Subject: [Elecraft] 144 MHz Transverter or rig?

Sat Apr 10 09:41:00 2004

Lonnie
Let me preface in saying I have an 817, the 222 elecraft xverter and am bui=
lding a "Hohentwiel" .

>From a serious contesting stand point a K2 with almost any xverter is super=
ior to any daylight to dark rig. Having the K2 as an IF has many advantages=
, especially if u are hill topping and there are many high poer stations ne=
ar by ur call I assume u are in NE. There is quite a lot of high power stat=
ions operating from that area and a rig like 817 will have severe front end=
 over load! As for receive current and qrp operating, if u can find a nice =
quite hill top I have both of the MFJ qrp rigs, 6 and 2 meters, 7ma receive=
. Not real high performance but when i go for a weekend and run solar power=
 they wk OK, but not with near by super stations. I have great expectations=
 for the "Hohentwiel" , DK1HE is a great designer, I have several of his ot=
her rigs, and the conditions in Europe demand high rejection rates due to p=
opulation density. I also have a couple of the DB6NT designed Kuhne xverter=
s and they are also FB.  I do not know if I answered all of ur questions bu=
t feel free to e-mail me off list.
Tim W4YN

I need input from the Elecraft community, please.

I'd like to be able to field a 2 meter ssb/cw station. While the performanc=
e specs
on the XV-144 are impressive, there are a few negatives for my needs. The r=
eceive
current may be too high for my power package to cope with, the size is a fa=
ctor=20
and if I do decide that the K2 is the rig to bring, I can only use one band=
 (HF=20
or VHF) at a time.

I own an FT-817 (filters battery and all) but it's a power hog and not a gr=
eat performer.
I'm considering selling it now that I have experienced Elecraft performance=
.

I'm intrigued by the "Hohentwiel" from QRP Project in Germany. I realize
that's it's only a five watt rig, but so is the FT-817. Otherwise it seems =
to be
closest to my needs.

I'd really appreciate as much input as you folks care to give. Reports of p=
ersonal
experience with any of the rigs would be great.

Thanks and 73,

Lonnie
NY2LJ
[email protected]

Tim O'Rourke=20
[email protected]