[Elecraft] K2 compared to ?

[Paul Heller]

> Like most others on this list, I absolutely love my K2, and I also 
> have a second rig, kenwood ts-940sat.
> The ts940 has been waiting for parts for over 3mos. and I was 
> considering replacing it.
> I would like to know of other list members personal experiences 
> comparing the K2 receiver  to either the Icom 756 pro series, the Knwd 
> TS2000 or most specifically, the Yaesu FT1000MP MKV Field.
> If anyone has any personal experiences comparing the TS940s to the 
> above mentioned rigs, I'd like to hear if you think its even worth 
> replacing the 940s.
>
>
Besides my  K2/100, I have two TS-940s with CW filters and a 756 Pro 
III.  I like them all, for different reasons.  I operate from two 
locations, and at one, the K2 is the main rig, and the ProIII is primary 
at the other, with a TS-940 as backup at each location.  All of my 
operation is CW.

The TS-940s have served me well for almost two decades, and I can't 
bring myself to sell them even though they're getting old enough that 
they're starting to get a little cranky (lost the power supply in one, 
which took out the finals, and the cooling fan has died in the other).

The ProIII is my 'city' rig - the DSP really does a great job on the 
man-made hash at my urban location, and at that location it outperforms 
the K2 on receive - the K2's DSP is OK, but not nearly as good on the 
kind of urban spectrum pollution I have as the ProIII's.    The ProIII's 
spectrum scope is very useful, at least for seeing at a glance where the 
pileups are, but while I really like it when I'm using the ProIII, I 
don't miss it when I'm using the K2 ...

I'm not sure I can say for sure whether I like the K2/100 or the ProIII 
the most - each has aspects that I really like.  I haven't used the two 
side-by-side much but at least in the country, I don't think there's 
anything I can hear on one that I can't hear on the other, whether 
chasing DX or working contests (in town, the ProIII definitely wins 
because the way its DSP mashes down the noise). 

To get back to your question about replacing the TS-940 ... if you can 
get it working again, I'd keep it.  It's a great rig, and unless you 
have a special need, such as handling the kind of city hash I have in 
town, spending $3K+ on a newer Japanese rig won't get you $3k worth of 
improvement.


/Paul
 W3PH