[Kenwood] TS-570G(D) vs FT-920

[Thomas Beltran]

Thanks to everyone that wrote.  The majority of people felt that the 920 was
a good buy.  I ended up buying the 570.  First, because it is not my only
rig - I have a Drake C line (with everything on it) - most said if this
purchase were going to be an only rig, get the 920 because it has more
features.  And it does!  On the other hand, people noticed that on CW, the
920 is not that hot - I go on CW a lot.  My main concern (about buying the
520) was that the 920 sounded much better on receive, but after I spoke with
several people on the air, and I just was not impressed with the tx audio.
[it may be that these ops did not understand how to set up the tx audio
controls]  But with regard to the recieved audio, what I found out, was that
the built-in speaker is better on the 920.  Using Heil headphones in the
store on both radios, the audio was fairly equal.  (I wonder how many people
may have rejected the 570 based upon that piercing thin received audio from
the small built-in speaker?)  At home, with my external stereo speaker, the
audio is great.

I was leaning toward the 920, but what turned me to the 570 was its smaller
size - I started thinking about taking it on vacation, the DSP seems much
more effective, and finally, it was several hundred dollars cheaper.  What I
liked about the 920, was the dual vfo knobs, more functions had a control,
rather than being buried in the menu system.  But the DSP was just not as
effective, and the price of those separate controls is a much larger rig
(the Drake, SB-220 and other stuff already take a lot of room).

One thing I learned, is that it is difficult to make a decision in the
store, because these rigs are so complicated.  Even now, after studying the
manual, I am unsure how to do things, but I now know things it can do, that
I never even thought to ask about in the store.  Now understand, I have
never owned a modern no-tune, digital display rig - my rigs are a C line,
HW-16 and TS-520.  Maybe later, I will have more understanding of these rigs
modern rigs and so the transition or learning curve won't be that steep.
Now that the rig is home, and on my antenna and eveything, I am satisfied
with its performance - it is fun to go sailing around the bands, no tune!
And the price is right at only $ 979.99.

Thanks to everyone that wrote.  Tom W6EIJ