[Elecraft] Alligators and Bats

[Ed Juge/NM]

Hi, Tree...

If you're expecting a high fidelity from your K2, you will be disappointed!
It is a good sounding radio as amateur radios go, but the strength in the
K2's receiver is in being able to pull weak signals out in the presence of
close-in strong QRM.   Hi-fi it DEFINITELY isn't.  Any receiver whose
bandpass is wide enough to sound like your FM audio system will be far too
wide to be useful on the amateur bands except in extremely unusual
conditions.

The K2's filters will allow you to reduce some band noise and a lot of QRM.
If you want to come close to eliminating background noise, try a ClearSpeech
DSP between the K2 and an external speaker.  If you work CW, the K2's Audio
Filter option will do almost the same thing but it's far too narrow to work
on SSB.

The K2 is a stunning performer but it sounds like you may be buying a
Ferrari so you can get a Cadillac-smooth ride.

73... Ed, W5EJ

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tree N6TR" <tree@kkn.net>
To: <elecraft@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2002 1:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Alligators and Bats


>
> I thought these QRP messages were really "test" message in disguise.
>
> I guess I don't see the connection between having a K2 and QRP.  Sure, it
is
> a low power radio - but that isn't the reason I bought one.  I can run QRP
> just about as well with my TS850 by turning a knob.  I even did that for
> an all out SS SSB effort once (yes, on SSB).
>
> The reason I bought a K2 - is for the receiver.  I am hoping (I haven't
> actually listened to one yet) that when I slip on the headphones and
listen
> to the sounds that come out of them- that I will feel like I am in my
> living room listening to my audio system.  I want to make the connection
> between the ionosphere and my brain as clean as possible,  I find the
> in-band IMD distortion of a weak signal in the QRN to be totally
unacceptable
> with my current radio - everything turns to mush.
>
> Hopefully, with the K2, I wlil be able to work more weak stations (I don't
> really care why they are weak), which translates into a competitive
advantage
> in the contests.
>
> Working QRP stations outside of a contest is always a bit more fun.  I do
most
> of my non-contest work on 160 or 6.  I can remember working guys with 5
watts
> and a 2 meter 5/8 wave vertical mounted on a garden shed (on 6).
>
> For me - the receiver is the hard part - and the main reason to buy any
rig.
> Being a kit makes it fun to own and you can feel good about the quality.
> Being small and portable is great - even more so when you are a two radio
> kind of guy.  These are the cross-over attributes that will make the K2
> a more sucessful product in the long run.
>
> The K2 - it's not just for breakfast anymore...
>
> Tree N6TR/BV enjoying my jet lag
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