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The Kenwood TS-2000 is an amateur radio transceiver manufactured by the Kenwood Corporation. Introduced in the year 2000, the radio has come to be very popular among hams for its "all-in-one" functionality. It can transmit on all amateur radio bands between 160 meters and 70 centimeters, with the exception of the 1.25 meters and 33 centimeters bands, and the "X" model also has built-in 23 centimeters band capability (which can be added to other models after purchase as an accessory).
Contents
- Variations
- Features
- Radio Control Software
- Amateur Radio Control System for the Kenwood TS 2000 by WB5KIA
- Commander
- Ham Radio Deluxe
- HamStationUltra
- Kenwood
- References
As of February 2015, the TS-2000 is the most reviewed HF transceiver on the popular Product Review section of eHam [1], with 489 reviews and an average rating of 4.5 (out of 5).
Variations
Features
The TS-2000 is a feature-rich transceiver designed to appeal to users who want a high amount of capability and versatility in a single radio. As an "all-band" transceiver, the TS-2000 offers a maximum power output of 100 watts on the HF, 6 meters, and 2 meters bands, 50 watts on 70 centimeters, and, with the TS-2000X or the optional UT-20, 10 watts on the 1.2 GHz or 23 centimeters band. The (American version) radio's main receiver covers 30 kHz through 60 MHz, 142 MHz through 152 MHz, and 420 through 450 MHz (plus 1240 through 1300 MHz with the "X" model). The sub-receiver tunes between 118 and 174 MHz, and from 220 to 512 MHz (VFO ranges). TX 2M ? 70cm ? [2]
On the radio's main receiver, Kenwood chose to use DSP at the IF level, so a very flexible selection of bandwidths are available without the purchase of mechanical filters, as was necessary on past radios. Users can adjust the low-cut and high-cut frequencies to arrive at the desired bandwidth.
Some of the more novel features are backlit keys, a built-in TNC for receiving DX Packet Cluster information, and the Sky Command II+ system (found on the K-Model), which allows for remote control of the transceiver using Kenwood's TH-D7A handheld or TM-D700A mobile radio.
Some users have complained of a "noisy receiver" on the high frequency portion of the radio. This has tended to be disputed between various reviews on the eham.net site. Though there has been a modification developed that addresses this issue, it involves the replacement of 24 band switching diodes.
Radio Control Software
There are several sources for radio control software for the TS-2000 from Kenwood and other suppliers. The alphabetical list below generally describes each and has references to the web site of each program to allow more research and downloads:
Amateur Radio Control System for the Kenwood TS-2000 by WB5KIA
ARCS II 1.42 is a free CAT program that controls most of the features of the TS-2000. It includes a logger for the visually impaired (Accessibility>ArticulateLog), an improved Remote Control panel for experimentation, an improved PSK interface, ARCSaprs, a module to monitor and transmit APRS packets with the internal TNC of the TS-2000 and to post station locations on maps and a SpiderDX and AR-Cluster modules to access DXClusters. The software is designed for Windows 95 and above. Some features only work in Windows 98 and above.
ARCS II registered users may use Command and Control to provide voice control of over 27 basic functions of the TS-2000. You can talk to your radio and it responds (Microsoft SAPI 5.1 or higher is necessary to use the voice commands).
Registered users can also experiment with APRS and its graphics, the satellite functions of the radio or capture a few current radio settings to the ARCS memory database. These features are in development. The satellite operating features include the ability to change the satellite frequencies from the PC.
Commander
Commander allows you to control your Alinco, Elecraft, Flexradio, Icom, JRC, Kachina, Kenwood, TenTec, or Yaesu radio from a PC running Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, or 7. Commander is free, and contains no advertising; commercial use is expressly forbidden.
Ham Radio Deluxe
Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) is a suite of Windows programs providing computer control for commonly used transceivers and receivers. HRD also includes mapping, satellite tracking and a program for digital modes. HRD is designed for Windows XP or higher (XP, Vista, 7 and 8 ). Versions 5.x and older are free and open source, version 6.x and higher are not.
HamStationUltra
This software is supplied by Callsign Software based in Merrimack, N.H. Cost of the software on eBay (eBay seller is red_ella ) is $124.99 including world wide shipping. CallSign Software was first developed in year 2000 for the TenTec Pegasus. It has been in continuous development since then with about 10 different versions available for Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom, and TenTec, radios. Each software set is compiled from C and C++ 32 bit language code specifically for the radio model listed. Currently all software products are being shipped as the 27th tested and released versions of HamStationUltra for transceivers and ScopeStationUltra for receivers. The software base has had four major changes in structure with the current 4xxx series delivered to customers for over three years. Over 1300 CallSign software sets have been sold to 25 countries on all continents. The software base is constantly being tested and improved by feedback from customers. The TS-2000 version is one of CallSign Software's best selling products.
Kenwood
Firmware Update - Free [3]
Memory Control Program MCP-2000 Version 0.00 Beta - Free [4]
Radio Control Program ARCP-2000 Version 1.10 - Free Update for older versions of ARCP-2000 (~$80 USD/Free with TS-B2000) [5]. This program is supplied by Kenwood for the TS-B2000 "Silver Bullet" radio with no front panel. It has all the front panel controls and allows change of all of the menu parameters that define how the radio operates. Control of the TS-2000 and the TS-2000X is the same as the TS-2000.