[Elecraft] BC-342 and 6L6

[w7hd at msn.com]

The comment about the BC342 brought back memories of my actual setup in 
1968 right after I got my first license.  I built the 6L6 transmitter 
myself, so can definitely relate.  Now I have the KX3, and am seriously 
considering the amp for it to use in the fifth-wheel.  This would make 
it more like the K3, of course.  But I have been having so much fun 
running QRP that I've decided to hold off on the amp.

Do I use a laptop computer with my KX3 - you bet!  That way I get all 
the benefits of the panadaptor, FLdigi, FLamp, etc.  And a laptop has 
the added benefit of a battery (my Dell convertible using Win 8.1 gets 
6-8 hours on a charge).  Talk about portability - this is it!  I used to 
have a Flex-1500, but the unreliability of the software drove me to sell 
it.  Unfortunately I sold the 100-watt linear I had with it.

Wes lives just a few miles south of me (I am in Picture Rocks about a 
mile west of Panther Peak).

Ron W7HD


Wes (N7WS) wrote:
> First a disclaimer:  I don't own a Flex radio (and it is a radio)  The 
> closest I've come is using an LP Pan on the i-f output of a K3, which 
> I do own.
>
> But this argument is simply nonsense.  If the radio breaks---they 
> actually do you know---you're (note spelling) off the air too.
>
> And try as I might, I can't see Internet spots on my K3, nor can I use 
> it to keep my banking records, write email, do antenna modeling, etc.  
> For this I still need a computer.  And believe it or not, that same 
> computer is connected to my K3 and I would be lost without it.  I 
> don't want to go back to my BC-342 and crystal-controlled 6L6, which 
> some still think are the only "real" radios. Time marches on...try to 
> keep up.
>
> Wes  N7WS
>