[Elecraft] Just how good is the K2?

[Mike McCoy]

> But I just have a hard time getting over this six pound box the size=20
> of, well, small.

And for me, therein lies its true beauty... After I returned to amateur =
radio I did so with a vengeance. I'm a big 'knobs/dials' kinda guy so =
before I knew it I had literally covered half a wall with all the =
knobs/dials one could ever want but I was flat out of room. Big stuff =
too (totally complete Yaesu 101ZD & Icom 751A stations, QRO amp, museum =
quality HQ-180A, etc.).=20

After a year of feeling like I was in the factory scene in Metropolis I =
sold it all and now I'm down to my lil ol K2 'riglet', an SWR meter, a =
Timewave DSP, Motorola speaker, headphones, hand held mic & paddle (with =
a few other accessories standing by in the bag for portable ops). And no =
regrets whatsoever.

I'm now actually PROUD that my full featured, primary (nay ONLY) station =
occupies about a cubic foot of space, ready (and able) go with me =
anywhere and can operate virtually continuously (via solar + batts) =
without any available AC!

> I have pretty much settled on a Yaesu FT-1000 MP Mk V Field,=20
> or a used TenTec Omni VI+ if I can find one, but there is still=20
> that voice that says "K2".

Use the force Luke!

> I need some pretty hard convincing. I just built a K1, and while I =
have=20
> yet to get the transmitter pumping, the rest of the rig is every bit =
what=20
> I was looking for.

So construction concerns are not a issue/barrier. It thus boils down to =
style. Notwithstanding the evolution I went thru above I am really just =
a casual op, purely it only for the fun. Thus I can't speak from the =
point of view of the 'pro' amateurs out there but I'd still submit you =
just cannot go wrong with a K2 as the 'fun factor' starts when you =
receive the box 'o parts (and never seems to end even after =
construction)!

And if the stars were to smile down on me and provide me 'unlimited' =
funds to buy almost any rig I might possibly want I STILL would have my =
K2 (and as far as I can tell, always will).

73,
Mike K5PU
K2 sn# 2602

--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
or had an attachment.  Attachments are not allowed.  To learn how
to post in Plain-Text go to: http://www.expita.com/nomime.html  ---