TS-830S Gold Label and the Factory-installed Filters

If you browse the Internet for TS-830S Gold Label you will find that opinions about what it really is diverge greatly.

Some say the Gold Label was an anniversary promo, others that the Gold Label TS-830S came installed with all the optional filters and yet, others say it is "nothing special", just that Kenwood decided to change the label on the latest models produced.

Here is one thread to get you started on the subject: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.radio.amateur.boatanchors/MabLfGC-a8w

By chance (or destiny) I have a new TS-830S and we can use it to add more data to this already controversial matter :)

First, I got a picture of a TS-830S with all the filters installed:

(thanks go to http://www.n6wk.com/kenwood/TS-830S-4%20filters.jpg)

Let's compare this picture with the one I took of my TS-830S: 

We can see clearly in this picture that there are filters missing.

From this evidence I see three possibilities:

1. Kenwood TS-830S Gold Label didn't come with extra filters installed, at all.

2. Kenwood TS-830S Gold Label came with filters installed but the filters have been removed.

3. Some units came with filters installed and some didn't.

I'm tempted to rule number 2 out, as I really believe the IF board has never been touched. There are no marks whatsoever that suggest it has been. There are no scratches or de-soldering marks on the board.

As for number 3, it is possible, but that would require separation of serial numbers at time of production. 

If you go to Ken's website www.k4eaa.com (more precisely to the url http://www.k4eaa.com/faq.html) you will find the following regarding the Gold Label:

What is the difference between a TS-830S and a TS-830S "Gold Edition" or "Gold Label?"

At some point Kenwood introduced the "Gold" version of the 830S.  It came from the factory with all four filters installed, 2 for CW and 2 for SSB.   The 830S had a VBT control, which required overlapping of the 2 sets of filters, by varying the heterodyne frequencies, to achieve a variable bandpass. The standard 830S had only the 2 SSB filters factory installed, with the CW filters optional.  The VBT with the standard filters varied the bandpass from about 800Hz to 2.4KHz.  Adding either CW filter will allow a 500Hz CW bandwidth, but the inclusion of BOTH filters allowed the VBT to adjust from 0 to 500Hz BW - A very nice improvement.  The "Gold" series came with all 4 filters installed.  Be advised that many Gold 830S's today have had their CW filters removed and sold separately..

UPDATE:  I continue to occasionally hear from people that dispute the Gold/Full-Filter statement.  After looking at over 100 TS-830S's I still have yet to find a Gold that didn't either have the filters installed, or show positive signs of filter removal.  This issue will probably remain in limbo, however, until someone finds a brochure or sales flyer touting this "Full Boat" transceiver.  People have seen them, bought 830's as a consequence, but no one has any real proof.

BREAKING NEWS:  Joe Kenwood called me yesterday from Tokyo Japan, and confirmed that "Golds" were delivered with all 4 filters factory installed.  This should put to rest any controversy, and prove my point once and for all!   Thanks, Joe!  8^D

The last bit, BREAKING NEWS, seem to be the most accepted solution to the controversy. I confess that when I first read that about a year ago I was really convinced that "that was it." But when I got my TS-830S and it didn't come with the optional filters installed I started to wonder: who is Joe Kenwood?

I've always thought Kenwood was a family name until I came across this article on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenwood_Corporation

The article, in its History section, tells a brief story of how Willian "Bill" Kasuga thought about the name of the newly formed company:

Kasuga decided to create an American-sounding name for the import company. He described the origin of Kenwood as being the combination of "Ken", a name common to Japan and America that had been tested and proven acceptable to American consumers in the name of Kenmore Appliances, and "Wood", referring to the durable substance as well as suggesting a relation to Hollywood.

I tried to find more information about Joe Kenwood on the web but I haven't found anything conclusive. 

Now I'm not sure anymore. It is like an old fossil that has been discovered and brings an old controversy to the light again. How can we resolve this issue?

The Kenwood TS-830S works fine!

Now, the question is: will it work?

After 30+ years in storage, are there any problems with it? Any capacitors leaking? Will the valves work? Will it break when voltage is applied to it?

The radio is 120V nominal and my home is 220V. Of course I didn't want to convert it to 220V, even if following the guidelines on the manual. I thought it would be too intrusive.

I was also worried about de voltage variation we usually get around here + - 4V.

I started to look for a no-break that would be suitable; one that would maintain 120V + - 1% no matter the input power or its variations, but they are just too expensive for now.

I got myself a transformer and I began to monitor the Voltage output. It varied from 117V up to 120V, so I thought it would be OK.

I had prepared a good place in my shack for the TS-830S (I live in a very small apartment and my shack is in my closet. It will be at least until my new house is ready).

I plugged the radio to the power outlet and turned it on. 

The audio started low and increased gradually. I had a 40m vertical Hustler antenna I got from my father, PY2HH, connected to it and the radio soon came to life. It was wonderful to hear the background noise of 40m, but even better to listen to other operators speaking on air.

It was night, so I turned to 20m. There were lots of CW and the audio was clear! I played with the VBT, Shift, Notch, everything seemed to be working.

I tuned to a CW signal and switched the Mode Switch to CW.N, then to CW.W, but could not notice any difference between the two settings. I was really hoping it came installed with "all the filters" as many sources on the Internet seem to suggest of a TS-830S GOLD LABEL.

I very much doubt it that the filters were removed by the previous owner as I honestly believe I am the first HAM operator to actually play with the radio. I didn't want to open the case and look inside either, not just yet. I was extra careful, he is an old, respectful piece of equipment.

With some help from my father over Skype, I manage to tune it properly for 7,130Khz, but not with too much power. Actually I have not even plugged the microphone. I was using the SEND/REC switch alone, to tune and verify there was irradiated power. There was! There was voltage on the plate as well, about 700V, so it seemed to be working. Next I'll try a more proper transmission and a real QSO (I'll have to get my father to come over because, as of today, I can only listen, I'm PY2592SWL). Then we will know how healthy the radio really is.

After this, I found courage to open the case and inspect the components. I opened the top only and couldn't find anything wrong, dirty or leaking. I found no sign of filters either, so I guess the story about GOLD LABEL coming with all the filters installed is not true. :( No problem, I'm happy just the same)

How I got a brand new Kenwood TS-830S

Yes, it is 2014 and I have a brand new Kenwood TS-830S!!

It all began in November 2013 as I was browsing Ebay for a new Radio. I was looking at Collins, Yeasu, Kenwood and other brands, but one radio I always liked is the Kenwood TS-830S. My father, a ham radio since 1978, PY2HH, has one... and had two at one time in the past. He told me about the quality of the audio of the 830S; I started to operate his 830S and I really liked it.
I would check Ebay from time to time looking for a TS-830S; even sites in Brazil, where I live, and Argentina.
Being an old radio, it is hard to tell if the used ones that aways appear in these sites are trustworthy. It is like buying an old car of a good brand: Mercedez, Land Rover, etc. They are good brands, but it could backfire.
It was November 13th, 2013, I think, when I first saw the listing on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221317443827?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_from%3DR40%26_nkw%3D221317443827%26_rdc%3D1  it may still be there.

I carefully looked at the pictures and it really appeared new. Too new almost!

I decided I would not let that radio go. It had to be mine.

The auction

So I entered the auction and set up a higher bid, decided not to let go. 

It went on for days, checking eBay all the time, until the last day of the auction.

Because of the timezone difference, it would finish around 1AM, São Paulo time, and I wanted to watch it to the end.

Everybody was sleeping and I had my laptop on the living room table, watching the final minutes:

This picture shows 2:59m to go.

There was another bid from a contender in the last minute, but I won for US$760!

It was one of the happiest moments of my life! A true feeling of victory! A brand new Kenwood TS-830S (I really didn't know it was completely new at the time, but I suspected).

I started to think about its origins. I checked the seller and discovered he was not a HAM, but an antiquity dealer, from what I could figure. None of his listings had anything to do with HAM radio.

So, what is the story here? How did he come by this radio?

I sent emails asking the seller, but I noticed some reluctance from him in answering my questions. But I insisted a bit and he told me the radio was part of a "state" he visit and belonged to an old lady. She bought the radio as a present for her husband, but he passed away before opening the box.

So, this explained it.
What is really amazing is that she kept the radio! Didn't sell it; didn't donated it to anyone. She kept it in their home for more than 30 years, in the box!

I imagined that box on a shelf inside a closet somewhere...just sitting there for all this time.

So I won, shipped it to a friend's house in Miami and collected it in January 25th, 2014.

It was beautifully packed with two boxes and bubble wrap. I made a stronger box to endure the trip back to Brazil. I new TSA would open it, so I watched the officer handle the box. I actually wrote a note and glued it inside the box. The note explained how valuable the contents were and gave some advice on how to repackage everything if needed.

The box made it to Brazil after an 8-hour flight from Miami to GRU. I was worried the box could get racked, of the radio getting damaged, specially because it took a long time to appear on the carrousel.

But there the box was. I payed duty at customs and went home with my TS-830S.

After telling this story, I began to think about how precious and how rare this is. Maybe the HAM radios that know the TS-830S will understand right away, but even if you are not into Ham radio, think about something old that you really like and that you would really want to have. Maybe you like the original VW Beetle, or another car like The REd Barchetta from Rush (listen and you will not what I'm saying)

Suppose you find one on eBay. One that is brand new. But, in order for it to be new, it would have to have been preserved intact in some garage somewhere for more than 3 decades! I have owned an original, green VW Beetle 1969. It was well preserved, 44 years-old, but it wasn't new. Someone had stored it in the garage for all this time. Being new would mean that it had never touched the road, the engined had never been turned on before, the tank had seen no gasoline! This is my Kenwood TS-830S. When I opened the box, I knew it was new! look at this plastic and the way it is secured with the elastic band. The plastic covers half of the radio only. I guess it is how it was packaged originally. The microphone and a small plastic bag with connectors and fuses where inside the box, sealed! 

Original Manual and Certificate of Warranty were also in the box.

 

First time energized.

Looking at all the physical features of the radio and showing it to an experienced Amateur Radio I arrived at the conclusion that it is indeed new. The capacitors inside are intact and there is no sign of dust.

Next, I'll talk about the first tests.