[Elecraft] Big K2 (was "Kits I'd like to see in 2005")

[N2EY at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/26/04 2:48:52 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
Able2fly at aol.com writes:


> A "full sized" K2 for those who  don't need small 
> size.  Give more importance to having room for  fingers to twist knobs 
> without hitting the ones close by and etc.   From what I'm seeing the 
> performance is up there with many of the "major"  brands so there just might 
> 
> be a market for such a K2.... 

I'd love to see just that - a "K2Big"?

What would be really sweet, I think, is if it could be packaged so that you 
could put all the options in the box at once - ATU, 100W amp, and say a 7 AH 
battery. There could even be a separate heat sink for the 10W finals so they 
wouldn't have to be undone from the case each time.

>From what I can see, such a package could be made by redoing the front panel 
board and the case with a  muchlarger ones, leaving the rest almost as-is. 
Main headache I can see is coming up with a replacement for the LCD readout.

I'd certainly go for a K2Big, as would at least some others. I'm sure Eric 
and Wayne would produce one if they sensed a market that would support the cost 
of producing such a variant. After all, a lot of the cost would be in 
metalwork and related hardware rather than electronics. 

There's also the basic philosophy of Elecraft that is focused mostly on QRP 
and compactness. I'm sure the Aptos crew could come up with a really sweet QSK 
legal-limit amp if they wanted to...but that's not what they are focused on.

I think that a lot of K2 owners, particularly contesters and DXers, get 
around the small size of the K2 by using computer control. That way they have a 
small rig for portable use and a big computer display for home use. The big 
remote knob (CRS* is causing me to block on its real name) gives a nice ergonomic 
interface for tuning and RIT.

Of course there's always abject begging and pleading...

73 de Jim, N2EY

(if somebody with my big paws can build a K2, almost anybody can...)