[Elecraft] Re: Comparison

[Tom Althoff]

Hi William -

If you are a member of the ARRL you can download the reviews of each radio
plus the detailed reports too.

I've owned an ArgoV, Orion and K2.    Orion had best receiver but did not
copy anything during close-in contest QRM/DX pileups that the K2 couldn't
copy too.

The ArgoV was poor compared to K2.    The "roofing" filter in the ArgoV has
to be wide enough to pass AM and FM signals relying on the DSP for
selectivity.  I had to move 17kHz up from W1AW before I could stop the AGC
from pumping on the ArgoV.  It was useless trying to copy DX on 160M when
W1AW was on.   With the K2/100 I can copy weak top band Europeans less than
1kHz away from the 45db over S9 W1AW signal here in NY with no problem.

Here is my ArgonautV portable station with built-in paddle and auto-antenna
tuner...
http://www.k2ta.com/argonaut.jpg

Here is my K2 portable station with built-in paddle and auto-antenna
tuner...same money spent.
http://www.k2ta.com/k2plus1_front2.jpg

If you were trying to decide between the Orion and the K2 it would be a
tough choice.  I owned both and ended up keeping the K2 and selling the
Orion.

There's really no comparison in RX performance between the ArgoV and the
K2...unless you really want general coverage, FM and only mode B keying
along with poorer selectivity and close-in performance.

The green LED readout of the ArgoV, however, is better than the Orion or the
K2...It was readable across the room without my glasses and the best readout
of any radio that I have ever owned.

73 de Tom K2TA


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "wayne burdick" <n6kr at elecraft.com>
To: "William E. Twaddell" <n2dh at rcn.com>
Cc: "Elecraft Reflector" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 2:25 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Re: Comparison


> On Jan 13, 2005, at 10:25 AM, William E. Twaddell wrote:
>
> > I know I ask this before, but do not remember as response. Is there,
> > was there, a K2 to Argonaut V side by side ever done?
>
> Hi William (Bill?),
>
> There probably are independent comparisons out there somewhere.
> Meanwhile, both the K2 and the Argo V are listed in our receiver
> performance comparison tables:
>
>     http://www.elecraft.com/K2_perf.htm
>
> This information is taken entirely from published ARRL lab tests except
> as noted in footnotes. We believe it to be accurate and unbiased.
>
> In the larger table (near the top of the page), transceivers are listed
> roughly in order of decreasing receive performance. It's a bit of an
> apples/oranges comparison because the rigs near the top are each "best
> in class" in one or two categories. For example, the K2 has the best
> 5-kHz blocking dynamic range (135 dB), and the Orion has the lowest
> phase noise (-138 dBc), and the IC-7800 has the best IP3 (+37 dBm). The
> K2 is also distinguished by having far lower current drain than any
> other top-rated transceiver.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> ---
>
> http://www.elecraft.com
>
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