kenwood 950sd and 950 sdx

[KC0HLM]

Anyone know the diff between the 950sd and 950 sdx? other than the sdx brings a lot more cash.. :D

[kj3n]

You want to stay away from the SD. Too many issues. Look at the Kenwood website and see all the service bulletins.

If you find an SDX in good condition and good price, grab it.

[ve2nsm]

SDX has integrated DSP while the SD is external optional.
There are also a lot more menu driven functions in the SDX, they look almost the same but they are different in many aspects.

[WB2WIK]

I had an SD and traded up for the SDX when it came out.

The SDX "fixed" a lot of the problems with the SD. Now that they're both old, if I were looking for a rig of that vintage, I'd stick with the SDX only.

WB2WIK/6

[WZ5Q]

Howdy,

There are quite a few differences between the 2 rigs that allot of people aren't aware of.
Allot of their circuits are similar, but far more that are different.
There are no direct replacement Circuit Boards between the two units, except for the Power Supply and the Audio unit, but only after a few modifications.
Thats how different they are.
The SD used the DSP unit for SSB TX only.
On Receive, it only uses the DSP for slope tuning, not for any SSB IF Receive DSP functions.
It uses the Analog Filters in the rig to remove the opposite sidebands.
So what this means is that if you try and receive any SSB signal using a wider filter then 2.7Kc, it will be Double Sideband.
The SD can TX on SSB without the DSP unit, as it will switch to analog automatically when it is removed.

The SDX uses the DSP unit for SSB and AM modes on TX, and for SSB on Receive.
The SDX will not receive or TX SSB without the DSP unit.
This is because all the extra analog circuitry that the SD had was removed from the PC boards on the SDX because the DSP unit was an integral unit, and the analog circuits were no longer necessary.
This includes the TX AM modulator circuitry and all the 455KHz PLL frequency generating circuitry.
The SDX DSP Unit now takes care of all of this.
There where additional modifications to the SDX to better it then the SD.
The biggest thing was the use of MOSFET finals in the PA section.

There are allot more differences between the two.
The SDX is twice the rig of the SD.
I hope this little splash of info helps ya.
Take Care,

[kd5j]

It is a shame that Kenwood is not currently producing a successor to the TS-950.

[N8MME]

It is a shame that Kenwood is not currently producing a successor to the TS-950.

I agree! Or even the TS-850. :mad: