[Elecraft] a K3 owner's contest reflections on the K2

[DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL]

HI all:

Just finished the CQWW WPX cw contest.  Weird condx, but lots of fun.

I note lots of comments on the K2 of late (this weekend).....here are
my 2 cents (maybe a dime).

After having been plugged in for most of the weekend, here are my
take-aways (none of which are new).

1.  I own the "base" K2 with the 160m module.  So base price was under $650.

2.  You simply cannot buy any radio that performs this well under
harsh conditions for anywhere near this price...even used.  The
performance on the lows band is unsurpassed  for anything even double
or triple the price (probably a lot more).

3.  What's wrong with the K2 for cw contesting (IMHO)

A.  The QSK is almost worthless.  At the first setting above Ø.ØØ, you
just can't hear between the dits and dahs.  And at zero, it's too
noisy.

B.  Every time I change antennas (even on the same band), I have to
depress the TUNE button so that I can get "stable" qrp output (5
watts).  This is an extra step I did hundreds of time this weekend.
It is now 2nd nature, but a royal pain (yes, all my antenna are
resonant, but just not "the same" according to the K2.

C.  The AGC is not set up correctly.  Weak signals are, well, too weak
(audio) and strong signals blow my ears off.  The AF knob is my
friend...but I don't want it to be.



I don't use RIT/XIT in the contest (since I"m qrp, I don't "run"
much), so I don't miss the lack of the CLEAR button.  I use the
"400hz" filter (forget what it is exactly) and it is wide enough so I
can hear callers substantially off frequency without RIT'ing.  For my
style of contesting, I NEVER change the XFIL selection (good ears, I
guess).


Anyhow, all of the above are SUPPOSED TO BE addressed in the K3.  Hpe
to find out soon.

Anyhow, the K2 is a might fine contest radio for qrpers (it is not
IC7800 for those who like dual receive, a band scope, etc etc etc).  I
cannot think of a better radio VALUE for contesting.  This is
hands-down the clear winner, probably over the K3 also.  The K3 is
(hopefully) also a great VALUE for contesters, but the K2 is just
impossible to touch.

OH yeah....I worked 896 stations, 439 prefixes, and a claimed score of
991,262.  Not too shabby for a $600 box.

de Doug KR2Q