[Elecraft] Different Strokes was E-Ham Review

[Joseph Reed]

Reviews on E-ham are just about worth as much as you pay to read them, or pay to post them.

A 3/5 rating is meaningless, just the same as a 5/5 rating is.  Each individual needs to consider the radio in the context of how they operate.  All radios have warts, just simply there is no perfect radio.  If there were everybody else would need to close their doors.

Rewind back to the year 2000.  I built K2 #1133, and at the time the only options were 160m, ssb, the antenna tuner, the noise blanker and the battery.  At the time I considered it the best QRP radio ever designed.  I would slip it in a backpack, and I never got skunked on an outing.  Fast forward to the present.  Last year I built K2 #5226 with all the trimmings.  As a QRP radio I still consider it the best ever designed.  And as a 100 watt radio it is an excellent performer.  Yet and still (I married a Southern gal) it has its share of warts.  In an intense pileup I will still use the 756-Pro because it has better QSK, and with dual IF it is easier to follow the DX.  But I have no affinity to the 756,  I built my K2 and take great pride in ownership.  Man, what a great kit!  And for 99% of the operating I do my K2 is the radio of choice.  It always feels good when you make a QSO on a radio you put together.

For that reason Elecrafters have always been considered somewhat fanatical.  I have built two K2 and one K1.  The sense of accomplishment is tremendous. Working stations with excellent radios that you have constructed is a priceless feeling.  And my K2 Twins will knock the snot out of any Heathkit I ever built!

Simply, E-Ham reviews are just how one person looks at things.  Doesn't mean they look at the world the same way you do, nor operate the same way.  For my money Elecraft gives a great deal of value, and the opportunity to build something great.  With 7 HF stations set up and on line my K2 gets the most use.  Your mileage may vary.

73,
Joe N9JR