Preface This in-depth manual for the TS-480 was written by the engineers who actually planned and designed the product. It is our hope that this guide will serve to convey the joys of HF and all the benefits of owning and using the TS-480 to whoever reads this guide – whether you have already purchased a TS-480, an accomplished operator, thinking of buying a transceiver, or just thinking of taking up Amateur Radio as a hobby. We believe the TS-480 will appeal to everyone.
Design Objectives Determination to create a unique transceiver The concept of a compact HF transceiver first saw the light of day with Kenwood’s TS-50. From then on, such equipment has become an essential part of the Amateur Radio world. Equipment has now evolved with the appearance of multi-band models. In developing this new HF transceiver, Kenwood has boldly chosen not to follow this path, because we wanted to develop a transceiver unlike any other available.
Standalone control panel For mobile operations, a separate control panel is ideal, but what if the transceiver is also to be used as a base station? This was the problem we faced. With a large desktop rig, it is no easy matter to shift things around to find the best position, so perhaps it would be a good idea to have a separate control panel that could be moved easily. Also, a desktop unit has various kinds of cables connected to it. What with the heat the main unit produces and the noise of the fan, etc.
Adding appeal to fixed station operations It is now increasingly common to see a PC sitting beside the transceiver in the shack, but we wanted to expand the interaction between computers and transceivers. It was with this in mind that Kenwood came up with the idea of an Internet remote-controlled transceiver. You may be away on a business trip, but you want to operate, or you may want to use a large Yagi antenna out in the suburbs from your downtown apartment.
Development Objectives for the TS-480 Series The following is an explanation of our development objectives, distinct from the planning objectives. If asked about the origins of the compact HF rig, people outside Japan would no doubt think of the Atlas Series. Following the Atlas, a variety of different products appeared on the market, but it is probably no exaggeration to say that Kenwood’s TS-50 was the first in the category of the 100W (HF) compact all-mode transceiver.
Focusing on HF Raising power output and adding an antenna tuner are both moves in the right direction, but limiting the transceiver to the HF bands when the mainstream nowadays is HF~V/UHF would seem to be going against the tide of the times. Yet opting for the multi-band route inevitably leads to larger dimensions and higher prices. In this genre, price is an important factor, so by limiting the TS-480 to HF, we developed what is in fact a compact transceiver that stands apart from the competition.
Circuitry ● TX circuits 200W final section Explained here is the circuitry for the 200W final section, the crown jewel of the TS-480 Series. This circuit is responsible for developing 200W output with a DC 13.8V power supply. Of course, various approaches are possible. The typical one would be to use a high voltage (28V or more) with the FETs in a push-pull arrangement.
Fig. 1 illustrates TX IM characteristics with 200W output at 14MHz, while the second graph (Fig. 2) charts high-frequency spurious emissions. Fig. 1: TX IMD (output 200W) Fig.
SPS (separate power sources) [TS-480HX only] SPS is shorthand for “operating at 200W using two 100W 13.8V power sources.” To generate a 200W output from 13.8V requires a maximum (total) current of 41A. As previously explained, the TS-480HX employs a pair of 100W final amps. What the SPS design does is to supply these amps from two separate power supplies, as shown in Fig. 3 below. The use of two power supplies may appear inconvenient, but in actual fact this arrangement is quite practical.
Failsafe device (some TS-480HX versions only) The use of two power supplies and two final amps in parallel is something that has not been tried before, and naturally there may be some anxiety on the part of the user regarding what would happen if just one of the power supplies suddenly failed. Such a situation would be handled safely, since the TS-480 series is equipped with several failsafe devices.
Fig. 4: 200W final section Fig.
FM circuit There were two approaches used for the FM circuit of the conventional all-mode transceiver. Either there was a dedicated modulation circuit using a 10.695MHz crystal, or the modulation was performed by the VCO on the 2nd OSC. The latter was not an option for the TS-480, and since the whole transceiver had to be compact, we did not adopt the former approach.
● RX circuitry Front end As explained in the section on development objectives, what distinguishes the TS-480 Series are incomparable features and performance that result from our focus on HF. Of special note are the dynamic range characteristics in the HF bands, demonstrating the fact that, despite the compact dimensions of this transceiver, there has been no design compromise. One of the circuits that is important in determining dynamic range is the first mixer.
How well does it actually perform? Fig. 8 is a graph illustrating the dynamic range characteristics when changing the separation of two interfering signals. For the sake of reference, results for the TS-480 are plotted against those obtained using other compact mobile transceivers (on the market) under the same conditions. Fig. 8: RX dynamic range Looking at Fig. 8, results higher up the graph indicate wider dynamic range. When the RX frequency is 14.
filter – reflects a difference in the manufacturers’ approach to design from the antenna to the 1st mixer. It is not just the mixer that determines the characteristics of the front end: all of the components between the antenna terminal and the mixer can have an impact. Despite the compact design of the TS-480 Series, its RX BPF divides up the 500kHz~60MHz range into 10 bandwidths. Since several coils are employed in this BPF circuit, small coils have to be used in a compact transceiver.
Jumpers for joy As with the TS-2000, something special has been provided for both the BPF ATT in the BC band and the regular ATT: The BPF has been equipped with an ATT in order to cope with powerful local broadcasting stations in the BC band. However, a jumper can be used to switch from NORM to DX, bypassing this ATT and raising sensitivity by about 20dB. The ATT accessible from the control panel defaults to 12dB, but by removing the CN4 jumper it is possible to increase this to about 20dB. Fig.
Circuitry after the roofing filter Except for FM, the TS-480 has a double super: 1st IF is 73.095MHz and the 2nd IF is 10.695MHz. For FM, there is also a triple super as low as 455kHz. This is followed by analog detection and signal processing performed by the AF DSP in a standard arrangement. The AF DSP is not optional: it is equipped as standard. DSP features and characteristics are explained in the DSP section. Three newly developed optional filters are available for the 2nd IF.
Whereas the TS-570 provided only a single slot for installing an optional filter, the TS-480 has two slots, meaning that two of the three filters can be installed at the same time. And the process of installation itself is quite easy: there is no need to remove the main unit, since the option installation unit has been designed to be separately removable. The photograph in Fig. 12 shows the option installation unit.
Auxiliary Features In addition to the basic TX/RX circuitry already described, the TS-480 is equipped with a number of auxiliary features of considerable practical benefit. What follows is an introduction to some of these. ● Full compatibility with digital modes (data modes) PSK31 and RTTY operations can now be performed with ease using PC software. The TS-480 has been designed to make it easy to use such digital modes.
TX tuning is a handy feature to have. It outputs a low-power continuous carrier for adjusting a screw-drive or similar antenna. It allows you to transmit a continuous carrier that is independent of the mode and power of your current operations. Simply assign a PF key to this function. No paddle, but you want to give CW a try? No problem. With mic paddle mode, you can use the up/down keys on your microphone as a simple paddle.
Features of the Built-in DSP ● DSP circuit The digital signal processor equipped on the TS-480 is the 16-bit fixed-point TMS320VC5402 from Texas Instruments, which offers excellent value for the money. Running at 100MHz, it provides double-precision arithmetic operations (equivalent to 32-bit processing), making it more than capable of serving as an AF DSP. Thanks to this, the TS-480 offers many powerful features of use in HF operations.
First, the input signal is divided into its low- and high-frequency components. Ignition and other pulse noise tends to be concentrated in the latter, from which amplitude variation is output. The attenuation coefficient derived from this signal is multiplied by the input signal. As soon as pulse noise occurs, the attenuation coefficient rises instantaneously, thus damping the amplitude variation in the input signal.
Fig. 15: NR OFF Fig. 16: NR1 ON Fig.
● Beat cancel Beat cancel (BC), as its name implies, is designed to cancel unpleasant beat interference. Like NR1, it uses adaptive filter technology, tracking a beat and canceling it by shaping. It is very similar to a band elimination filter. Even if there are multiple beats, BC can track and cancel them all.
● RX DSP filters In SSB, AM and FM modes, you can independently set high- and low-cut frequencies for the AF filters to suit operating conditions (slope tune). Fig. 20 illustrates how slope tune works. When there are interfering signals in proximity to the target signal, you can use a high-cut filter and a low-cut filter to remove the signals above and below the target. In SSB mode, installing the optional SSB narrow filter results in even better interference reduction.
Target signal Interference Interference Target signal Interference Interference Fig. 21: Switching WIDTH during CW operations Listed below are the filter bandwidths (unit: Hz) that can be chosen; default values are shown in bold. CW WIDTH 50 FSK WIDTH 250 500 1000 1500 80 100 200 300 400 500 600 1000 2000 When the optional CW filters are installed, the TS-480 will automatically select the optimum IF filter in accordance with the DSP filter bandwidth.
● RX equalizer & TX equalizer If you use the RX equalizer it is easy to adjust RX audio quality. Take your pick from flat (default), high boost, Formant pass, bass boost, and conventional settings. As a new feature, the TS-480 actually offers two types of high boost and two types of bass boost. TX audio quality can similarly be adjusted with the TX equalizer.
Tips As with other Kenwood HF transceivers, the TS-480 provides menu access to its many features. By selecting and adjusting these features, you can customize the TS-480 so that it fits perfectly into your way of operating a radio. Introduced here are tips on how to get the most out of the various items listed in the menus.
Volume adjustment You can adjust this to suit your preference. For full break-in, it is easier to hear the sidetone if you raise this volume. You can check what has been recorded. 12 Beep output level 13 Sidetone volume 14 VGS-1 message playback volume 15 VGS-1 announcement volume 16 VGS-1 announcement speed RX IF filters 17 Use CW IF filter for SSB reception This is useful for PSK31 operations.
Antenna tuner Linear amp Message playback 25 TX hold when internal AT completes tuning 26 In-line AT while receiving 27 External AT control method 28 Linear amp control for HF band 29 Linear amp control for 50MHz band 30 VGS-1 constant recording 31 Repeat playback of voice/CW messages 32 Interval time for #31 After completion of tuning, there is still approximately 10W of output, so this is useful if you want to go on to tune the linear amp.
CW FSK FM Without switching off the repeat playback for messages, you can start keying. Select RX pitch frequency between 400Hz and 1000Hz. At the same time, sidetone frequency changes with the pitch frequency. This can be used to zero in on a target signal by matching the sidetone frequency with the RX beat. Change the dot/dash weight ratio. This is usually set to AUTO. You can change the AUTO setting for #35.
PF keys You can assign functions to the PF keys on the control panel as detailed in the separate table. You can assign functions to the PF keys on a multifunction mic as detailed in the separate table.
● Functions that can be assigned to PF keys # Assigned function Use 0~60 MENU #00~60 61 Voice1 62 Voice2 The selected menu item can be called up directly, making this useful for menu functions that you often use. In addition to the automatic Voice Guide, you can have frequency and other displayed data read out when you press a PF key. S-meter reading is read out when you press a PF key.
71 TF-SET 72 Q MR 73 Q MI 74 SPLIT 75 A/B 76 M/V 77 A=B 78 SCAN 79 M >V 80 M.IN 81 CW TUNE 82 CH1 83 CH2 84 CH3 85 FINE 86 CLR 87 MTR 88 MHz 89 ANT 1/2 90 NB 91 NR 92 BC 93 DNL 99 OFF You can assign a function you often use to a PF key on the mic. Also, a function defined by pressing the key for 1 second can be called up instantly.
● Making menus easier to use Menu switching There are so many different menu selections and parameters to choose from that it is impossible to remember them all. Consequently, the menu system can be a little inconvenient when you need to change several settings at once. To solve this problem, the TS-480 offers two sets of menus: A and B.
Structural Features ● Internal structure of the main unit The internal structure of the main unit is straightforward: employing a die-cast aluminum chassis, it is designed so that the circuit boards are attached from both above and below. From above one can see the TX/RX unit, the filter unit and the relay unit; seen from below, there are the RF unit and the final unit (or final/AT unit, in the case of the SAT model). There is also a separate display unit in the standalone control panel. Figs.
● Cooling In developing the TS-480HX, the most important issue when it came to structural design was how to arrange for sufficient cooling. In order for this transceiver to be capable of 200W output and yet have the same compact design as the TS-50, we examined dozens of different cooling fans, various circuit board patterns, and a variety of different cooling fan layouts.
The TS-480HX is equipped with 4 final transistors (2 in the case of the SAT model), and the heat produced by these disperses through the die-cast aluminum chassis. In order to efficiently transfer this heat outside the transceiver, cooling fins are absolutely essential. We would like to provide as many of these fins as possible, but in fact on more than one occasion we have found that, owing to space limitations, we were not able to fit in the normal complement of cooling fins.
Now let’s have a look at the rise in temperature of the different parts when the TS-480HX transmits continuously (14MHz) for 30 minutes at 200W. To provide a comparison, plotted on the same graph is test data compiled for a compact 100W model (designed so as not to power-down during continuous transmission at 100W). Fig. 30: Temperature rise around final transistors Fig.
Fig. 32: Temperature rise measured at center of the upper case of the main unit As you will appreciate from these results, despite the fact that the TS-480HX has an output of 200W, twice that of the comparison model, it boasts the same or even better cooling performance. It is not only designed not to power-down (for temperature protection) during continuous, normal transmission, but you can see that we have taken into full consideration the rise in temperature that occurs during continuous transmission.
● Standalone control panel In the compact size range, virtually all transceivers are designed so the control panel can be removed and replaced. While this is convenient, owing to the small dimensions of the main unit, the area of the front panel is necessarily limited. Consequently, in order to access the many functions that are used in HF operations using only a limited number of switches, hierarchical menus are unavoidable.
New Option: Voice Guide & Storage Unit (VGS-1) Developed at the same time as the TS-480, the VGS-1 can be installed as an option. Combining in one unit the functions of the voice synthesizer unit (VS-3) and the digital recording unit (DRU-3A) previously offered by Kenwood, the VGS-1 goes beyond both of these. Let’s now take a close look at the functions that are available using this unit.
● Voice Guide Kenwood’s Voice Guide function is not the same as the basic versions fitted in some transceivers merely to announce the frequency. Of course, we have included a frequency guide, but we were convinced that a Voice Guide is an obvious and essential feature for the menus and function settings that are so crucial for daily operation. The TS-480 has inherited intact those Voice Guide features that have proved so popular in other models.
6. VFO mode, direct frequency entry Let us say you are operating at 7.033MHz and in VFO mode you press the PF key, the Voice Guide will announce “VFO”, “A” or “B”, and 7.033.00. If you use the key pad to input ENT, 2, 1, 1, 9, 5, ENT, you will hear each key announced – “Enter”, “2”, “1”, “point”, “1”, “9”, “5”, and finally “Enter”. On confirming with the Enter key, you will hear a beep to indicate “T” and then the input frequency will be read out.
New Option: ARCP-480 (Amateur Radio Control Program for TS-480) Freeware Kenwood’s ARCP software has proven very popular. For the TS-480 we have made some significant improvements, releasing it as “ARCP-480”. KNS added ARCP-480 is compatible with the Kenwood Network Command System, enabling control of the TS-480 over a network and, using H.323 (VoIP), making voice transmission/reception possible.
2. Changing memory and registered details You can change any registration data from the appropriate window. You use this window when storing new data in memory. Display the frequency you wish to register and press M.IN. Then pick the channel (0-89) you want to write to and press DISP: the memory window (right) will open. This window now allows you to pick split operations.
4. Reading and writing files With ARCP-480 you can write memory channel and menu data to a file for later recall. This does not apply in certain cases when using KNS. ● Compatibility with KNS (Kenwood Network Command System) KNS is the name for the system that enables remote control of the transceiver over a LAN or WAN; ARCP-480 is equipped with the remote functions for this system.
When the system is operating, RX audio and the commands that control ARCP are sent from the host PC, along with the TX audio and commands controlling the transceiver. Using this combination of ARCP-480 and ARHP-10, in order to be able to communicate by voice, and to be able to hear the sidetone when keying, both the host PC and remote PC must be running Windows® 2000 (SP3 or later) or Windows® XP (SP1 or later).
communications and the operating system on either end is compatible, check the Voice box. (It is possible to enter the description using double-byte characters. For the address, it is also possible to enter the domain name, provided that it can be resolved by DNS.) Once you have finished, return to the setup window, select the other computer in the To: combo box, and check the box labeled Use Network Command System.
Using a broadband router Many people using the Internet today use a broadband router (hereafter referred to simply as a router), but in order to use KNS in a setup that has routers installed at both the host and remote ends, you need to configure each end separately. With KNS, for transmission and reception using the TCP protocol you need to open one port for commands and several ports for VoIP.
New Option: ARHP-10 (Amateur Radio Host Program) Freeware ARHP-10 is the host application for use with the Kenwood Network Command System. As was explained in the section on ARCP-480, if ARHP-10 is installed on the host computer it can serve as the host in a KNS connection. 1.
3. Adjust PC volume Whether hosting via a WAN or within a LAN, it is recommended that you test your setup at least once using a KNS environment arranged with host and remote on the same LAN. This should allow you to adjust volume to the appropriate level. To adjust terminal level, display the recording control, confirm that MIC input is selected, and adjust the level. For speaker output level adjustment, adjust WAVE. 4.
● Troubleshooting Listed below are typical problems that you might encounter. Network & Operations Problem Solution Is it possible to use an analog We recommend a broadband connection. Otherwise, if you have a narrowband connection of about 50kbps, it dial-up connection? might work, though this will depend on network traffic conditions. You must also expect to encounter some noise and to lose audio contact intermittently.
I cannot get KNS to work over the Internet connection that is provided as a collective service to my apartment block. It is possible that one of more of the ports required by KNS is blocked. Talk to your network administrator to see if the requisite ports can be opened. Can I use a software-based firewall? KNS will probably work with your firewall, provided that it is set up for the ports required by ARCP and ARHP to be open. Set the TOT to whatever duration you require.
Sound Problem The sound does not get through (host PC). The sound does not get through (remote PC). Solution First check that the audio cable is connected properly. Check what audio input method (MIC/EXP-SP or DATA) has been selected for the transceiver. • If the DATA terminal is used: Use menus #46 & #47 to check that I/O levels are correct. • If MIC/EXT-SP is used: Check that AF level and mic gain are correct. • Check your computer: Check that the computer can produce sound; update drivers as necessary.
Check that the computer can produce sound; update drivers as necessary. Connect a microphone to the computer and bring up the recording control window. Check that the input terminal you are using is active and that it is set to an appropriate level. Bring up the playback control window; make sure that it is not muted and that it is set to an appropriate level. Check that you can hear something from the speakers connected to your computer. Check that you are using a compatible operating system.
TS-480 In-Depth Manual Published in April 2004 by Kenwood Corporation Communications Equipment Division Unauthorized reproduction is forbidden.