Strange things happening with my TS 950 SDX (and amp?)
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:19 pm
Hi y'all VooDoo Gurus and AudioPhiles!
This question may not "belong" in this forum but wanted to post this as there are many who really know the TS950 SDX so well
Note, the amp I am using is the Ameritron AL-811H (I purchased a set of brand-new tubes that Ameritron said were a matched, neutralized set) and I had been using it without any trouble on SSB and CW for a couple of months.
Here's the sequence of events:
1. I was on the 10m band, SSB, amp on and went after a DX station who was listening 5 up (incidentally, I did make the DX!).
2. Engaged XIT function on the rig for + 5 kHz and called (MONITOR ON).
3. My audio sounded a little scratchy at first (I have NEVER had this happen before, amp ON or OFF while operating on SSB on 10 m or 20/15 m bands)
and then it started sounding progressively more and more terrible, almost sounded like a lot of RF was mixing with my audio).
4. My linear amp exhibited odd behavior like it was no longer tuned up properly (which it always is!).
5. Amp didn't amplify at all, it was like the amp had just completely disappeared.
6. My audio sounded more and more like RF with barely intelligible audio (MONITOR ON) in the cans of my headphones.
7. Decided to switch off the linear amp.
8. Audio returned to "normal" while using the MONITOR function.
9. Tried amp on 20 m and it did put out about 250 W (amp can put out approximately 600 W on peaks), but clearly there was a problem with
the amp now as well.
10. Went on 10 m again today (obviously, not using the amp at all now), but even now my audio sounded (not using XIT, just regular "simplex" QSO)
really bad, "scratchy," like I heard more RF than audio level frequencies......Tried 15 m for fun and audio sounded great as always on this band when using the MONITOR function and headphones.
11. Decided to put my trusty old Kenwood TS870 on the air and went on 10 m and audio sounded beautiful as always. I did NOT use the same audio chain (a lot of Behringer audio gear) as I did with the TS950SDX. But then again, I'd never had ANY problems with audio (and RFI??) using the exact same outboard gear and TS870 a few months earlier, before I decided to get a preowned TS 950 SDX.
Have been really satisfied with the 950 SDX and even the stock version (I am using the 4 kHz filter though) sounds better than the TS870 (I use the TS870 to monitor my audio in real-time when fiddling with the settings on the audio gear). Absolutely beautiful, the 950 SDX is : )))
I am really perplexed as to why this happened?! Could it have something to do with using the XIT function?? Surely NOT! I believe that this was the VERY first time I'd ever engaged the XIT function on the TS950 SDX and had never had any sort of "RFI" (if that is what it is....) issues to date.
Not sure if the local Kenwood technician who comes highly recommended can locate the problem based on my description above though but I don't have time (and probably not the competence nor instruments) to fix the rig!!
Awaiting a deluge of suggestions
Cheers,
JJ
This question may not "belong" in this forum but wanted to post this as there are many who really know the TS950 SDX so well
Note, the amp I am using is the Ameritron AL-811H (I purchased a set of brand-new tubes that Ameritron said were a matched, neutralized set) and I had been using it without any trouble on SSB and CW for a couple of months.
Here's the sequence of events:
1. I was on the 10m band, SSB, amp on and went after a DX station who was listening 5 up (incidentally, I did make the DX!).
2. Engaged XIT function on the rig for + 5 kHz and called (MONITOR ON).
3. My audio sounded a little scratchy at first (I have NEVER had this happen before, amp ON or OFF while operating on SSB on 10 m or 20/15 m bands)
and then it started sounding progressively more and more terrible, almost sounded like a lot of RF was mixing with my audio).
4. My linear amp exhibited odd behavior like it was no longer tuned up properly (which it always is!).
5. Amp didn't amplify at all, it was like the amp had just completely disappeared.
6. My audio sounded more and more like RF with barely intelligible audio (MONITOR ON) in the cans of my headphones.
7. Decided to switch off the linear amp.
8. Audio returned to "normal" while using the MONITOR function.
9. Tried amp on 20 m and it did put out about 250 W (amp can put out approximately 600 W on peaks), but clearly there was a problem with
the amp now as well.
10. Went on 10 m again today (obviously, not using the amp at all now), but even now my audio sounded (not using XIT, just regular "simplex" QSO)
really bad, "scratchy," like I heard more RF than audio level frequencies......Tried 15 m for fun and audio sounded great as always on this band when using the MONITOR function and headphones.
11. Decided to put my trusty old Kenwood TS870 on the air and went on 10 m and audio sounded beautiful as always. I did NOT use the same audio chain (a lot of Behringer audio gear) as I did with the TS950SDX. But then again, I'd never had ANY problems with audio (and RFI??) using the exact same outboard gear and TS870 a few months earlier, before I decided to get a preowned TS 950 SDX.
Have been really satisfied with the 950 SDX and even the stock version (I am using the 4 kHz filter though) sounds better than the TS870 (I use the TS870 to monitor my audio in real-time when fiddling with the settings on the audio gear). Absolutely beautiful, the 950 SDX is : )))
I am really perplexed as to why this happened?! Could it have something to do with using the XIT function?? Surely NOT! I believe that this was the VERY first time I'd ever engaged the XIT function on the TS950 SDX and had never had any sort of "RFI" (if that is what it is....) issues to date.
Not sure if the local Kenwood technician who comes highly recommended can locate the problem based on my description above though but I don't have time (and probably not the competence nor instruments) to fix the rig!!
Awaiting a deluge of suggestions
Cheers,
JJ