[Elecraft] Head-to-Head

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Overall, I think that you have not seen any comparisons between the
receiver in the post S/N 3000 Ski's and those of your vintage because
there is nothing to compare. They are equally good. There have been a
few moods to address specific issues in the K2, but few that have any
bearing on the receiver. The only ones I can think of are: 

1-  Putting diodes in the I-f amp to prevent massive overload and
"howling" if you operate it "HE Pack" style, right up against a lot of
other rigs on the same band. But, except for that very extreme situation
where you have several rigs within a few feet of each other, even the
diodes do nothing to improve the performance. 

2 - The 2nd Fill Flattening mod that is useful ONLY for receiving SSB.
It makes SSB sound better, but does not materially improve the receiver
performance. If you want to install it, it will require about $3 of
parts from Radio Shack. 

3-  The 'scratchy pot' fix, for those of us cursed with scratchy volume
controls. Again, it's a fairly simple fix and nothing that deserves
getting rid of your current K2 for. And a lot of ops didn't need it. As
I recall, all it requires is a little time and a couple of pieces of
common hook-up wire for jumpers. 

4 - The "stability" mod that reduces frequency drift in the local
oscillator and BFO. Needed only if drift is a problem to you and cheap
and quick to install if it is. From memory, I think Elecraft charged me
$10 or $15 for the kit of parts. 

I can tell you from experience that the 100 watt KPA is very robust and
"forgiving". And, for the money it costs to add it to your K2, you can't
touch the overall performance of the combination at several times that
price. So if price is of any concern, it'd be awfully hard to justify
buying a whole new rig.


Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289

-----Original Message-----
K2 (#524) has been the "main" rig in my station since 1999. I've been
very pleased with it, however, recently I've decided that I want to
modify my operation to include QRO. This from a guy who has never owned
an amp, and has no clue how to use one...

Since my K2 is an early one, I don't know how much receiver improvement
the newer K2s have over mine. Can anyone chime in with any comparisons
that you have been able to do between a SN3000+ unit and an older SN#
K2?

I have read about the improvements on the Elecraft Web page, but if
there has been any comparative conversation between older model users
who have tried the "new" K2 I have missed it.


--
73 de Jeff