[Elecraft] K2

[Robert G. Strickland]

I have had my K2 with SSB, DSP, Noise Blanker, and KP100 for about a year. 
I had a few problems of my own making while building it, and Don/others 
helped get things straight. I work mainly CW. I use SSB only when that's 
the only mode for desirable DX; my mike is a Heil HC4 plugged in directly 
[no preamp]. I use the K2 to drive a 500w tube amp when that seems 
necessary. I have played with the filters using Spectogram on many 
occasions, for fun as well as for performance. I've never missed a contact 
because of the K2's "limitations," on CW or SSB. Now, all that said...

It's a great radio. I put my FT990 on the shelf and it's gathering dust. 
Wouldn't go back for anything. Are there commercial transceivers that out 
perform it in some manner? Can you spend several $K's and out 
bells-and-whistles it? Sure. But for the joy of building something that 
performs as well as it does and that I can tinker with to my heart's 
content, I wouldn't trade it for anything. And, that includes the K3 for 
the time being. I'm still learning how to use it to its maximum capability, 
and I have a lot of experience in electronics.

So, there are no doubt those who gripe about one thing or another with the 
K2. It's unfair to say, but as a clinical psychologist [cross trained from 
aerospace :-) ] I'm guessing that their main expertise is griping, not 
rigorously evaluating the K2. Does the K3 and others offer more? Perhaps. 
But you can't smell the solder, and for my money and fun, that's 
irreplaceable. I started on Heathkits in the 1950's, and allowing for the 
usual old geezer effect, the throw-it-away-cell-phone mentality and griping 
that goes along with it is a sad development that has little if anything to 
do with the K2's performance.

...robert

At 02/07/2008 21:31, DW Holtman wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I have a K1, which I like. I was thinking about getting a K2 while waiting 
>for my K3 (ordered 27 Dec). I went to the E-ham web page and read some of 
>the reviews. There are a lot of people who really do not think too much of 
>the K2. One or two might be some crack pot, but there are a whole bunch of 
>not happy users. All of the magazine reviews seem to love it.
>
>Comments on why the ratings have so many unhappy K2 users? The worst are 
>the users using the K2/100 and most complaints seem to be it's ability on 
>SSB. I guess it was originally designed for a CW rig, so don't expect good 
>performance on SSB?. The reports on the K1 and K3 are glowing.
>
>http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/2357
>
>Best,
>DW Holtman
>WB7SSN
>elecraft.com
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Robert G. Strickland PhD ABPH - KE2WY
rcrgs at verizon.net.usa
Syracuse, New York  USA