[Elecraft] K2 #5540

[William Shappley]

K2 #5540 is now alive!  It was purchased at Dayton, and first came to  
life about 2 weeks ago.  It is a base K2 at the moment, but I have  
the KSB module on the bench now, and probably will purchase the  
KPA100 around Christmas.  No assembly problems, everything checked  
out the first time.  Due to my work schedule I only have a few hours  
here and there.  That forced me to take my time and be careful, and  
it paid off in a perfect assembly and checkout.  Filters were aligned  
using the Elecraft Ngen noise generator and Hamscope software  
(spectrum plot).  The crystal filtering is very impressive - I will  
probably get the DSP board at some point but I could be very happy  
with the Xtal filters alone.

This is probably the best CW rig I have ever owned - very smooth and  
easy to use.  My previous favorite was a Ten-Tec Triton IV, but the  
little K2 has it beat hands down.  All in all, a very fun kit  
building experience.  When I was a young man, I enjoyed building  
Heathkit test equipment (a lot of which is still in use), so I am  
grateful that someone still designs and sells kits.

Best regards to everyone.

- Bill