Kenwood TS-570

A black-box HF transceiver from Japan that put DSP and a built-in tuner within reach of the average ham. It stayed in production long enough to become a fixture on the used market.

Overview

The Kenwood TS-570S is an HF 160-10m all-mode transceiver built in Japan, finished in black, and sold under the Kenwood name. The same company's audio division was making integrated amplifiers and tuners during those years. The TS-570 is a different animal: an amateur radio transceiver, not hi-fi. Collectors coming from the Kenwood audio side should get that straight before they start hunting.

The documentation describes an "all mode HF SSB DSP transceiver." The "HF+6m" tag in listings points to the 6-meter coverage on the S variant, which suited operators who wanted VHF reach without a second radio. Kenwood discontinued the line on 12 January 2005, according to the Latvian dealer listing that preserved the date. That is a long production life by transceiver standards, and one reason so many of them are still around.

The short version, from the sources that cover the series: these transceivers "have been popular HF rigs for many operators, known for their solid performance across the amateur radio bands." That is the reputation. The specifics are thinner, and this page says so where the documentation runs out.

Key Features

Built-In Antenna Tuner

The TS-570 has a built-in antenna tuner, so the operator doesn't have to buy and cable an external matching unit. The surviving documentation treats the tuner as a known quantity, the kind of thing that gets its own FAQ entries, rather than a headline selling point. For a ham working a random wire or a less-than-ideal dipole, having the tuner inside the box is the difference between getting on the air and not.

Noise Blanker for Pulse Interference

Kenwood's own manual copy states that the Noise Blanker in the TS-570D and TS-570S "was designed to reduce pulse noise such as that generated by automobile ignitions." Ignition noise is the classic urban and mobile HF problem, so the blanker addresses a real operating condition. Operators who have used the rig in noisy environments tend to treat it as one of the more practical features.

DSP and Adjustable Bandwidth

The DSP section is what separates the TS-570 from the analog-only rigs that came before it. One owner comparison, written in Russian and preserved on a hobby site, notes that the Kenwood's audio is "more compressed" than a competing UA1FA design, but that "the bandwidth can be reduced to 50 Hz." That is a narrow setting, useful for crowded-band CW work. The same comparison mentions a 120 dB dynamic range figure, but it says that number is *not* present on the UA1FA, not that it is a TS-570 spec. Treat it as context, not a measurement.

IF Filter and IF Shift

IF Filter and IF Shift appear as manual section topics for the TS-570 series. An operator reaches for these when a strong signal is bleeding into the passband: shift the IF, tighten the filter, and the interference moves out of the way. The documentation confirms they exist. It gives no filter shapes or skirt selectivity, so anyone quoting those numbers is working from something other than the source material.

Microprocessor Memory Backup

The model's documentation references a microprocessor memory backup system. It's an unglamorous feature, but memory channels that survive a power cycle are the difference between a rig you can operate casually and one you have to reprogram every session.

Computer Control: COM and RS-232C

The TS-570 was built to talk to a computer, and the manual is specific about how. When connecting to another TS-570 or to a TS-870S, the same COM connector baud rate must be used on both ends. When transferring to or from other Kenwood transceivers, the instruction is to "select 4800 bps and 2 stop bits on the TS-570." For RS-232C work, the manual calls for "one cross-wired cable" with a 9-pin RS-232C female connector at both ends. These details trip people up decades later, so write them down before the manual goes missing.

Historical Context

The TS-570 series covered several variants: TS-570D, TS-570S, TS-570DG, TS-570SG, and references to a TS-570S/G. The fact sheet is candid that the surviving sources don't clearly explain the suffix differences. The line ran until Kenwood discontinued it on 12 January 2005, and it shared computer-control conventions with the TS-870S, which suggests the two were designed to coexist in the same shack.

An enthusiast page devoted entirely to the series covers specifications, brochure, pictures, schematics, reviews, manual, and modifications. That kind of resource only gets built for a radio with a real following. The TS-570 earned that following over a long production run, and the documentation trail (manuals, mods, repair videos) reflects a model people kept using rather than shelving.

Collectibility & Value

The TS-570 is a working radio, not a shelf piece, and the used market treats it that way. Listings turn up regularly on eBay in the US, UK, Ireland, and Canada, on Avito (where one search returned 50 listings for "kenwood ts 570"), and on QRZ.RU. Condition descriptions in the sources range from "excellent working condition" to a used unit sold complete with manual, microphone, DC cable, and box. The complete one is the version a buyer should hold out for.

The modification and repair ecosystem is healthy, which is the real signal of collectibility for a transceiver. Owners have documented a panadapter modification using an 820T2 RTL-SDR dongle, a blue/green display light kit that covers the 570S, 570D, 570DG, and 570SG models, and an FT8 setup guide using CAT and an audio cable. Repair content exists too, including a troubleshooting walkthrough for a transmitter fault. None of that guarantees parts availability, and the fact sheet is explicit that no spare-parts information was found. A buyer should assume they are on their own for anything beyond the documented mods.

One caveat: the single "100 watts" transmit power figure in the sources comes from a dealer description of a TS-570DG, not from a Kenwood specification sheet. Treat it as indicative of the class rather than a verified rating for every variant.