[Elecraft] K2 Question by Alan KB7MBI...

[John Ragle]

Hi, Alan...

     My history with these radios is as follows: (1) a few years back, I 
bought a K2/10 CW only as a kit for therapy on manual dexterity (chemo 
badly damaged my peripheral sensitivities). I put it together and used 
it for a while, then added first the ATU, then the 100 watt amp and 
later the ssb board, though I have been primarily a CW operator since my 
first license in 1946. This was a sweet little radio, and served me very 
well in this configuration for about a year.

     Then (2) "technolust" got hold of me, and I sold the K2 and bought 
a Flex 3000. This was an absolute disaster as a rig. The CW didn't work 
right, and the antenna tuner would not handle my 10 or 6 meter antennas 
because the values of the switched components were chosen too coarse 
(for the lower frequency bands, I guess).

     I sold the Flex 3K to a SSB/AM only guy (!!) and, needing no 
further physical therapy, (3) I bought a factory-assembled K3/100 with 
the interface and eventually with the XV144 external transverter, and 
have now used this combo for almost 2 years. I recently added a P3.

     My reaction is the following:

(a) the K3 is much the nicer rig than the K2, but it is somewhat 
heavier, larger, and best chosen for base station use.

(b) the Flex3000 ...well, enough said. The Flex1500 seems to have 
disappeared from the market (?). It was vaporware for years, and I guess 
people got tired of waiting.

(c) The K2/10 (no amp, no ssb) would make a very nice CW/transportable 
rig. If one wants to make use of PSK or other digital modes, or RTTY, 
then one would need to add the ssb board, since all that is done using AFSK.

(d) the K2 with ssb does not contain a soundcard interface, so one would 
need something like a SignaLink USB and a small netbook to go fully 
digital. When I was using the K2, I bought a SignaLink USB for it. I 
*still* use the SignaLink with the K3, as it is more flexible than the 
built-in capabilities in the K3. I run FLDIGI for all digital modes 
*except* CW, which I do "the old-fashioned way" with paddles.

For portable use, I have several of the QRP "riglets" -- a Small Wonders 
Labs PSK-20 which is a delight, and two of the Weber dual-band CW toy 
rigs (not yet completed). I still need to carry a small power supply (a 
regulated/filtered Notebook supply (mine is an MFJ 1317) and a small 
tuner, as "hotel antennas" are not great for matching without it. I use 
an ASUS EEE PC-901 which I got very inexpensively from an Amazon 
close-out. It works fine for the PSK-20, and runs either FLDIGI or 
DigiPan/Airlink Express (no SignaLink).

Now, as to the future...I am *definitely* going to get a KX3 with tuner 
when those become available. Again, one will have to carry a small power 
supply, but presumably the internal ATU will be just fine. For digital, 
I expect to be able to use the ASUS netbook.

Antennas are a real problem. I have a Buddipole but it is again much too 
cumbersome for hotelling.. Throwing a wire with a weight out the hotel 
window is not very satisfactory, though an end-fed half-wave is OK if 
you can get it away from the building a foot or two. This means a "jib" 
of fiberglass, which works just fine. Often there are no suitable 
grounds, e.g. radiators, etc. in a hotel room or suite, so quarter-wave 
antennas aren't much use unless you want to run a radial or two inside 
the room (ugh!). The Buddipole is fine for beach-front activities. One 
then needs a battery pack with some life to it, or a solar-cell supply.

I hope this gives you some grist for thinking. The two Elecraft boxes 
are just great. I have owned a lot of rigs in the past, e.g. home-built, 
Hallicrafters, Kenwood TS-520, TenTec Triton IV and Omni VI+, ICOM, etc. 
and I am super pleased with the Elecraft boxes; they are the best ever!. 
I run the K3 almost every day for a few QSOs, mostly with PSK on HF and 
SSB or CW on 6 and 2. On 2 the XV144 runs into a TE Systems amp.

John Ragle -- W1ZI

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On 7/20/2011 12:10 AM, ARDUJENSKI at aol.com wrote:
> QUESTION: For those who have only one radio to use for base station and
> occasional field operations have you found the K2 to be more than adequate or
> do  you recommend the K2/100 with external ATU? I am a casual operator; both
> CW  (90%) and SSB (10%).
>
> Do those of you who have or had  the K2/20 have regrets not getting  the
> K2/100?