Saturday, July 23, 2016, 2 a.m. — I received my Kenwood 500 Hz CW filter for the TS-690S’s 455kHz IF a few days ago and I have it installed. Kenwood really, really made adding filters simple with the generation of rigs that came out with the TS-450S, etc. The filters plug in rather than solder in.
The 455kHz 500 Hz CW filter has better specs than the same filter for the 8.8. MHz IF, and as you might expect, sounds “tighter” and appears to offer better rejection of adjacent signals. Now I have to agree with a reader of my blog who recommended that I put the 250Hz CW filter in the 455kHz position. Having two 500Hz filters is almost redundant; but when you have them both in, there’s a noticeable difference than using either alone, so perhaps it isn’t so bad.
I have been enjoying using the TS-690S when checking into the Georgia CW net. Maybe its my nostalgia filter kicking in too, but despite the rig’s lack of “modern” features (i.e., DSP, bandscope, transmit audio EQ, etc.), its a great rig with a very good receiver.
ANTENNA ISSUES X 2. I have struggled with this longwire antenna that leaves the window behind me and how effective it is. I replaced the old one that basically hangs partly on the roof of the barn with another one in the clear. My Icom IC-746 performed well in the shack, but here in the library on the longwire it sounds like its completely deaf, even on the new wire my son and I put up earlier this week. I’m not sure what the issue is; could be this MFJ tuner, they’ve been known to have intermittent connections due to cold solder joints. I’m getting alot of noise too … too many computers around?
My second antenna issue is my trusty old (emphasis on old) Ringo Ranger II. I have it mounted on two 10-ft sections of antenna mast and strapped to a tree trunk (I cut down the tree several years ago and saved the truck for this purpose). Something knocked it catty whumpus and my dualband ham rig went deaf. Today my son and I braved the heat and humidity and wacked a path to the antenna. Turns out a large tree limb split off an adjacent tree and hit the Ringo, pushing it over at a 45 degree angle and pulling apart the coax section that connects the radios to the antenna. The connector is intact, but Cushcraft crimped them on, and re-using it is not possible. I can’t find a PL-259, but I’ll get one in town tomorrow. I would love to get the antenna back in the air tomorrow.