[Elecraft] looking for an elecraft station

[L. D. Ingram]

hi all,

John came back to me off the reflector with a couple of comments that I 
thought I would answer on the reflector because they might help/encourage 
some who are contemplating the purchase of an Elecraft or who are just 
getting on the air with one.

John indicated his excitement on hearing an Elecraft and had some comments 
about cw (he is working hard to get his speed up)

Here are my comments

I am what I call a casual operator. I sit down at the rig and tune across a 
band or two and if I hear someone calling CQ, I'll give them a shout.

How successful is this with a K2 running 10 W into either a dipole or 
inverted V? I put the K2 on the air April 3, 2002 and since then have had 
375 QSO's as of yesterday. This is out of 475 attempts made for a 79% 
return rate, and some of those I called were down in the mud far enough 
that there really wasn't a chance they would hear my ten watts (but you 
never know). I operate on 40 through 10 and have contacts on all bands at 
about the same ratio. I think that is a pretty good call to QSO ratio at 
ten watts.  As I said before - I love this little rig!

As to cw speed, we all started slow and worked our way up. I was off the 
air for 25 years and came back on at about 10 wpm - I can handle about 22 
wpm now just by getting on and operating. When I first got back on I 
frequently had to send QRS - most of time the ham at the other end 
graciously slowed down, but I too have run into those that don't slow down 
- it's their loss. You can have just as interesting QSO's below 10 wpm as 
you can speeding along above 30. I am still using a straight key (plan to 
switch to a paddle when I get above 25 wpm for those QSOs, but will use my 
key for slower speeds) and will match any speed you can handle John, or 
anyone else who would like a contact. And I am sure everybody on the 
reflector would say the same.

As to head copy I will have to let those that do it well answer - I am just 
getting to the point that I can follow some with out writing it down if I 
really concentrate. Hopefully I will get better with practice. I think it 
is like learning another language - some people have a real talent/aptitude 
for it and make it seem almost effortless, while others, like me, plod 
along and manage, but it does take effort and perseverance.

There are a lot of Elecrafts out there John - keep at it.  Good luck.

Larry Ingram  AG4NN
K2 # 2529



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