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K2 still a viable portable contest station?

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K2 still a viable portable contest station?

I’m heading down to Costa Rica tomorrow with a couple of friends to participate in the ARRL DX Phone contest.

Last year we took my KX3/PX3/KXPA100 combo and were pretty happy all round with it (the KXPA100 did seem to get upset periodically which always happened when I was off shift, resulting in me being rudely awakened…).

The station has evolved a bit and in addition to my KX3/PX3/KXPA100 combo we will have a K3. One big attraction of the K3 is its RX antenna port so we can use a K9AY RX antenna.

While the K3 is unlikely to be a permanent fixture of my portable station going forward I’m curious about people’s perspective of the efficacy and viability of a K2/100 with the 160m/RX port option as a station in a contest (I have the DSP option too).

I’ve seen the Sherwood data etc and I know the KX3/K3 are “better” radios but we are a 100 watt low power station with a variety of antennas (Buddipole, OCFs, Hexbeam etc) and maybe the K2/100 to all intents and purposes is good enough such that we essentially nab as many stations as the K3 would with the same antennas.

Any feedback is welcome.

Paul W6PNG/M0SNA
www.nomadic.blog <http://www.nomadic.blog/>

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RobertG

Re: K2 still a viable portable contest station?

Paul...
I've used my K2 on Field Days, operating CW on 40m into a temp dipole.
I've had no trouble landing close to 500 contacts, and my goal this year
is 600. Aside from the "elan" of using the K2 "in the field," the radio
always performs flawlessly with more than sufficient sensitivity,
selectivity, and features for the FD environment. DX contests from
outside the ZI may present different challenges, but I would think it
worth while to at least give the K2 a chance to show what it can do.
...robert

On 2/26/2019 14:32, Paul Gacek via Elecraft wrote:

> I’m heading down to Costa Rica tomorrow with a couple of friends to participate in the ARRL DX Phone contest.
>
> Last year we took my KX3/PX3/KXPA100 combo and were pretty happy all round with it (the KXPA100 did seem to get upset periodically which always happened when I was off shift, resulting in me being rudely awakened…).
>
> The station has evolved a bit and in addition to my KX3/PX3/KXPA100 combo we will have a K3. One big attraction of the K3 is its RX antenna port so we can use a K9AY RX antenna.
>
> While the K3 is unlikely to be a permanent fixture of my portable station going forward I’m curious about people’s perspective of the efficacy and viability of a K2/100 with the 160m/RX port option as a station in a contest (I have the DSP option too).
>
> I’ve seen the Sherwood data etc and I know the KX3/K3 are “better” radios but we are a 100 watt low power station with a variety of antennas (Buddipole, OCFs, Hexbeam etc) and maybe the K2/100 to all intents and purposes is good enough such that we essentially nab as many stations as the K3 would with the same antennas.
>
> Any feedback is welcome.
>
> Paul W6PNG/M0SNA
> www.nomadic.blog <http://www.nomadic.blog/>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
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> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

--
Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY
[hidden email]
Syracuse, New York, USA
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Dale Boresz

Re: K2 still a viable portable contest station?

In reply to this post by Elecraft mailing list

Hello Paul,

Regarding the KX3 station, the DX Engineering RTR-2 will enable you to use
a receiving antenna, and it handles the T/R and protection duties nicely.
I've been using one for a couple of years with a Pixel magnetic loop on 80,
40, and 30 meters. It also has a front panel toggle switch that allows you
to quickly engage the tx antenna for reception as well, giving you the
opportunity to use whichever one provides the best signal.

73,

Dale - WA8SRA

On Tue, Feb 26, 2019 at 9:32 AM Paul Gacek via Elecraft <
[hidden email]> wrote:

> I’m heading down to Costa Rica tomorrow with a couple of friends to
> participate in the ARRL DX Phone contest.
>
> Last year we took my KX3/PX3/KXPA100 combo and were pretty happy all round
> with it (the KXPA100 did seem to get upset periodically which always
> happened when I was off shift, resulting in me being rudely awakened…).
>
> The station has evolved a bit and in addition to my KX3/PX3/KXPA100 combo
> we will have a K3. One big attraction of the K3 is its RX antenna port so
> we can use a K9AY RX antenna.
>
> While the K3 is unlikely to be a permanent fixture of my portable station
> going forward I’m curious about people’s perspective of the efficacy and
> viability of a K2/100 with the 160m/RX port option as a station in a
> contest (I have the DSP option too).
>
> I’ve seen the Sherwood data etc and I know the KX3/K3 are “better” radios
> but we are a 100 watt low power station with a variety of antennas
> (Buddipole, OCFs, Hexbeam etc) and maybe the K2/100 to all intents and
> purposes is good enough such that we essentially nab as many stations as
> the K3 would with the same antennas.
>
> Any feedback is welcome.
>
> Paul W6PNG/M0SNA
> www.nomadic.blog <http://www.nomadic.blog/>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

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Ignacy

Re: K2 still a viable portable contest station?

In reply to this post by RobertG

The challenge in the phone contest at 100W with compromise antennas is being
heard. This depend on the quality of speech processor and microphone or
equalization. The difference between excellent and not so speech processor
can easily be 1-2S.

K3 has an excellent speech processor with equalization. K2 has compressor
and sounds OK but not dramatic with good microphone. IMHO KX3 processor is
not too efficient and even below K2. But KX3 has an equalizer allowing any
mic to sound good.

For portable radios, the best procesor seems to be in FT-891.

A good contesting combo if one can afford it is KX3 driving Expert 1.3k for
> 1 KW. The Expert weighs 20 lb and has ATU to trim less than perfect
antennas + automatic 110/220V switching.

Ignacy, NO9E

--
Sent from: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/
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Jim Brown-10

Re: K2 still a viable portable contest station?

On 2/27/2019 5:33 AM, Ignacy wrote:
> K3 has an excellent speech processor with equalization. K2 has compressor
> and sounds OK but not dramatic with good microphone. IMHO KX3 processor is
> not too efficient and even below K2. But KX3 has an equalizer allowing any
> mic to sound good.

Yes. The K2 is compromised in several ways on SSB. First, the audio
stage is low on gain, so a mic doesn't hit the peak limiter hard enough
to do much. Second, the audio chain has a flat response, so low
frequency components of the voice waste transmitter power. I did a mod
for mine, which W3FPR knows about, that provides some low end rolloff
and increases mic gain by about 6dB. That helped, but it's nowhere near
what the K3 and KX3 are capable of.

Second, the narrow settings of the receive filter are produced by
stagger-tuning of the multi-stage CW filter, and their combined response
looks like a side view of the Rocky Mountains, so the accompanying phase
shift distorts the RX audio enough that using the narrow settings often
degrades speech intelligibility (that is, it makes voices HARDER to
understand).

73, Jim K9YC

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Elecraft mailing list

Re: K2 still a viable portable contest station?

Thanks all for your perspectives and the info on the audio chain is very informative and hadn’t really thought of that one. Simplistically I thought the audio on all three would be similar but now I know.

I have a K2/100 I built and maybe like all K2 owners have a fondness for it and would like to see it used more.

I’m sitting in Houston airport waiting for my flight to Costa Rica with two KX3/PX3 combos which we will use for this contest but its a bundle of gear to tire together especially when you add laptops, KXPA100 and my home brew SO2R box that all in all makes the K2/100 attractive albeit minus the panadpter.

Having a panadpter does help in a contest and retrofitting one to a K2 either via an IF tap or an external SDRPlay type solution probably enters the comparison at some level.

Keep the comments coming!

Paul Gacek
W6PNG/M0SNA
www.nomadic.blog

> On Feb 27, 2019, at 2:19 PM, Jim Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> On 2/27/2019 5:33 AM, Ignacy wrote:
>> K3 has an excellent speech processor with equalization. K2 has compressor
>> and sounds OK but not dramatic with good microphone. IMHO KX3 processor is
>> not too efficient and even below K2. But KX3 has an equalizer allowing any
>> mic to sound good.
>
> Yes. The K2 is compromised in several ways on SSB. First, the audio stage is low on gain, so a mic doesn't hit the peak limiter hard enough to do much. Second, the audio chain has a flat response, so low frequency components of the voice waste transmitter power. I did a mod for mine, which W3FPR knows about, that provides some low end rolloff and increases mic gain by about 6dB. That helped, but it's nowhere near what the K3 and KX3 are capable of.
>
> Second, the narrow settings of the receive filter are produced by stagger-tuning of the multi-stage CW filter, and their combined response looks like a side view of the Rocky Mountains, so the accompanying phase shift distorts the RX audio enough that using the narrow settings often degrades speech intelligibility (that is, it makes voices HARDER to understand).
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Don Wilhelm

Re: K2 still a viable portable contest station?

In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10

Ignacy and All,

Everything Jim says is true, but still, the K2 can be a very good
contest transceiver.

The K2 is indeed a viable contest station, either portable or home
station - especially for CW, but a bit less so for SSB for the reasons
that Jim stated. VOX is not going to work well, so use PTT.

The normal SSB filter (OP1) - normally used as receive FL1, and always
used for SSB transmit is a good flat filter that provides a fine
response if the filters are properly aligned to place the bandpass
correctly.

The SSB FL2, FL3, FL4 filters formed using the RF Board crystal filter
are a bit 'ragged', but if properly aligned can be used successfully if
one is willing to sacrifice 'critical ears' and maintain communications
when narrowing the receive filter becomes a necessity. I would not run
a contest with those filters switched in, but would use them to narrow
the filter to eliminate QRM in the midst of a contact. That does
require the filters be optimized. The manual gives workable filter, but
are not optimum. To adjust for optimum filter, one must adjust the
filter width and the passband position using a wideband noise generator
and observing the passband position with an audio spectrum analyzer such
as Spectrogram or SpectrumLab.

For contest operating, I suggest setting the K2 SSBC parameter to 4:1,
and for normal operating set it to 3:1.

As for mic gain, there are only 3 settings. With an electret type
microphone such as the Elecraft MH2/MH4 or the ProSet-K2 (or Proset-iC),
an SSBA setting of 1 is normally adequate.
For dynamic microphones, a setting of SSBA 2 is normally adequate except
for the more recent Heil elements such as the HC-6 which may want an
SSBA of 3 to produce adequate output.

Jim's mod for reduced low frequency response of the KSB2 involves
replacing 2 capacitors. C34 should be replaced with a 0.47uF capacitor
and C32 replaced with a capacitor in the range of .0033uF to .005uF. I
normally use .0047 with success.

The KX2/KX3/K3/K3S has both transmit equalizers, plus better compression
and mic gain handling, but a K2 with properly aligned filters is
entirely usable for contesting and is better than a lot of other amateur
rigs out there being used in a contest - except for the hard-core
contesters who insist on having only the 'best' transceivers.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 2/27/2019 3:19 PM, Jim Brown wrote:

> On 2/27/2019 5:33 AM, Ignacy wrote:
>> K3 has an excellent speech processor with equalization. K2 has compressor
>> and sounds OK but not dramatic with good microphone. IMHO KX3
>> processor is
>> not too efficient and even below K2. But KX3 has an equalizer allowing
>> any
>> mic to sound good.
>
> Yes. The K2 is compromised in several ways on SSB. First, the audio
> stage is low on gain, so a mic doesn't hit the peak limiter hard enough
> to do much. Second, the audio chain has a flat response, so low
> frequency components of the voice waste transmitter power. I did a mod
> for mine, which W3FPR knows about, that provides some low end rolloff
> and increases mic gain by about 6dB. That helped, but it's nowhere near
> what the K3 and KX3 are capable of.
>
> Second, the narrow settings of the receive filter are produced by
> stagger-tuning of the multi-stage CW filter, and their combined response
> looks like a side view of the Rocky Mountains, so the accompanying phase
> shift distorts the RX audio enough that using the narrow settings often
> degrades speech intelligibility (that is, it makes voices HARDER to
> understand).
>
> 73, Jim K9YC