Kenwood

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Kenwood Corporation (株式会社ケンウッド, Kabushiki-gaisha Kenuddo^?) (TYO: 6765 ) is a Japanese manufacturer of amateur radio as well as Hi-Fi and portable audio equipment.

History

The company first started in 1946 as the Kasuga Radio Co. Ltd. In Komagane City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. In 1960 the firm was renamed "Trio Corporation". 1963 saw the foundation of Kenwood USA, the first overseas office of Trio, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

In the early 1960s, The LaFayette Radio Company rebranded and sold Trio's products, unfortunately focusing on the doomed 23-channel CB radio.

Innovation at the company was very significant during this period. Trio built oscilloscopes, such as the popular 10 MHz CS-1562A. Kenwood introduced Japan's first FM tuner and solid state amplifier. The company introduced an amplifier with integrated audio and video signal switching in 1981. This product is seen as a precursor to today's home cinema systems.

In 1984, Kenwood designed and manufactured the first anti-theft car stereo receiver. In 1986, Trio-Kenwood became Kenwood Corporation.

Kenwood introduced its Sovereign line of components in 2001. This high-end line competes with prestige brands of other manufacturers such as Pioneer Elite, Sony ES, Onkyo Integra, and Matsushita Technics. In the car audio market, the "eXcelon" line similarly competes Pioneer Premier and Sony Mobile ES brands.

Notable Products and inventions

Amateur Radio Transceivers

Kenwood has offered distinct lines of HF, VHF/UHF and portable amateur radio models.

Among the product lines, the "TS" series of HF transceivers can be said to be among Kenwood's flagship products. These radios cover the "high frequencies", approximately 0-30 MHz, and can easily let the user communicate around the world, via voice, CW (Morse), PSK31 or RTTY (digital modes of communication), with output power of around 50-100 Watts. These included:

TS-800 series -- From the late 1970s, the TS-820 was one of the first Kenwood transceivers to gain widespread acceptance in the Amateur Radio community. The original model included a single VFO (variable frequency oscillator), although a second VFO could be purchased as a stand-alone option; a matching receiver, the R-820, was also available, which permitted split frequency operation. A digital display was another option, available to be retrofit to the original device. With the digital display installed, a TS-820 could be named a "TS-820S": all future Kenwood HF transceivers have used the "S" designation to signify presence of a digital display, though the feature has long since become standard equipment.; TS-900 series -- From the mid-1980s, the TS-930S and, to a greater extent, the TS-940S represented a step-up in features, size, and cost from the 800-series models. Introduced around 1986, the TS-940S was considered a classic of its time which was later succeeded by the TS-950. It was Kenwood's first model to permit the HF transceiver to be fully controlled by a personal computer (via RS-232 cable and an aftermarket interface, the IF-232). In later years, this became standard equipment on almost all serious HF radios, and some radios would drop the human interface features entirely, being controlled entirely by a remote computer.; TS-400 series -- with models including the TS-430S, TS-440S, TS-450 and TS-480, these units featured a smaller size, were operated on 12 Volts -- meaning batteries could be used -- and were suitable for use as a portable base station, such as during Amateur Radio Field Day.; TS-600 series -- These models were mainly identical to their 400 series counterparts but offered the 6 Meters band as an addition. For example the TS-450S and the TS-690S have the same exterior and mostly the same specifications on the 0-30 MHz HF band but adding the 6 Meters band.;

Read more at Wikipedia.org