS‑990S is a HF/50 MHz all‑mode transceiver featuring a reception performance high enough to satisfy DX'ers
all over the world and the world's first dual TFT display
operator for better practical operation. (
The receiving circuits of the TS‑990S, a successor of the TS‑900, TS‑930, TS‑940, and TS‑950, realize dual band
reception in different bands. For the main band, narrowband roofing filters are implemented using a full down‑conversion
method to raise the adjacent interfering signal elimination performance, and a new type of mixer is used to implement
a +40 dBm level performance at the third intercept point. In addition, the roofing filters are combined with an IF DSP
featuring sharp filtering characteristics to provide superb interference elimination that provides clear reception of target
signals even when there is signal interference due contesting signals. For the sub band, we are using the same receiving
circuit as of the TS‑590S, which was launched in 2010 and is reputed with good performance.
For the display, a dual TFT display (7"/3.5") is employed to indicate detailed operating statuses. The main display
can show the band scope and waterfall screens as well as readouts of the main band/sub band frequencies, S meter,
RIT/XIT, and more. A sub‑display is placed directly above the main tuning knob, and provides functions to display the
readouts of the main band/sub band frequencies and the information about filtering, audio spectrum, and more, making
it extremely useful for DX'ers.
The maximum transmission power of the TS‑990S is 200 W. To implement QRP, it is equipped with a power control
function that can control down to 5 W. A switching power supply is built in the transceiver to secure stable transmissions.
The TS‑990S is equipped with an automatic antenna tuner, and up to 4 antennas can be centrally controlled. Memory
functions are implemented for each band to allow quick band switching and quick manipulations through split operation.
The SP‑990, a dedicated external speaker, is available as an option. The speaker is designed to match the TS‑990S
design. The sound quality is excellent and the SP‑990 is tuned dedicated for the TS‑990S. The SP‑990 has 2 input lines.
If another transceiver is used, the SP‑990 can be used as an external speaker for that transceiver.
November 2013, KENWOOD HF Transceiver Development Team
, enabling higher operability and information feedback to the
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As of August 2013, according to our research)
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