[Elecraft] Mini-module kits

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Mike,AI4NS asked:

Would the Noise generator, two tone test oscillator or the 3 band receive
test oscillator be a good purchase? Which would you buy first, second, etc?
I am going to start building a K2 soon that is partially assembled. 

I am looking at using the K2 primarily for CW, but would any of the other
options be a nice addition?

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If you're not going to be using SSB, the two-tone oscillator is of little
value. Its purpose is to evaluate SSB. 

The noise generator can be handy. You can get the same thing by simply
hooking an antenna to your rig and tuning to a clear frequency so all your
hear is wide band (so-called "white") noise. Sometimes its more convenient
to have a little box to hook to your rig that does the same thing. That's
what the noise generator does. 

The 3-band receive test oscillator is a real handy gadget if you want to
measure the ability of a CW receiver to "hear" compared to others or
compared to its own specifications. Of the three, I'd say it was the most
valuable by far. It gives you two fairly accurate output levels on fixed
(crystal controlled) frequencies in the 80, 40 and 20 meter bands. One
output level is handy for setting the S-meter function to a sensitivity
similar to many other receivers. The other level is used for measuring the
signal-to-noise to noise ratio of your receiver on each band. That allows
you to understand how well the receiver is working. Complete instructions
for doing that and for estimating the Minimum Discernable Signal (MDS) of
your receiver are included with the oscillator. The only other equipment
needed, other than the receiver itself, is a DMM or other sensitive meter
for measuring the voltage produced by the receiver at the phones or speaker
jack. 

Ron AC7AC