[Elecraft] New tuning knob for the KX2

[Dave New, N8SBE]

I"ve always wished for a 'ballistic' interface, i.e. the faster you turn
the VFO knob the larger the frequency change per turn.  On the other
hand, I've suffered poor implementations of that feature (uBitX,
anyone?), so it would need to be done carefully, if at all.  ICOM seems
to have managed to come up with what I feel is a good implementation.  I
used it for years on my old IC-735 (that I sold to partially fund my
upgrade to a K3), and now on my IC-7000 that I still use mobile.  One of
the things I immediately missed on the K3 was lack of a ballistic VFO
interface, and lack of band-stacking registers.

I guess that Elecraft has had some edict(?) that they don't like
ballistic VFO interfaces, so I guess we will all have to live with a
fixed tuning rate.  Maybe there is a patent thicket that prevents
implementing some of the more popular features on competitive radios?

Have said all that, I really like using the RIT knob to move large
chunks of frequency quickly.  For me it's a lot easier than pushing the
rate button to shift the tuning rate on the VFO back and forth.  And I
became recently aware that there is a solution for the band-stacking
registers on the K3/K3s, using a special mode for the keypad memory
register recall.  I haven't tried it yet, but it is now on my to-do
list.

On my original K3, I did get the upgraded CNC milled knobs (both A and
B) from a 3rd party, and really liked them. I've since gone to a K3s,
and let the upgraded knobs go to a friend when he bought my old K3.  So
far, I've not felt like I need to upgrade the knobs on the K3s.  They
seem more substantial, somehow.

Yes, the knobs on the KX2 are light and small, but somehow it seems
apropos for the design.

73,

-- Dave, N8SBE


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