[Elecraft] re: K2 vs. the world

[Robert Allbright]

Greetings from a wet and windy Milton Keynes

I recently went mad and purchased a TenTec ORION II and all I can say  
is that to me this is a truly awesome radio - I can't put it down!

I will now use my K2 (15w) mainly for portable operation, however, if  
I'm forced eventually to sell either, it will be the ORION and I will  
keep

the K2 indefinitely.

I'm looking forward to putting an FT100 nob on mine + building the  
KPA 100

73
Robert G3RCE (K2 #5219)


Subject: Re: [Elecraft] re: K2 vs. the world  (Jim, N2EY)

> Do you folks  think that the

Orion II

  is worth the great difference in
>
> price based on performance?

Depends how you define performance.

Certainly the Orion's numbers are better. They should be - the basic  
Orion
costs five times what the basic K2 costs! Compare the price of a  
K2/100 with
SSB, 160 and noise blanker with an Orion II and some filters, and see  
the price
differential.

> Certainly factors like unit size and bulk, pride of building, and the
> fact hat the K2 is not software based
> are important, but is the Omni a functionally better rig?

In some ways the Orion II wins - as it should, because it's much more  
complex
and much more expensive. The question (for me) isn't whether the Orion
receiver outperforms the K2 receiver in some ways, but rather how the  
K2's receiver
manages to compete in *any* way with rigs costing so much more and  
with so
much more complexity.

OTOH, try running the Orion from a 7 AH SLA battery for any length of  
time.
That's a performance measure, too.

IMHO, the K2 wasn't really meant to compete directly with most other  
HF ham
rigs. Rather, it was meant to be an alternative to them, by focusing  
more on
some things than the usual Yaecomwood. (CW performance, low power  
drain, ability
of the owner to build and maintain, excellent receiver performance  
without
too much complexity, ability to add options over time, etc.) IOW, the  
K2 offers
a unique alternative.

But I still wish the knobs and displays were bigger.

73 de Jim, N2EY