[Elecraft] They Laughed At My K1

[Brett Howard]

They laughed at my K1 too and said that life was too short for QRP.
Then as they were putting up the antenna I proceeded to make a contact
from the Oregon coast to southern California at 7 watts with the antenna
still laying on the ground.  

Then I got to have a LOT of fun making about 250+ contacts on the K3
before it died and would no longer produce RF output.  We had a K2 and
put that into its place afterward and kept the action alive but it just
wasn't the same with my baby dead.  I've only had it a week.  Most of
the guys were amazed at how well I knew the radio for someone that had
only owned it a week.  My pat answer to that was when you have to wait 5
months to get a rig after the order process you get a chance to review
the manual a few times in there! :)

I think I sold 3 K3's this field day.  The guys were also quite
surprised at how happy I remained even after it broke.  They were saying
boy I'd be worried that things were going to be taken care of ok and
what not if my YaeComWood went down like that.  One thing about owning
an Elecraft is that you KNOW the manufacturer is going to stand behind
you!

Elecraft was well represented at our FD.  We had everything there but a
KX1.  Even had a few guys with Elecraft test gear.  Had a noise gen, a
S-Meter calibrator, and a WM1 there. :)  The "heavy operators" tent
looked like a Elecraft booth at a hamfest. :)

On Sun, 2008-06-29 at 14:07 -0700, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> Grrrreat Jon! 
> 
> That "power issue" has gone on since I made my first QSO back in '52. There
> are so many ops convinced that there's a huge difference between 5 or 10
> watts and 100 watts or so they can't believe that it's almost impossible to
> spot the difference on the air under many circumstances. Back then I knew
> ops who laughed at my rig running 50 watts out saying they "obviously" had a
> much bigger signal running about 70 watts output. Ha!  
> 
> There are even some today who think there's a useful difference between 80
> and 120 watts. 
> 
> Sure, in a contest there's a lot more QRM. But, as you noted, that's better
> handled by a superior receiver than superior power, especially when it takes
> a huge increase in power to be noticeable at the other end. Besides, in a
> contest, one doesn't have complex "QSO's" - just a simple little exchange of
> a few numbers snuck between the QRN and QRM and it's time to go on to the
> next station. 
> 
> And the multipliers you gain by not giving into the high power fantasy are a
> real bonus. 
> 
> Perhaps we shouldn't make the minimal advantage of high power widely known
> or the QRP/Battery/Solar multipliers might go away ;-)
> 
> Naw, educating others with solid examples is more important. Keep setting
> the great example - and having great fun! 
> 
> Ron AC7AC
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> All the big radios laughed at my K1 when I set it up at the club Field Day
> site.
> 
> But they stopped laughing when it churned out QSO after QSO on 40 and 20
> meters -- mainly because it has a better receiver for CW than ICOM 746 and
> 756 base stations.
> 
> And they especially stopped laughing when one of the generators died,
> knocking one of the big rigs off the air.  The K1 stepped in and ran for 12+
> hours on batteries (overnight) and a solar cell (daylight).
> 
> Plus, just think of those multiplier points for QRP and for solar power.
> 
> KB1QBZ
> K1 #2552
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft    
> 
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com