[Elecraft] K2 not dead yet

[Brian Lloyd]

OK, We just finished the K2 for our school. I was planing to teach the  
kids to solder and wanted a radio that the kids could build so I asked  
the ARRL for the K2 instead of the low-end Ikensu (Yaecomwood?) they  
were offering. I remember how much I learned from building Heathkits,  
Knight kits, and Eico kits as a kid so I thought we could do the same  
with the K2.

Construction took much of the school year (October to April) including  
a few dry spells when I sat after school and "slung solder" just so we  
would keep making forward progress. (It was a big project for 10-13  
year-old kids.) Regardless, the K2, KSB2, and KNB2 are finished and on- 
the-air. The KPA100 is now in the build area and my "star" builders  
(5th graders who think that soldering is just about as much fun as you  
can have) have just unpacked, taken inventory, and soldered the first  
parts. (I took inventory too and couldn't find the output transistors.  
I darned near tore my hair out until I found the drawer where they had  
been carefully, neatly, and incorrectly stored.) We have 5 more weeks  
of school so we are going to have to push to get the KPA100 done,  
especially with all the other end-of-year projects. (I suspect I will  
have to keep the momentum going. Poor me. :-) I think I have said that  
we will be on the air for Field Day using the K2 with solar power. I  
hope to have a couple who will be ready to do some slow-and-simple CW  
QSOs too. Gotta get those multipliers!

I know everyone is dumping their K2s so they can get a K3 but, gee- 
whiz, the K2 is some good receiver. I *love* this radio! I have had a  
LOT of radios come and go in the shack (top-of-the-line Kenwood, two  
sets of Collins S-Line, several Icom, a Yaesu station, and a plethora  
of Heathkits) and I have to say that, so far, I think this is my  
favorite radio, even at just 10W. The only thing it is missing (stock)  
is a good way to do digital modes. (I have seen the mod for getting  
audio out before the audio amp but not sure how well it will fit after  
getting the KPA100 in there.)

So, the K3 looks like a superb radio. I want one. But, compared to  
just about everything else, the K2 is still a winner.

(For some reason it keeps following me home on the weekends.)
--

Brian Lloyd                         Granite Bay Montessori
brian AT gbmontessori DOT com       9330 Sierra College Blvd.
+1.916.367.2131 (voice)             Roseville, CA 95661, USA
                                     http://www.gbmontessori.com

I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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