[Elecraft] K1 enthusiast wonders ??

[Mike Morrow]

Scott Richardson wrote

>... The K1 zenith appears to have passed.  

Hi Scott,

I don't think this is the case.  The K1 was an amazingly mature product when it first appeared in Fall 2000.  By this I mean that it performed its intended functions well and had very few bugs.  Rigs with problems get the most discussion and modifications and backfits.

>... I also consider the 4-band board and antenna tuner to be
>essential K1 accessories. 

I do too.  In particular, I can't imagine why anyone would order a two-band K1.  There is still a place for the two-band filter boards, however.  Build a 40/30/20/15m four-band K1, and then add a 80/17m two-band board to give you all six official K1 bands.

>At this stage, I would be much less enthusiastic about a 2-band K1
>sans tuner. I don't think that such "standard" can compete with the KX1.

To be fair, the KX1 *must* be contrasted to a four-band K1.  As I went to some length to detail in a posting several days ago, the K1's performance as a CW ham band only radio is better than that of the KX1 in a significant number of areas.  The KX1 is, however, a good radio and is cuter than the K1 to some, for what that's worth.

As far as Elecraft's support of the K1 is concerned, the only HF bands not supported are 160 meters (ok, that's MF), and 12 and 10 meters.  I suspect only a few are interested in 160m QRP, and fewer of those are likely to be trying it from portable locations.  I also suspect that the performance of a 602-based receiver such as in the K1 on 12 and 10 meters would be less than stellar, though I could be wrong.  With the declining sunspot cycle, the matter grows academic for the time being.

I'm left wondering what other support Elecraft could show for the K1.  I can only think of a few minor items:

(1)  Update the K1 manual to eliminate the last few errors that are contained in the last revision of almost three years ago.  One error in particular results in help requests to this list, even though all are covered in the errata sheet.
(2)  Correct the Elecraft website's K1 quick reference guide to eliminate the erroneous info shown for the NB and INP functions that have been there for almost three years.
(3)  Update the KBT1 and K1 RF-PCB design so that the KBT1 can be removed by disconnecting from a connector on the RF-PCB.
(4)  Provide a simple permanently mounted front panel lifting bail in lieu of the complex KTS1.
(5)  Provide LCD display backlight.
(6)  Provide any components required for 80m operation that aren't installed on a 80m filter board as standard parts for all K1s (such as RF-RFC8 and RF-C78).
(7)  Provide PCB circuit trace diagrams in the manual.

I'm not interested in power amps, SSB mods, transverters, etc., even if they were practical for the K1.  For that there's the K2.

In my opinion, overall the K1 is still the best small QRP CW portable rig made by anyone.

73,
Mike / KK5F
K1 no. 175