I have written about my Kenwood TS-520 before. There is one tidbit that I either did not mention or maybe just made a passing reference. I purchased the TS-520 at the Buffalo Hamfest in either September or October 1975. I had to seell my Heathkit HW-101 first, so by the time I had the money, Amateur Electronic Supply had sold all the ones they brought with them. So I purchased it at the hamfest, and had them ship it to me.
That is the first time I ever recall waiting anxiously for the UPS truck to arrive. There was no package tracking back then, and UPS mostly handled commercial deliveries. But mail order was starting to gain popularity, and I still remember the sound of the truck slowing down in front of the house.
So it was quite a thrill to get a radio all ready to go, as I either had homebrew or kits previously. It worked great and I still have the radio today, including the original boxes.
But something else I picked up is gone. Somewhere I got a Kenwood TS-520 poster. Probably at the Rochester Hamfest in 1976, as the manufacturers were still attending regional hamfests at the time. I proudly displayed it on the wall of my shack from 1976 until I moved out in 1980 after I was married. The photo was either identical to the photo on the TS-520 brochure, or very similar. Being a poster size, maybe 24 x 36 inches, the radio was close to actual size in the photo. It included the transceiver, the matching speaker, and the external VFO.
Eventually I made a shack in my new home, maybe 1982 or so. I’m pretty sure I displayed the poster there, but not sure. My parents moved in 1982, so many things I had left at my parents house disappeared. Then I moved again in 1985, and I didn’t have a real shack again until 1996. I don’t recall that poster being displayed there. I moved again in 2001.
So that cool poster disappeared somewhere between 1982 and 1996. I don’t have any photos of it. Film and processing were expensive, so back then you didn’t take a photo of something you could just look at on the wall.
I was thinking about that poster today, so I went to Google and did an image search on TS-520. I did not see an image of that poster anywhere. I was trying to remember what the poster said, and I believe it was something like “TS-520 – So Much in One”.
Here is a brochure image from the time. It was a very similar if not the exact same photo, just much larger.
If anyone has a photo of that original Kenwood poster, I’d love to see a photo of it. Even though I have no room for another wall hanging, I wish I had kept mine.
By the way, my TS-520 is still working fine. Never had an issue with it, but a few months ago I replaced the power supply electrolytic caps just to be safe.
I didn’t get the external VFO at the time, but bought a used VFO-520S later. It works fine, but is ever so slightly a darker tint of gray. It is in excellent condition. If anyone would like to trade a VFO-520 for a VFO-520S, contact me at k2as(at)outlook.com. Original box required.
