[Elecraft] Elecraft K1 as my first HF rig??

[Dave VW]

Hey Jeremy,

I got licensed a couple of years ago and built a K2 as my first rig. I too,
have a similar technical background and found the building process very
rewarding and gave me a great sense of how the K2 works as well as the
ability to troubleshoot it if needed. It was a great educational experience
for someone who wanted to get back into ham radio and electronics in
general. I am sure that someone with your background will have no problem
with the K1 - and if you do, you have a great community resource right here
to help guide you along in the event you have problems. 

If you are new to ham radio in general, QRP can be somewhat daunting in
getting started and making contacts. I would do a lot of listening first to
get a handle on things and hear what a CW contact sounds like.  There are
numerous references out there that list how a CW contact should go and all
of the nomenclature that goes with one. With that said, after a couple dozen
or so learning QRO contacts, I started operating QRP  all summer long in my
front yard with my K2 and had a riot. It certainly takes more practice and
patients  to operate QRP but I was totally amazed at the number and
distances I covered running just 5 watts (and this at the low spot in the
solar cycle). 

You will find this reflector a great resource for technical assistance and
really, anything to do with ham radio in general. I know I have probably
learned more about ham radio from this list than any other single resource
(beside the great many books I've read). 

When you get that K1 on the air, don't hesitate to contact me for some
practice QSO's. I live near Detroit, so I'm sure we can hook up QRP. I'm
still trying to get my code speed up myself and I like to hang out in the
old novice parts of 40 and 20 meters. 

Good luck in your decision and I hope this helps.

Take care & 73,
Dave W8FGU
-- 
View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Elecraft-K1-as-my-first-HF-rig---tp17441394p17441931.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.