[Elecraft] How I Found Elecraft

[Douglas Westover]

One meeting of the NCDXC (Northern California DX Club) at Harry's
Hofbrau in Palo Alto, Eric brought a K2 to demo. It was love at first
sight...I knew I HAD to have one and though it took me a year and a
half to actually order one (never buy the first of anything..I learned that
lesson with my Plymouth Volare!!) I have never been happier with a radio.

I've always been a builder and at least semi-QRP. I started in ham radio
in 1952 at age 14 with a Philmore NT-200 transmitter kit (6V6-6L6) and a
Knight Kit regerative receiver.  Needing something more to do I designed
and built an amp with a pair of PP 807's for the NT-200 (which got me
an Honorable Mention in the New York Science Fair)..It also worked
fairly well at about 150 watts. There were lots of other rigs, the Heath
AT-1,
Heath DX-60, Viking Ranger II, Eico 720. The first time I ran any "power"
was with a Johnson Courier with a pair of 811's at 500 watts.

My current station consists of the K2/100, an ICOM 765 (NOT 756) and an
Ameritron AL-80A amplifier. I use the IC-765 for BC band and SWL. The
Kenwood TS-870 I once owned was sold several months ago. The K2 is
by far the best radio I've owned.