[Elecraft] More SWL'ing with Elecraft?

[vpaulclay@cox.net]

> I wouldn't be surprised! Currently the Drake R-8B
> at about $1200 is the only thing that's close to fitting
> that bill. Doing it for $600 would be a challenge.

Ok, $700.  :=)  But, if Palstar is able to offer a hot, basic  SWL receiver for $500, already built, it seems to me that Elecraft might be able to offer a hotter receiver, with more features (e.g. synch detector) for about the same price or a little more in kit form.  Having the ability to add certain features via add-on modules like the K2 (e.g., a DSP option, a DRM option) might help to ease the sticker shock and would appeal to those of us who like to customize.


> I built the $195 kit a while back and it was a neat
> little kit and worked well for the price. But
> it's no Drake!

I'm thinking of building a 1254 as sort of an experimental test-bed.  I have an R75 and its only (for me) lame "performance" feature is its synch detector (a shortcoming easy enough to overlook given that I was able to get the unit brand new for $450 w/DSP).  I'm thinking of getting a 1254 and then incorporating into it a synch detector kit I've located (I could just buy a Lowe 150, I suppose, but they're hard to find and I wouldn't have the fun of building - a big, big plus for me). 


> With things like the KX1 and the KRC2, Elecraft has
> come out with devices nobody else matches, but note
> that these are still viable products! An SWL receiver
> would sell, but I agree, the question would be could
> Elecraft do it and compete with existing sets.
> 
> Obviously, some people (like me!) would probably buy
> an Elecraft birdfeeder kit if it had Eric and Wayne's 
> design...

There's a lot of us out there, people who are as interested in the building as in the operating.  For the rest, yes, I think you have to offer cutting edge performance (and ergonomics) for a price that's more than a little less than the competition's.  Of course, Drake makes that a bit easier with their pricing of the R8B ($1400 new).  I was kind of hoping that building on the (sunk) development costs of the K2 and now, the KX1, Elecraft could offer a hot unit at a reasonably competitive price.  The market for an Elecraft receiver would not be one of those looking for a good unit, with the most bells and whistles, at the lowest price (that's not the market for Elecraft's ham equipment (if these criteria governed, everyone here would be running Kenwood TS570DGs and Icom 746Pros) - it's people looking for high quality and high performance at a reasonable, albeit somewhat higer, price; with the "frosting on the cake" of the pyschic benefit of having built the unit themselves and a community of fellow-travelers dedicated to modifying and improving the performance of their radios.

> But I wouldn't go for less than what you describe in
> an SWL set. Where they could do better than, say, 
> the R-8B, would be in a more bulletproof front end.

I might, to have a great backup receiver that I could tinker with and improve upon, and repair, as desired or necessary.  But, I'd prefer, especially if the price were to be much over $500, to have a unit that could go head to head with the Drake or the AOR 7030. 

> It's a pipe dream, but who knows, maybe someone will 
> decide to make it a product.

I know, I know. But I'll keep my tabacco handy just in case.

- Paul