This video demonstrates how a ham operator can quickly change their Transmit output power from the front panel. I have pre-set the Programmable button PFA in the upper left corner of this TS-590SG radio via Menu 87 (Menu 79 for TS-590S) to "204", enables TX Tune 1. And I normally have this set to a power level of 5 watts, to quickly check the radio output into a dummy load or when necessary, to one of many HF antennas. This becomes very useful if I have a need to adjust the Match since the Autotuner inside the radio may have a match-setting that is not for the current antenna I have selected.
For this sort of multi-antenna situation, an external, manual adjust Match Box (somehow these days called "Tuners") inside the radio room, and for those that have Plate and Load controls on a tube amplifier that may need to be adjusted for the current band and frequency. Rather than output a high RF power to make these adjustments, the amplifier (if you have one) should be in Stand By. Then with the TS-590 programmed with a preset output power from 5 to 20 watts via PF A or other programmable button for this purpose, then a quick punch of a button on the TS-590 will allow fast match adjustments.
Once the match has been optimized at low output power, the PF button is pressed again to disable the TX Tune 1 output. At that point, whatever RF output level you last used per the PWR button will still be current On the Air level. Which of course you can check by pressing the PWR button, and adjusted if necessary with the Multi knob. Completely independant of the PWR level you may set and use for the TX Tune mode.
This quick low RF power method is missing in YAESU HF radios and I think most or maybe all ICOM radios. You certainly can dial down the RF output on any of these other radios but the steps to do so are more involved. In some cases, a software CAT control-solution or a simple button connected to the external AT connector on some radios may provide a fairly low RF output at some set level, usually about 20 watts. KENWOOD engineering just has this built into their radios if you chose to make use of a faster method once it has been configured. If your a ham that has one antenna or maybe a couple of antennas that do not require any external matching across the frequencies to be used, you may still like to have a fast, low TX RF output to check your setup. Or instantly be set to a QRP output level with equally instant return to some higher setting. Or you have a tube type linear amplifier. Having the ability to flip into a lower RF output from the radio to adjust the amp is very handy. Especially when you hear a CQ that you want to respond to quickly and the radio power by itself isn't enough. And finally, this may also be handy for quick-setting the output of the radio for solid state amplifiers that require a lower RF-drive level from the radio.
Your TS-590 Operator Manual provides details on how to setup TX TUNE. TS-590SG owners can jump to page 59 which describes how to setup a programmable button for this. It also shows how you can set, or change the "T.PWR" level for the programmed button without (handily I might add) the radio transmitting while adjusting to a new value.
If you prefer to do things in software for local or remote situations, DXLab's Commander program will let you create User-defined Controls not just for KENWOOD, but other radios to do the same thing. I did not move the camera over to my computer screen to show you that operation or the Commands written into my User Control but I do show in this video how I step through 5, 20, 50 and 100 watt levels from the Commander program. I didn't invent this Command script. I found it online somewhere, but made a few changes to suit me.
I believe the same procedure can be done in a TS-890 per what I read in Section 8-8 of the manual for this radio. I haven't checked the TS-990 but I imagine it's written into the firmware of that radio too. I am on QRZ if anybody has questions.
Gene / K7TXO
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