[Elecraft] [K2] how much harder to build: K2 vs K1?

[Jon Perelstein]

I built both the K1 and the K2.  I had kit building experience 45 years ago when I built my first novice rig but hadn't really picked up a soldering iron in the intervening years.

It's true that each kit is one component at a time.  However, my sense is that there are critical places on the K2 where the physical tolerances are much tighter (e.g., trying to get a soldering iron tip into a very very tight place without damaging components that you've already installed) or where you're trying to perform magic (e.g., soldering a jumper wire between the stubs of two components because no holes have been provided on the circuit board).  Also, if you're a sloppy solderer or one who puts too much solder, there are more places on the K2 than on the K1 where you will cause yourself significant harm.  Figuring out which component is which gets ugly in some of the sub-modules of the K2.  And then there are the toroids that have to be wound ...

Despite my experience from 45 years ago, I doubt that I would have been successful with the K2 if I had not first done the K1.  Even then, it took a lot of handholding from people like Don Wilhelm (who, by the way, is the single greatest handholder in the world, bar none!!!!) plus a couple of places where I had to remove parts I had ruined and then install replacement parts.  

Someone else suggested that you first try some of the other kits and I think that's a great idea.  There are a number of the mini-module kits and many of them are things that you will find useful to have with either a K1 or a K2 -- such as the W1 wattmeter/SWR bridge, the 2T-gen 2-Tone Test Oscillator, N-gen Wideband Noise generator,  and XG2 Three Band Receiver Test Oscillator/S-Meter Calibrator.  If you expect to take the K2 to 100 watts, you might want to build the W2 instead of the W1.

Whatever you do, I recommend that you buy the toroids from The Toroid Guy (toroidguy at earthlink.net) and not try to wind them yourself.  Winding the toroids on the K1 almost killed me, and I doubt that I could have successfully done the K2 toroids.

The other thing I recommend is to ask around your circle of friends, ham radio clubs, Elmers, etc. and see if you can find someone who has done some significant soldering over the past few years and see if you can get that person to either give you a soldering lesson or two (it really is amazing how little solder you need per joint) and/or review some of your early work.  

Jon, KB1QBZ