[Elecraft] K1 #1534 nears it's first birthday

Tue Apr 20 06:21:01 2004

Hello folks, my K1 (#1534) is coming up to one year old now and it's also
about a year since I got licensed, so I thought I would post a note to
celebrate.
The K1 is my only rig and it has performed faultlessly over the last 12
months. It has been QRV nearly every  day, I've taken it on caravan trips,
on overseas trips , swapped band modules many times, tuned up all sorts of
bits of wire with the Kat1 etc etc. I have had no need to touch the filter
alignment since it still puts out 5W on all bands and 8W on 40m. The K1 has
been a superb introduction to ham radio and CW for me. At present I run 5W
into an 80m dipole and get fine reports not only in terms of S readings but
also the nice sound of the CW. A guy the other day said it was "nice and
punchy" (whatever that means!) Since I have never owned another rig I can't
really compare the K1 but I get the feeling that it has a very good pair of
ears.

If anyone is looking to get into ham radio and learn cw at the same time
then this cw only rig is the tool for the job. I have no ssb which forces
me to make the effort with cw. At 47 yrs my brain is not as quick as it
used to be, consequently it has taken many months of qso's (about 400 in
all) and daily off air practise to reach a comfortable 13-15 wpm copy onto
paper in qso. The straight key is getting dusty now since sending with my
single lever Kent paddle and the K1 built-in keyer is an absolute joy. It
seems funny now that when I first got on the air most of the sigs were
incomprehensible to me even though I knew cw (so I thought), but now as
each week passes I find I can make sense of more and more. Chatty qso's are
still tiring but getting easier. As many people have said, learning to use
cw in real qso's is not a quick job, it takes a lot of practise and
patience, progress is slow but sure and pays off in the end, you just have
to keep plodding on.

Also as a newcomer to the cw sections of the ham bands may I say that I
have yet to find a UK ham on cw (at least on 40/80m) who is not helpful and
courteous. May it long continue.

BTW I have a PC generated QRM problem. My son's pc is located a few feet
above the rig in the upstairs bedroom and makes a lot of hash on most bands
including the MW broadcast band. The qrm is from the pc power supply since
turning off the monitor makes no difference. When I remove the antenna the
qrm disappears so I guess it isn't mains borne. The ant is a coax fed
dipole with no balun and no connection to earth. Any ideas would be
welcome.

Finally hats off again to Elecraft for a superb product and a real fun way
to get into the hobby.

73's
Martin
M0KWV/QRP
K1 #1534, K1-4, K1-2, Kat1.

Why not take a look at our Web site?
http://www.simoncarves.com

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