[Elecraft] 3,000 K2's!!!

Mon Nov 4 00:21:00 2002

I think it would also be interesting to know the age distribution of K1 
and K2 purchasers.  Are they mainly older hams or are the young people 
getting into building good gear?

My theory is that we older people were lucky in two respects (a) we had 
mentors or role models who built their own gear (in the 40s and 50s) and 
(b) many of us had a solid education in mathematics and physics which I 
do not believe the younger generation are getting.  So we have an 
appreciation of all the components and more or less why they are there 
and why they are important.

Just my 2 * $0.01 worth.

73
Kevin
VK3DAP

Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> Trends are interesting to me. 
> 
> It appears that they are selling at a very constant rate. I bought #1289
> 29 months ago. I think they started shipping K2 just about 2 years
> before I bought mine. So the rate of K2 sales is darn near constant
> since they were introduced. 
> 
> Other trends of interest are: 
> 
> What is the growth in the QRP community over the past five years? The
> introduction of a really state-of-the art QRP rig by Elecraft certainly
> sparked some new interest - and the other manufacturers certainly aren't
> ignoring the opportunity. 
> 
> Within that QRP growth - whatever it is - how much is CW and how much is
> SSB or other non-CW modes? I constantly run into new hams who are
> determined to us CW, bless them all! Clearly, there is lots of SSB
> activity among the QRP crowd, from what I see here. And the "warble
> holes" in the band are frequently filled with PSK31 signals. 
> 
> How many QRO ops have been seduced into building again (or for the first
> time) by the availability of the K2/100? It is, after all, the first
> fully integrated state-of-the-art 100 watt HF Ham transceiver available
> in kit form in decades. How many new K2's being sold are being sold as
> K2/100's. I notice a lot of comments here about getting a new K2 "on the
> air" and the writer observes that it's time to start assembling the
> KPA100, suggesting that they were bought as a set rather than
> "upgrading" a QRP rig. No offense intended, but the excitement of buying
> everything Elecraft makes because they are so much fun to build and
> tinker with has me wondering how many QRP ops built a KPA100 just
> because "it was there" and not because they are dyed-in-the-wool QRO
> ops. That would account for some of the initial rush of KPA100's to add
> to K2s. Now we get down to those how choose the K2/100 because it is a
> 100-watt rig. How big is that group and how fast is it growing?
> 
> When someone tells me that Ham radio is dying, I suggest that they go
> dust off their HF receiver and tune the CW bands a bit. Changing, yes!
> Ham radio has always been in a state of change. I am particularly
> enthusiastic and interested in the changes the K-rigs have brought about
> over the past several years.
> 
> Ron AC7AC
> K2 # 1289
> 
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-- 
Kevin B. G. Luxford               Phone:	+61 0438 003 474
Work related email:	mailto:[email protected]
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