[Elecraft] SO2R thoughts

[W0MU Mike Fatchett]

I have two K3's.  One decked out with all the bells and whistles and the 
other one is pretty basic. Having two exact rigs is helpful especially 
when tired.

The KX3 also sounds like a fun option.

TS590 pretty good bang for the bucks.

I like to support small business and made in America when possible.  
Hard not to support the Elecraft gang!

Mike W0MU

On 3/27/2014 8:25 PM, Stephen Bloom wrote:
> Hey all:
>
> I've been the owner of a K3, KAT500, and KPA500, and a Microham MK2R+  for
> about 9 months now.  Love em all.  The one additional thing I wanted was a
> Legal Limit amp (I'm a fairly active contester).  Bought an Expert 2K-FA and
> just put that online.  So far so good.  The one clear downside to the 2K-FA
> is ...that it is loud (actually quieter than most High Power amps but still
> loud).
>
> With that said ...and given the fact that the Expert Amp SO2R isn't really
> SO2R (second antenna is rx only) ...I'm going to pair a second rig with the
> KPA500 and use it as a backup contest rig and as main for non contest Qs
> where I don't need the extra 3DB.  Right now the second rig is a Kenwood
> TS2000 ...which isn't really a contest or DX quality transceiver.  The three
> options I'm mulling over are ..
>
> 1)  another K3 ...Upside:  SO2R is most intuitive with identical xcvrs,
> plays well with KPA500/KAT500, identical cabling  ...Downside:  Expensive,
> It's more fun to have different rigs to play with, and like others, I find
> the K3 can be kind of "harsh" to listen to for many hours.
>
> 2)  Kenwood TS590 ...Upside:  Biggest bang for the buck (IMO) contest
> capable xcvr, Good audio ..Downside:  Looks like it has a weird audio codec
> (meaning not the standard Kenwood).  I see that N1MM works with it ...but I
> wonder about other software plus the MK2R+.
>
> 3) KX3+KXPA100(+existing KAT/KPA500) ..Upside:  The KX3 really intrigues me.
> In a perfect world ...the Second Rig would be one I could easily take
> portable.  The Sherwood reviews seem to indicate that the KX3 rcv
> performance is comparable to the K3, and I'm a real fan of Elecraft in
> general.  Downside:  Clearly there is no technical reason one couldn't chain
> all this together, but I wonder if anyone actually has done it, and if there
> were any configuration issues
>
>
> Any input would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks and 73
> Steve KL7SB
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to w0mu at w0mu.com