[Elecraft] W2 - Possible Addition to Station

[Don Wilhelm]

Jim,

Under normal operation, the resolution between an SWR of 1.3 and 1.5 is 
not of impo0rtance (pardon those who always strive for an SWR of 1.0).  
At HF that amount of resolution is unimportant unless you are doing 
measurements on your antenna system (that is different from normal 
operating) - and in that case, you would likely be using the computer 
connection to provide you with the greater resolution values.

I sense that several hams are offering their W2 wattmeters for sale 
because they have purchased the KPA500 and/or the KAT500 and find that 
the SWR display on those devices renders the use of the W2 redundant.

The W2 *is* an accurate wattmeter.  I cannot comment on the accuracy of 
the MFJ unit.  In general, wattmeters are getting more accurate, but 
some are still rated at 20% of the full scale readings - that is typical 
for analog meter readouts.

So bottom line, do you want accuracy or do you want precision indication 
of power and SWR.  If your concern is for SWR only, keep in mind that 
almost all wattmeters are accurate when they read an SWR of 1.0.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/2/2013 6:17 PM, Jim Bennett wrote:
> Currently my station includes a K3/100, P3, Ameritron AL-811 amplifier, and the LDG AT-600 ProII auto tuner with the M-600 analog display. I have the 10-watt 2 meter module installed in the K3. Further, I am in the process of building the 80-watt linear amplifier for 2 meters that was presented by W6PQL in the May 2013 issue of QST.
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> The above equipment does not have the ability to display SWR or power output on 2 meters with the amplifier online. So, I've been looking at something to fill this gap. One option was the $80 MFJ-873 V/U meter. A second, much more expensive option is the Elecraft W2.
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> I'm not a big fan of a string of LED's for measurement of anything, as it simply does not give the resolution one would like to have. I dealt with that when I had the Elecraft KPA500 last year. Nice to look at, but not overly big on resolution. What I DO like about the W2 is the software that is available from the web site - the W2 Interface Program. In addition to bar graphs for SWR and Power Fwd/Ref, there is a numeric display with a LOT more resolution than one normally would see with any analog "meter". Since I nearly always have my MacBook Air turned on when I operate, needing to have a computer for higher resolution than LED's isn't an issue for me.
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