[Elecraft] K2 For Club Radio?

[Don Wilhelm]

Tom,

A properly aligned and calibrated K2 is a fine contest radio.  The dual 
function pushbuttons sometimes give operators new to it a bit of 
difficulty until they get used to the TAP vs. HOLD action.

One difficulty a few operators have is that it will not tune very far 
outside the ham bands.  I have "repaired" several K2s where the operator 
attempted to use the VFO to move from one band to another - the display 
changes, but the VFO has stopped changing not far outside the ham band. 
It is an easy fix - just do a Direct Frequency Entry to get it back into 
the ham band.

You and your club should be aware of the various upgrades to the K2. 
Although many older ones have been fully upgraded, others have not been, 
so be sure to ask the owner about the upgrades and the firmware level.
At SN2560, the IF crystal set was changed to crystals specifying the 
motional inductance and produce better filters.  Filter alignment make 
all the difference between the performance of a mediocre K2 and one that 
provides top performance.
At SN3000, the boards were re-made to incorporate all earlier upgrades. 
And a K2 above SN 4600 have all possible upgrades installed.
Any earlier K2 can be upgraded to the latest level with only minor 
exceptions and performance will be equal to a new K2.

One situation with the KPA100 is that it is important that the antenna 
must be removed (or switched to a dummy load) when it is not in use. 
There is a sensitive wattmeter sitting right inside the antenna jack, 
and its diodes can be damaged by a surge coming in on the feedline.
The K2 uses the output on that wattmeter to control the power out. 
Damaged wattmeter diodes will cause uncontrolled maximum power which if 
not corrected, can damage the base K2 PA transistors.

I believe these are considerations that your club should consider when 
purchasing a used K2.

On my website www.w3fpr.com, there is a K2 Quick Reference Card that was 
created by a friend of mine while he was learning all about his new K2. 
You can download it and print it on a tri-fold paper for easy reference 
of those not familiar with the K2.  The K2 manual contains that 
information, but it is included in various sections of Alignment and 
Test at various stages of assembly and not combined at the end.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 5/12/2017 6:45 PM, Tom Hellem wrote:
> Our local radio club is considering the purchase of a K-2/100 to be
> used as a club radio. Its primary useage will be as a contest radio for
> events like Field Day, etc. I am looking for input from you list members
> who have experience with the K-2 as to its suitability for this purpose.
> I personally am not familiar with the radio and my concern would be
> mainly in the area of ease-of-use for those operators who are not especially
> experienced or knowledgeable  in using modern transceivers.