[Elecraft] [K2] XV50 vs FT817?

[James Duffey]

Peter - The XV-50 and a K2 is not really a cost effective way of  
getting on VHF. Besides the KIO2, you will also need either the K60XV  
or the K160RX. And if you want SSB, you will need the KSB2. If you  
already have the K2, the cost may be reasonable given the good  
performance achieved, but if you are starting from scratch, the cost  
of a K2, the options required for transverter operation, and the XV50  
are pretty close to a 10 Watt K3, and the K3 has a lot better  
performance. The K2 does offer a very nice transverter interface, but  
going that way is fairly expensive.

The FT-817 is a different beast. The receiver performance under  
crowded band conditions is not great and you really need to add the  
narrow CW filter to bring it up to snuff on CW receive. That said, you  
get a lot of bang for your buck with the 817, and if you want to  
contest at VHF, two meters is almost essential. You will find that  
everyone you work in a VHF contest will ask you if you have any other  
bands. You will with the FT-817, you won't with the K2/XV50. In the  
June contest, with Es, you can get by with 6M only, but the rest of  
the year you will probably be better off with 2M as the main band.

As to QRP at VHF, there is more to be said on that, which I will in  
another post. - De. Megacycle KK6MC/5
--
KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM