[Elecraft] K2/100 or K3/10?

[Dave Van Wallaghen]

Hey Keith,

I'm a new ham, so take this for what its worth. I have K2/100 #5099 and it
is my first transceiver. I did the split of the KPA100 into the EC2 with the
KAT100. This summer I operated almost exclusively outside in my yard with my
basic K2 and a small wire doublet up in a tree. I ran 5 watts all summer
long and made some really nice contacts and several lengthy rag chews
(sometimes condx kept the QSO's short). Most of the time I received "Wow" as
a reply to my power report of 5 watts. My furthest contact was with W7DAX
out in Liberty, Utah (I'm near Detroit) with many in the 500 - 700 mile
range on mostly 40m during the afternoons.

Although I have my K3 in the second order group, my guess is that for casual
CW rag chewing and contesting the K2 would suffice (I only say this because
I have no experience with other radios). But I am really looking forward to
using some of the really nice features (not to mention the better Rx specs)
of the K3 I saw demonstrated in Dayton and thoroughly discussed here. If I
could only have the basic K3, based on this summer's activity, I would have
no problem running it QRP for more than a year. 

So if QRP might not be your bag, then the K2/100 seems like the best bang
for your buck. But if you can deal with QRP for a year, then the K3 looks
pretty nice. If solar condx improve starting this year... Obviously, if
price is an issue, the K2 fits the bill.

I'm sure, as you know, being a previous K2 owner you can't go wrong either
way.

73,
Dave W8FGU