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

[Mike Morrow]

Jeremy wrote:

>I've been looking around for a few weeks now for my first HF radio
>(just recently newly licensed as a General) - and am looking at either
>something like a Yaesu FT-101, or a Kenwood TS-820S.... or an Elecraft
>K1 (probably just the 2-band 20m/40m version).

1.  A person with reasonably developed technical skills will find that
construction of the K1 presents no problems at all.  One may be thankful
that no surface mount components are used.

2.  There is *no* reason other than cost to ever choose the two-band filter
board over the four-band board, as long as the two bands in which you are
interested are available on a four-band board.  The K1 is limited at
best, so it is unwise to choose a filter board that makes K1 coverage
any more limiting than necessary.  The two-band board is also inferior in
RF performance, because the filters on the four-band board are very much
sharper. I found that going to the four-band board more than doubled the
usability of my K1.  The best coverage option for the K1 is a four-band
board for 40/30/20/15 meters, with a VFO span option of 150 kHz which will
allow you to receive 10 MHz WWV on 30 meters.  I also have a two-band board
for 80/17 meters, though I seldom use it.

3.  The KAT1 automatic antenna tuner should be the next item considered
for addition to the K1.  It is an excellent unit, within its limitations.
The KNB1 noise blanker I have found to be ineffective on most noise sources
I've encountered in seven years of K1 usage.  The KBT1 internal battery I
found to be troublesome (not easy to recharge, or remove, and it forces use
of a very small speaker) in comparison using an external battery pack, so
I discarded mine after 18 months.  Thus, I'd put low priority on getting
the KNB1 or KBT1.

The K1 is my personal favorite QRP rig of all time.  I own eight other
commercial QRP rigs, but nothing I've seen that was before or after the
appearance of the K1 meets my requirements so well, even after almost
eight years of use.  I especially like being able to easily set up at a
campsite or park.

All that having been said about the K1, in all honesty it would never be
my first choice if I were trying to select an economical, general-use HF
rig.  I would want something that provided:

1.  A maximum power output of about 100 watts,
2.  Usability on Morse and SSB (and maybe AM and 10 meter FM),
3.  General coverage receive capabilty (100 kHz to 30 MHz).

Rigs with these capabilities began appearing in large number more than 25
years ago, though some were problematic.  More recent rigs like the
Kenwood TS-50S and Alinco DX-70 do very reasonable job providing all these
capabilities in small packages (about seven pounds) and are low-cost on
the used market.  But a heavy 12 vdc power supply and antenna tuner will
also be required.

If I forget about general coverage receive, then the older last-generation
vacuum tube PA rigs like the Kenwood TS-530, -530, 820, and 830, or Yaesu
FT-101 series provide a lot of radio for the price, assuming the used set
is working properly.  The nice thing about them is that the AC power supply
and a limited range antenna tuning (Pi) network is standard on these sets,
most of which use some version of a pair of 6146 tubes in the PA.  With a
reasonably matched dipole system, then the radio is the only box that
needs to be at the operating desk.  I treasure my old TS-830S!

Any of these "old-rig" options will provide greater performance and
versatility than the K1 can provide.

73,
Mike / KK5F