After running a 2015 model TS-990s i finally get lucky and buyed in July 2025 a brand new model 2023, it came with the latest firmware(v1.26). First impressions, distilled into single words: massive, engineered, beautiful, functional, imposing radio. But not a microphone in sight which I thought was pretty odd but they must have got their sums right, I would never had used a cheap mic on this wonderful radio anyway since I use a ElectroVoice RE-320 on a mic boom with some aditional audio equipment.
This rig is great. For me, the TS-990s was the winner, although more expensive. The main reason for switching my allegiance from Yaesu was the size (I like very large radios), the in-built monitor and scope function, and particularly the fact that a single USB cable connects the rig to my WIndows PC, effectively de-cluttering my MK2R+ SO2R system. I was fed up with all the wires everywhere because of the 3 com ports this radio have.
Initially, I connected the rig to my SteppIR antenna (6-40m), a full size beam in the garden at about 89 feet. It took a few days to build my confidence but I heard some stations working and I played with the roofing filters. I set up three main parameters, wide, intermediate and very sharp. Together with the width and shift, these seemed extremely effective in dialing out close QRM. There appeared to be no overload with close-too stations.
The TS-990S is a big radio, and it is heavy. It feels more like a linear than a typical HF rig, part of which, no doubt, is due to the 200 watt capable transmitter. Once you set this thing on the shelf, moving it is quite an undertaking, the more so if you’ve got a bunch of cables attached, as you probably will.
I really like having four separate antennas, and being able to use one for receive and one for transmit (see my tips below.) The receive loop is well thought out, and has, in conjunction with the Ethernet interface, enabled me to utilize an SDR operating in synchrony with the TS-990S’s tuning. That in turn means I have an ultra high resolution, high speed, feature-full waterfall and bandscope as compared to the capabilities the TS-990S offers natively.
The TS-990S makes available several transmit bandwidth settings, and can transmit extremely high quality sideband audio up to four kHz wide. There is a 17-band plus level audio equalizer you can apply to your transmit signal, allowing wide adjustment I would think would allow you to use any imaginable microphone and make it sound just the way you want. On top of that, there’s a decent switchable dynamics processor with independent in and out control knobs. I’m using a EV-320, serious overkill with all my other audio equipment, and reports on my transmit audio are most satisfactory to me.
With a 200 watt maximum output, the TS-990S can put another half an s-unit on anyone’s receiver as compared to a 100 watt radio. When you use a linear with the TS-990S, that extra headroom means that the transmitter is truly just loafing along to supply 20 or 30 watts of drive — the radio never even gets warm. For that matter, running barefoot at 200 watts, I’ve used it for hours without noticing any undue heating.
Hooking up to all of my computer programs that i’m using for Ham Radio was a breeze, however like all things on the TS990s, the definition of a breeze is sitting for two hours and a cup of coffee thumbing the manual and cross referencing many chapters. Finally PSK31, PTT and the rest of the regular rig-controls were working.
NOW 2025…finaly the new firmware 1.26 comes along….what a feeling, the flagship is stil alive! I am testing it from the 3th September 2023 and i can tell you, great performance! Well done Kenwood!!!
download it here
73s Sascha de PF9Z