[Elecraft] Am I crazy?

[John]

JT,

Think about a bare bones K2 too. After honing your CW skills you can always 
load the K2 with SSB, etc. With a K2 there in no come down from the 
Paragon. The K2 will fill you itch to build for a while, and when you get 
the itch to build more, start adding modules.

John
k7up
2 k2's and a K1


At 09:43 AM 14/05/06, you wrote:
>Am I crazy?  Well, if you ask my YL she'd emphatically say YES.
>
>But here's what I am debating:
>
>My only rig at the moment is a Ten-Tec Paragon which is a mighty fine
>HF Transceiver.  I spend the majority of my time on 80, 40, and 20
>phone.  However, I am thinking about selling it to finance the
>purchase of a KX1 or a K1.  My reasons for doing so, in order of
>importance to me, would be:
>
>1 - Forcing myself to re-learn CW.  I love CW but have never mastered
>it very well.  In fact, after I learned just enough to pass my 5 WPM
>for my novice back in 1989, I have never really used it. but I still
>love the sound of CW and really admire those who can do it well
>Getting a CW only rig may help me finally start to take CW seriously
>and relearn it.  Right now it is way too easy to tune up the band and
>hit the PTT.
>
>2 - Portability. It seems I am rarely home these days and on the road
>somewhere.  The YL and I are talking about doing more camping this
>year as well.  Most of our camping trips will be to coastal areas.
>Operating doesn't get much better when you are near saltwater.  Having
>a KX1 on hand everywhere I go would be awesome.
>
>3 - Simplicity/Space Reduction.  My base station with the rig, power
>supply, external ATU, etc. takes up quite a bit of space in our small
>house.  The "shack" is currently in a corner of our master bedroom
>along with our home office.  With an internal ATU and batteries, I
>could operate the KX1 or even a K1 from anywhere... even the picnic
>table outside or from in bed. heh.
>
>4 - QRP - I do love the challenge and simplicity of equipment of QRP.
>I can turn the drive of the  Paragon down to 10W but it doesn't feel
>the same as operating with simple equipment and I still lack the
>portablity.
>
>5 - I have the itch to build something.
>
>So those are my main reasons.  I'd keep the Paragon and just buy
>another rig but I don't have the extra cash at the moment.
>
>Am I crazy to essentially downgrade from a once top of the line rig to
>something simpler with less power out?  But, then again, would it
>really be downgrading?
>
>I appreciate any comments and thanks for listening.
>
>73,
>JT - W6FO - Canton, GA
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