[Elecraft] KAT500 Arrives

[Dyarnes]

Hi All,

KAT500 number 71 arrived by UPS today.  We were supposed to be on the road 
today, but my wife was been pretty sick last week, and needed an extra day 
to get ready for the trip.  Anyway, it works great!  I'm happy.  Actually, 
I'm very happy!  The main reason is that running higher power has always 
been something of a dichotomy for me.  I tend to need more power at times, 
mainly because my antennas are marginal--I don't hear better, but I can be 
heard a bit better.  On the other hand, high power has always been something 
of a pain, if not unnecessary, much of the time.  You have to be very 
careful running higher power--tune-up can't be done casually, house wiring 
has to be up to the task, everything is bigger and heavier, and accidents 
with high power tend to be much more destructive.  etc. etc.  RFI can be a 
much bigger issue too.  I'd much rather put the time, effort, and money into 
better antennas, but that just isn't practical at my location.  So, after a 
bunch of years (50+) at 100 watts or less, and much of that at 5 watts or 
less, I've succumbed to using up to 500 watts when conditions/circumstances 
seem to require it.  I have access, on occasion, to another station with 
even higher power capability, but I still go at it "sans" amplifier if 
possible.

Anyway, the KAT500 replaces my old Ten-Tec 229 manual tuner.  That's a 
really good tuner, but it's manual, and takes a good bit of manipulating to 
get a good match.  With the KAT500, once you get a few memories set, it's 
pretty much tap the paddle once, and you are set.  That's a luxury I've been 
looking forward to ever since I acquiesced to using higher power.  Perhaps 
I'm not getting a better match than I did with the old Ten-Tec, but it sure 
is a bunch faster and easier now.

As for my serial number (71), I might have wished that it was one number 
higher, since that would match my original K2's serial number.  However, 
this is sort of a birthday present to myself, and that's just a week away. 
Next week (11/20) I will be 71!  So, even though it was accidental, Elecraft 
actually gave me a very fitting serial number!  I guess I can find irony in 
almost anything!

So, we are sneaking up on having 100 or so of these things in hand.  I 
suspect the kits will start shipping shortly.  This is the first time I 
haven't opted for a kit from Elecraft, but I figured for just $50, what the 
heck!

Dave W7AQK