[Elecraft] Interested Party hiding in the Shadows

Mon May 5 19:32:00 2003

Wonderful thoughts about building the K2 a step at a time.  That is
indeed true.  Your comments about the old mechanical RTTY machines also
take me back to the night my old Model 19 caught fire during a QSO.  The
punch magnet apparently developed a short and let go.  That ended my
RTTY operation until the computer assisted stuff came along.  However,
the memory lingered way too long.  The machine, including a reperforator
and incredibly heavy power supply, weighed close to 600 pounds.  I
finally found someone who was willing to help haul it out of the shack.

Bruce - W8FU

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ron D'Eau Claire
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2003 12:18 PM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Interested Party hiding in the Shadows

Hello Alan from a fellow member of the wild (or not-so-wild) Northwest
USA. 

I'm another OT. I've owned a Viking Ranger, HRO rx, HW-8 and a long list
of
homebrew gear over the past half century. 

Wanting to have a very compact but "state of the art" rig for a very
compact
Hamshack, I bought a K2 about three years ago. It sounds like you are
looking to do the same.

The K2 and K1 are similar only in that they are both Elecraft rigs.
Technically, they are in different worlds. The K1 is a worthy successor
to
the venerable HW-8, employing technology that is a quarter of a century
newer than the HW-8 but offering the same sort of operating experience
compared to other rigs of the 21st Century (so far). It is relatively
inexpensive, small, lightweight, compact and easy on the electricity. By
all
accounts it's a wonderful portable or "minimalist" home station CW rig.
Add
the built in ATU and it's the sort of rig we dreamed an HW-8 might be in
1975. Also, the receiver is a full superheterodyne - worlds apart from
the
direct-conversion design of the HW-8.

Then there's the K2. The K2 is as much different from the K1 as any of
the
top-of-the-line rigs of 1975 were different from the HW-8. All HF bands
and
supporting all modes, superior receiver and I.F. filtering with what
this
operator finds is a silky-smooth response that makes listening easy on
the
ears, superb tuning with an optical encoder with excellent frequency
stability and very good in crowded, noisy band conditions. My K2 is used
99%
on CW. Like you, if we meet on the air you'll hear me on my WWII J-38
straight key if you are sending slow, or I'll be on my E.F. Johnson
"Speed-X" or perhaps a Vibroplex bug if we're moving along. But, if you
get
the hankerin' to try the keyer, the K2 has an excellent keyer built in.
I've
used it with my Brass Racer paddles and enjoyed it very much. 

It's hard to hang around the hobby and not want to tinker with other
modes.
Perhaps RTTY from our "youth" when mechanical monsters rattled so loud
and
so long that if they were used in business today companies would have to
provide employees with ear protectors to avoid lawsuits. Today you get
the
same results in an eerie silence as letters appear across your computer
monitor. A small laptop computer can be a wonderful addition to a modern
rig. And there are many other modes that have popped up over the years
including PSK31 that allows much easier "rag chewing" in an RTTY-like
mode
than the old RTTY systems did. To use those with my K2 I bought the SSB
board. And, of course, I do have a microphone. I've used the K2 on SSB
once
or twice to QSO another K2 owner and prove the SSB works on the K2. I'll
keep the mic. After all, "Phone" may still catch on some day, Hi!

My K2 sports the KPA100 amplifier in the lid. The KPA100 amp lets me be
polite to the other ops when signals are not the best. The K2 has a
wonderful receiver. Sometimes the guy on the other end is at a
disadvantage,
trying to dig my signal out of local QRN or separate me from QRM in a
crowded band. The extra power can make it easier on him. Don't get me
wrong.
I'm a QRP enthusiast in the purest sense of the word. I only use the
power
necessary for solid communications. But the real challenge, I find, is
in
receiving weak signals, not sending one. The biggest difference between
running QRP power levels and 100 watts is that when I'm QRP other
stations
are much easier to copy. The QRP stations typically don't have as good
of a
receiver as I do in the K2 so I can hear them much better than they can
hear
me. And, of course, a lot of the stations I work are running 100 watts
or
more - just booming in. But, if I switch to 100 watts, I start hearing a
lot
more weaker signals and the challenge of reading weak signals is much
greater. More stations with lesser receivers can hear me and answer my
calls. With their QRP transmitters or QRO transmitters and limited
antennas,
they are proportionately weaker at my end. 

I've always believed in buying the best tool I can afford, especially if
I
am not very clear about exactly what it is I need to do with it in the
future. In that vein, if the K2 is in your budget I strongly recommend
it
over the K1.

Either rig is well within the capability of any solder jockey to build.
There's a lot of parts in the K2, to be sure, but it's like taking a
long
walk. It's doing basically the same thing over and over again, watching
what
you are doing so you don't stumble over something in your way and taking
time to enjoy the trip. Then all at once you are there! 

Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289
------------------------------------------
...I will be lurking and hoping to learn a lot about these radios and
will 
always be open to suggestions. At present i am leaning toward at least a
K2 
with all bells and wistles except the amp. Also i just acquired an
LDG-Z-11 
so not sure if an internal tuner would be appropriate.

Please feel free to be candor with me. I have been a great proponent of
the 
Wilderness Sierra so not sure if a K1 is necessary. Be brutally honest
with 
me and I hope as the  the affects of the drugs have worn off I can make
some

good decisions.

Thank you all for the use of the bandwidth. Take care my friends--- and
have

Alan KB7MBI in Woodinville, WA
FISTS 5702  Proud member of ARRL
___ ___ . . .      . . . ___ ___   DIT DIT

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