[Elecraft] my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

[Chris Tate - N6WM]

Last week I was on holiday on Oahu with my wife and kids. I brought my KX2 with me and was fortunate to hook up with a couple of fellow contesters, Eran WH6R and Kimo KH7U and Rob KH6/W7NX.

Rob was kind enough to provide me a 33 foot fiberglass mast, with a half wave wire for 20m to set up on Kailua beach facing the mainland US.

I was absolutely blown away by the effectiveness of this little KX2 paired with this antenna, and I made contacts all over the world from Hawaii, and was spotted on RBN all over the US with great sigs.  I worked lots of folks.

My assesment--
KX2 paired with an effective radiator makes for a super fun QRP experience.  the radio performed great!  a fantastic way to bring radio along wherever and whenever..  

My discovery..   A minor structural problem but one that Elecraft may want to investigate 

As a long time Elecrafter, I have never posted anything critical on elecraft equipment, but I did run into a small problem with this unit.  I was on a windy beach, and the fine sand seems to have gotten into the KX2 via a gap in the front plastic display cover that will require me to disassemble to clean up.  Since the KX2 is designed for ultra portability, I would suggest that some sort of gasket to seal the front of the unit may really help in situations like this.  I suppose I could design one myself out of some thin rubber or foam, but wanted to share  in the event the team may want to modify it slightly.  Visually looking at the plastic  upon return, I clearly notice a gap.   This could be avoided with some sort of seal.

JM2C.

Thanks Elecraft for making this rig, I love it.. and plan many more outings.  And to fellow KX2/KX3 owners, I highly recommend the experience of the Half wave vertical in proximity to Salt water for an amazing qrp experience.  I hope I can figure a way to keep more of the sand and dust out of the rig in the future via some sort of gasket or seal.

Mahalo
Chris
N6WM/KH6