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Updated 1 August 2017
This section contains information on connecting amplifiers and related equipment to the TS-590, derived from discussions in the “American” and “Swiss” reflectors and other sources. If you have any information to add to this section, please email the details to Ian Wade, G3NRW — g3nrw@g3nrw.net
General
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30-Jan-2012 | Amplifier Keying Relay Contact Ratings The relay in question is, I believe, K11 on the TX/RX unit board, and I believe the contacts are rated as follows: 0.6A at 125V AC 0.6A at 110V DC and/or 2A at 30V DC. I took the cover off the rig and read the specs directly off the relay. | Frank, KK0K |
ACOM 1000
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7-Feb-2011 | I'm taking delivery of a spanky new Acom 1000 in a couple of days, is it a simple matter of hooking the KEY IN on the amplifier to pin 2 (common) and pin 4 (MKE) of the REMOTE connector? Is that a standard 7 pin DIN? The manual for the Acom says the following... "d) Run a cable terminated in a Phono (RCA) connector from the transceiver socket providing ground on transmit” to the amplifier rear panel KEY-IN socket. NOTE Your amplifier will not work if KEY-IN is not connected properly. Transceiver producers give different names to this output and they are for instance TX-GND, SEND, T/R-LINE, etc. Some transceivers require that “ground on transmit” is implemented via a software command, or by changing the setting of a switch on the rear panel, or interior of the transceiver. Check your transceiver’s manual." The closest I can see in theTS-590S manual is the pins I mentioned on the REMOTE connector so will that be suitable? | Keith, G6NHU |
| 2 | 8-Nov-2011 | The 590 has a feature that no other OEM thinks is necessary. That is the TX Delay setting [Menu 53]. For the Acom 1000 set it at 10 ms key delay as the Acom has a QSK TR relay. For a slow keying amp like the Ameritrons, set it at 25 ms TX Delay. This will prevent hot switching and make the radio and amp happy. | Sonny, AB4VV |
AMERITRON AL-80A and HEATHKIT SB-1000
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19-Mar-2014 | Ameritron AL-80A and Heathkit SB-1000: Work great with the TS-590S. I plumbed mine 590 -> AMP -> Meter -> Tuner -> Antenna. I've used both a single wire keying cable (no ALC) and the one from my TS-830S/TS-940S w/ the ALC feedback wire hooked up (ebay). Both work fine and frankly I don't see much difference. Currently have the AL-80A hooked up w/ ALC connected and controlling drive power via the amp's ALC setting leaving the 590's power set at about 69W. Menu #53 is set to "3". Amp Supply LK-500-ZC: Plumbed TS-590 -> LK500 -> Meter -> Tuner -> Antenna. Using an (eBay) 590 keying cable with single wire, NO ALC connection. Controlling drive via TS-590 power setting in 'fine' (1 watt/notch). Works fine with the TS-590S w/o issues. Menu #53 is set to "3". | Skip R Guenter, K5SRG |
AMERITRON AL-811
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27-Nov-2012 | In the next day or two I will be replacing my Kenwood TS870 with a new TS590. For years I have been running a Ameritron AL811 with the simple relay connection. Will that connection work OK on with the TS590 or should I purchase the MFJ ARB 704 Interface unit? | Ron |
| 2 | 28-Nov-2012 | I've ran my TS-590S with the Ameritron AL-811. I used a connection from the REMOTE connector and the ALC from the REMOTE connector. Has worked flawless since day one. I now have an ALS-600 using the exact same cabling and REMOTE connections. No problems. The REMOTE pins 2 is the shield of a phono cable and pin 4 is the center conductor on the phono plug. This is plugged into the RELAY jack on the AL-811. The ALC from the REMOTE connector pin 6 going to the center conductor of a phono cable and the shield connected to the metal shield of the 7 pin DIN plug. The cable from the ALC on the TS-590S is plugged into the ALC on the AL-811. Go to menu item 53 and select either 2 or 3 as a setting. When the amplifier is turned on and in OPERATE the TS-590S should be able to key it when you transmit. The drive to the amplifier varies but I found about 50 watts was enough. After that you can go ahead and tune the amplifier up and adjust the ALC control on the back of the AL-811 to where it just starts to lower the power output of the TS-590S and then turn it clockwise to the point where the power from the TS-590S just gets back to the level needed for the amplifier to put out full power. The ALC circuit in the AL-811 isn't one of the best so make sure your power level when running the amplifier is adjusted to the power level that obtains the power out you want from the AL-811. Just to clarify the cable used from the TS-870 to the AL-811 is exactly the same wiring the TS‑590S needs to connect the amplifier to it. The only difference is the menu #. Plug in the cable you currently have and set the menu to activate the HF amplifier and you're done. | Gary, KO6WB |
| 3 | 26-Nov-2012 | Just as an aside -- I am using the AMP cable called TS2P/TS2PA from ebay -- seems to be fine. | Chuck |
AMERITRON ALS-1300
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3-Mar-2013 | I currently run my TS-590S with the Ameritron ALS-1300. I use the remote connector for connection to the ALC, pin 6 and MKE pin 4, with pin 2 as common. The cable from the Remote ALC on the TS-590S is plugged into the ALC jack on the ALS‑1300. Menu item 53 is selected for item 3 as a setting, where both the Relay and Delay are both set to ON. With the amplifier turned on and in the OPERATE position the TS-590S is able to key it when transmit is selected. The drive to the amplifier varies from band to band but I have found that 50 watts is enough drive. The amplifier ALC control is set to the 2.5 position on the dial located on the front of the ALS‑1300. I also use the MFJ-998 Automatic Tuner in conjunction with the ALS-1300 Amplifier. For clarification, the cable used between the TS-590S remoter tuner connector to the MFJ‑998 is the MFJ-5114K, and the MFJ-998 jumper JP1 is ON. Plug in the cable, set the menu to activate the HF amplifier and you're done. The full station wiring diagram The MFJ-998 tuner should be inserted between the RF Switch and the RCS-4 and used only for the wire antennas, but for simplicity of station wiring and proximity of RF equipments, it’s located as shown in the diagram. | Tom, W3FRG |
AMERITRON ARI-500
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2-Nov-2012 | I am trying to use an Ameritron ALS-1300 with their ARI-500 auto switch box and cannot get my TS-590 to communicate with the ARI-500. The factory says it should work. I searched all the messages on this site and only found one post with no responses. Is their anyone out there that is using this combination with any success? It would be nice to be able to auto band switch with this amp. I have has no trouble with the radio auto band switching with other amps made by THP and SPE. So the RS-232 port on the radio is fine. Thanks in advance for any help. | Chas, K2BU |
| 2 | 8-Nov-2012 | When I bought my ALS-600 at DX-Engineering over a year ago, I asked that question. They went to Ameritron and got back with me. The ARI-500 had to be redesigned to properly work with the 590, as far as I've seen it has not, and I also see it is not listed in DX-Eng. latest catalog. So I did not buy one. They listed Kenwood in their catalog but not the 590 that's why I asked the question. | Jim, WA7NDD |
| 3 | 8-Nov-2012 | That's absolutely true the ARI-500 cannot in it's present form sense the band the TS-590S is selected to. There is a way to get the information and send it to the ARI-500 for auto band select. You can see a YouTube on this here You'll probably need to add some general purpose switch transistors as a switch level out. It might be okay just the way it is. This works. There may be other ways to do this but so far this is the only one I've seen. | Gary, KO6WB |
AMERITRON ATP-102
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ameritron ATP-102 Tuning Pulser II Instruction Manual | ||
| 2 | 11-Oct-2012 | Follow the instructions, hint; you plug it in to the straight key jack. | Gary, KO6WB |
KENWOOD TL-922/922A
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19-Apr-2014 | Using a stock TL-922A/922, I set the TS-590S to the full 100 watts. Menu #53 set to #3. I use a Ameritron ARB-704 buffer relay to key the amp. I have the ALC hooked up but it is adjusted for full power. Using 100 watts with the TL-922A/922 there is no need for ALC. I set the TL-922A/922 in the SSB mode. I use an Ameritron ATP-102 tuning pulser with the controls set to the 9 ½ position and tune for full output. The amp will make more power running on 240 volts but it also did very well on 120 volts. The TL-922 and TL-922A if it has the 10 meter mod works fine on the 17 and 12 meter bands. For 17 meters use the 15 meter position and for 12 meters use the 10 meter position. (no adjustments needed in my case). In the future if the amp ever needs service I'll install the soft key mod.. | Marc R Meunier, KJ4UQT |
SPE EXPERT 1K-FA
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22-Feb-2011 | Expert 1K-FA User's Manual | Daniel, HB9DDS |
| 2 | 23-Nov-2012 | I have an SPE Expert 1K-FA amplifier for CW contesting. I cannot get the auto-band changing to work. I have my PC connected to the USB port for logging and that works just fine. I connected the COM port to the Amp as per the Kenwood diagram on page 31 of the User's manual. Both ports are set to 9600 BPS. Is there something I have not done?. Can anyone help please? | Sid, GM4SID |
| 3 | 23-Nov-2012 | The internal frequency counter should have been able to detect and automatically change bands even if the Kenwood communications are not setup correctly. Does the amplifier automatically switch bands when you transmit? It should be almost instantaneous. Also make sure you have the correct cable or if you made it yourself check and make sure it's wired correctly. Not absolutely sure this is a Kenwood problem or not. | Gary, KO6WB |
| 4 | 26-Nov-2012 | I have made a schematic drawing on how I connect to my SPE Expert 1K-FA amplifier. I connect to the computer and rig via the USB ports at 38400 and between the rig and the amplifier with 9600 and it works nicely. | Mel, SM0MPV |
TOKYO THP HL
| Date | Links / Reflector Discussions | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25-Nov-2012 | I'm curious if there is anyone here who is using the TS-590S with the Tokyo High Power solid state amps? Early on, there was discussion about the THP amps faulting and/or being damaged by the spike in the TS-590S upon key-up. I run mine with an Acom 1000 with no issues. Just curious for a report from owner of 590 and THP amp. | Steve, N4JQQ |
| 2 | 25-Nov-2012 | I have been running my 590 with a Tokyo Hy-Power solid state HL-550FX for 8 months or so. I have operated maybe 12 contests, both RTTY and SSB. Never had a fault. I also use an LP‑100A digital vector RF wattmeter, and have not noticed any significant spikes. | Jim, W4LC |
| 3 | 25-Nov-2012 | Steve, have the 590 driving the THP 1.5K with no problems. | Jack, KZ6ZZ |
| 4 | 26-Nov-2012 | I have been running my TS-590S with a Tokyo Hy-Power HL-1.5KFX on a near daily basis for the past two years and have yet to have the amplifier fault. Like Jim, W4LC, I use an LP-100A digital wattmeter and have not noticed any significant power spikes. | Frank, KK0K |
| 5 | 26-Nov-2012 | I've used the TS590 with THP HL-1.2K and never had any problems. I used to DX and contests. I found no difficulty or problems during one year (little bit more than one year) I presently use a home made SS 600W HF linear (Motorola application EB-104) and also had no problems or bad signal report. | Ronaldo, PY2NFE |