[Elecraft] 2 Elecraft kits I've pondered

[John Harper]

The KX1 (and to some extent, the K1) filled a void when they were offered. 
Heathkit evaporated in the late 80's and, for over a decade, no HW-9 
equivelant was available. Despite the fact that both the KX1 and the K1 
appealed to only one segment of hams - QRPers - a ton of them are now on the 
air.

Another niche within ham radio are lowband DXers & I've often wondered 
whether there would be a market for an *optimized* 40/80/160m transceiver. 
Ten Tec began the trend of HF transceivers dedicated strictly to the ham 
bands when the other Big 3 where making rigs with general coverage 
receivers. Today, three of the most-prized rigs for DXing the low bands are 
an old Drake R4C (modified) and Ten Tec's Omni 6+ and now the Orion II. 
These rigs all have ham-bands-only receivers rather than a compromised 
general coverage receiver. Being "old school" I've always believed something 
dedicated to a specific task is better than something that tries to do it 
all. But that doesn't necessarily apply to radios within the 1.8-30 MHz 
range... or does it? Would an optimized lowband rig be able to offer 
performance greater than a general 10-160m rig? If so, would it be 
profitable to offer such a kit? Successful lowband DXers typically have the 
property available for decent antennas on these wavelengths and dedicate 
both money and energy into fine-tuning their stations. I don't count myself 
among them, but their stations are the reason for the success of small-gun 
stations like mine on the lower bands. Based on the effort put into these 
stations, I bet the market is there if the performance was there for such a 
rig. Also, such a rig would have a 500w transmitter.

Another kit I'd like to see is a 10-160m portable QRP kit similar to the 
KX1. Index Labs' QRP+ was such a rig and used 80's technology to make it 
available. What would be possible now? The KX1 morphed overnight from a 
2-bander to a tribander and is now a 4 band rig. How about a 9 band rig, 5 
watts out, CW & SSB with all the other features of the KX1 in a package size 
somewhere between the KX1 and Index' QRP+.

Just thinking out loud here, folks......just thinking out loud....... ;-)

John Harper AE5X
Portable QRP: http://www.ae5x.com