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

[Peter Wollan]

Jeremy,

I built a K1 as my first HF rig, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's  
limited, but within its limitations it's very good indeed.  Since  
your budget is $300, I'd recommend the two-band board on 20m and 40m,  
and the 150K tuning range.  There's CW activity well beyond 80, and  
you can also listen to some LSB on 40m and digital on every band,  
even if you can't reply to those.  The autotuner gives a lot of  
freedom, and lets you operate with a much wider range of antennas.

Still, the K1 will be absorbing all of your budget.  Another rig to  
consider is a $120 40m-only kit by Hendricks kits <www.qrpkits.com>,  
the MMR-40, which does both CW and SSB.  I don't know much about it,  
and it's certainly less polished than the K1, but as a starter it  
might let you do more, particularly if you add a T1 tuner to it.  40m  
has enough going on to keep you active -- and learning -- for a long  
time.

I finally got a K2 a year ago, and it opens up new worlds.  And VHF  
is yet another new world.  Unfortunately, I think there's no cheap  
way to "do" radio.  It's an expensive sport, but less expensive than  
golf, or scuba, or flying airplanes.

	Peter N8MHD