[Elecraft] Convince me?!!

[Dave Barrett]

Daniel,
        Anyone can buy a high power (black box) rig and turn it on daily,
chat with just about any area of the world (depending of course on
propagation) ......where's the lasting fun in that!

The K2 enthusiasts around the world have become almost fanatical in their
devotion to this little rig for a multitude of reasons but simply put
because its put the fun back in Ham Radio for many thousands of us well
seasoned hams who found that the fun was gone.

The lads and lassies at Elecraft are hams themselves and understand all too
well the general lack of interest nowadays in building your own equipment,
they felt a need to fill that void and have done a fantastic job,  their
manuals are similar but better than the old Heathkit, their rigs are modern
in design utilizing up to date components and modern RF techniques.
The designers themselves are real hams who actually operate their equipment,
(don't just pontificate about HF and never actually make contacts as some
hams do  :-) 

The facts in order of importance are simple,  a good receiver is without
doubt the first requirement,  the K2's RXvr is hot, it is Ham bands only
which makes it inherently far quieter than the "black box" rigs that sport
full coverage receivers as if its a great thing....sorry its not.    The
filters are tight,  the receiver will surprise you in its ability to pull
out a miniscule signal from the noise,  all the microprocessors in the rig
are cleverly put to sleep when not in immediate use which again is something
the black boxes don't to another reason they are so prone to noise in the
rxver.     

The lower power of the transmitter is another area where QRP has brought out
such a fanatical following for the K2,  it makes it more of a challenge to
make that contact, you actually have to hone your operating skills, really
learn to operate all the functions of the rig and work at it....yes, it puts
the fun back in Ham radio for many thousands of operators.

The very fact that you build the rig yourself is of prime importance in
another area too,  when you build it, you understand what each section does,
therefore along with the manual and built in test equipment you can repair
it yourself should the need arise......no you will not have to repair it any
more often than any other rig,  the reason many folks talk of modifying
their rigs is because they can.....  its fun to do and easy on the K2 as it
is fully documented, something you cannot do to a black box rig.   

Modern commercial transceivers are a bear to repair without proper
documentation due to the shear complexity of the integrated circuitry and
lack of proper information....not so with the Elecraft rigs.   The builders
resource web page and email list are a great resource that no other
manufacturer has fostered.

Before you make a decision, try a K2....actually sit and operate it, run one
side by side with a black box rig.....you will soon see why we love 'em so,
I was a tried and true Icom 765 man, as soon as I did a side by side
comparison, I sold the Icom !

                            Have fun with Ham Radio mate, get a K2 !
                                                               Dave Barrett
VA7DB
                                                                  BC QRP
Club Pres.
 
Vancouver Canada.