[Elecraft] Which ONE rig would I buy - BUT somewhat off topic

[Brian Denley]

Don:
Looking out my window, I can just see the old plant where National Radio 
used to be housed, about a mile and a half away.  It's on the Malden - 
Melrose line, beside the railroad tracks.  As a teenager, I dreamed of one 
day owing one of those new HRO-500s.  Never did get one.
Brian KB1VBF
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Wilhelm" <w3fpr at embarqmail.com>
To: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 8:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Which ONE rig would I buy?


> Dave,
>
> I have to agree.  My rig prior to the K2 was a Yaesu FT-900AT.  I think
> that rig is one of Yaesu's best kept secrets - good performance in a 100
> watt class transmitter and  good receive performance.  Removable front
> panel - but the buttons and knobs were quite close together.  When I
> built my Field Test K2, I was surprised how much space there was between
> the buttons and knobs.
>
> OK, there is not as much space between them as on my National NC-100
> receiver, but then that receiver is heavy (I have not weighed it), and
> it is 19 inches wide and 8.5 inches high - the desktop rack cabinet it
> resides in is 21 inches wide and about 16 inches deep.  It is a real
> behemoth compared to the K2 or the K3 or KX3, and all 3 of those
> transceiver have vastly more function than that NC-100.
>
> That NC-100 has sentimental value because that receiver traded hands
> between my old Elmer W8ELL and I several times - the price was always
> what he initially bought it for - $35.  Because of that fact, it will
> pass with my estate - I will never sell it.
>
> So yes, I look at the comments that the Elecraft buttons are too close,
> and I compare them with my FT-900 and just "shake my head" - either
> those ops have really, really FAT fingers or they have not experienced
> transceivers like the Yaesu FT-900.
>
> The FT-817 is much worse for econometrics - the tuning knob is too
> small, the menus are too deep and the buttons are too small - yes, I
> have an FT-817, and those are my user's assessments.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>