[K3] Portable Fit: K3 versus K2

[Phil Hystad-3]

When I got my K3/100 I had been thinking that I would use it in portable operations at times.  The kind of portable I mean is one that does not necessarily operate on just battery power.  I am thinking of grid connected power too.

But, now that I have so much hooked up to my K3 here in my shack and more to be added when the P3 arrives that it might be good to get something in addition to this K3 for portable ops.

A lot of guys talk about buying a K3 and using their K2 for portable ops.  I am curious -- other then the obvious cost difference and the fact that I don't have a K2, is there any reason why a K2 would be a better portable ops rig then a K3?   Is this a silly question?  It is just that I hear so many here comment about a K2 being a good portable rig but I don't know if I have heard the same comments about a K3.  I am thinking it would be a better portable rig.

phil, K7PEH

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[lstavenhagen]

Hi Phil,

I actually bought my K3 for this exact reason, so it could be my main base station and allow me to keep the K2 for portable ops. Also, I was wanting to get into other modes besides CW like PSK31 and as I started pushing the pencil across the paper on it, it ended up looking more cost effective to just build a K3 instead of decking out my K2 (which I've decided to leave totally bare bones CW only except the built in ant tuner).

But to be perfectly honest, now that I have my K3 up and running, My K2 doesn't actually look all that much better for /p than the k3. In fact, I'm considering schlepping my K3 on occasions where I plan to use modes other than just CW. The main advantages of the K2 are size and power consumption. The K2 draws about 280ma in RX, the K3 a little over 800ma. In xmit, tho, their current draw on a 12v battery is about the same, with the K3 drawing maybe slightly more.
Then there's the size difference, but the K3 is still surprisingly strongly built with stiffeners in the chassis, carrying handle, and still pretty light weight (at least mine is which is the 10W version).
Finally, there's the cost - it's a little more hair-raising to think about dragging around a $2000 rig vs a $700 rig.

Elecraft really did design the K3 for schlepping, it's light-weight, sturdily built and even has a carrying handle.

So in my quite honest opinion, unless you want a backup or really need small size and low current draw, I don't see why you couldn't just go /p with your K3. Like I said, I'm probably going to end up doing so with my K3 on occasion if for example I'm bringing a computer along to do PSK31 or in the rare event I use voice.

73,
LS
W5QD

[Don Wilhelm-4]

Phil,

I don't have a crisp answer that applies to your own situation, so you
will have to 'fill in the blanks'.

The K2 was designed initially as a QRP transciever with low receive
current drain - great for operating from batteries,  That is only
applicable for the QRP K2 and is not a direct parallel for the K2/100.

The K2 (either QRP of 100 watt version) has a small footprint, so it
will fit nicely into physically tight places.   It is lightweight (but
then the K3 is lightweight too), so the cost of transport to DXpedition
areas is smaller than many other transceivers.

The K3 makes a very nice portable transceiver, but if you want to leave
the K3 at the home station, and do not want to purchase a 2nd K3 for
portable ops, then the K2 may be a better fit for you.

The K3 has more features than the K2, but whether those features are
needed depends on you particular portable operating aspirations.

As a "for instance", I have the K3/100, but I take the K2/10 with the
KAT2 and the KBT2 along when I want to do portable operation at QRP
levels - If I wanted to operate at the 100 watt level, I would take the K3.

Bottom line - no real answer, but consider your own desires and
anticipated operating scenarios, and you will have the answer that most
closely matches your needs and desires.

73,
Don W3FPR

Phil Hystad wrote:
> When I got my K3/100 I had been thinking that I would use it in portable operations at times.  The kind of portable I mean is one that does not necessarily operate on just battery power.  I am thinking of grid connected power too.
>
> But, now that I have so much hooked up to my K3 here in my shack and more to be added when the P3 arrives that it might be good to get something in addition to this K3 for portable ops.
>
> A lot of guys talk about buying a K3 and using their K2 for portable ops.  I am curious -- other then the obvious cost difference and the fact that I don't have a K2, is there any reason why a K2 would be a better portable ops rig then a K3?   Is this a silly question?  It is just that I hear so many here comment about a K2 being a good portable rig but I don't know if I have heard the same comments about a K3.  I am thinking it would be a better portable rig.
>
> phil, K7PEH
>
>  
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[Jim Brown-10]

On Sat, 8 May 2010 17:56:01 -0700, Phil Hystad wrote:

>is there any reason why a K2 would be a better portable ops rig then a K3?
>Is this a silly question?

Not silly at all. I'm hanging on to my K2 for the #1 reason noted below.

#1 Reason -- less current drain. Important if you run on batteries
#2 Reason -- smaller, lighter

73,

Jim K9YC


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[Gary Gregory]

Phil,

i use my K3 portable all the time. I am permanantly Portable in the
Motorhome and so I am constantly moving it in and out of the Motorhome to
operate almost on a daily basis.

Don has explained the differences between the K2 and K3 admirably, as he
always does and his caveat at the end is spot on.

>From my perspective (YMMV) I use many of the features of the K3 daily. For
example, I run DSP full time (CW & Phone), I sometimes need the NB and
because my wire antenna is a 40M double extended Zepp for all bands, I use
the tuner. I like to set my filtering up on 1.6 to 1.9 on SSB and 400 or
less on CW.
When EU is running on 15/15/20/40M bands, there are many stations squeezed
together that we hear in VK and so the filter selection on my K3 is of great
benefit to me. I am in a remote area most of the time so close in stations
to me are rare to say the least.

I cannot comment on the feasilbility of me using a K2 as I have never even
seen one and certainly not used one.

I bought the K3 to do exactly what I am doing and it is a superb radio that
filled my every expectation plus a whole lot more. I am still learning new
tricks with it two years (yep, slow learner) down the track.

If it was me and I had both, I would take both out and have a play to help
decide, my preference would be the K3 I believe.

I do operate PSK31 and SSTV also, but not often.

73's
On Sun, May 9, 2010 at 11:39 AM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Phil,
>
> I don't have a crisp answer that applies to your own situation, so you
> will have to 'fill in the blanks'.
>
> The K2 was designed initially as a QRP transciever with low receive
> current drain - great for operating from batteries,  That is only
> applicable for the QRP K2 and is not a direct parallel for the K2/100.
>
> The K2 (either QRP of 100 watt version) has a small footprint, so it
> will fit nicely into physically tight places.   It is lightweight (but
> then the K3 is lightweight too), so the cost of transport to DXpedition
> areas is smaller than many other transceivers.
>
> The K3 makes a very nice portable transceiver, but if you want to leave
> the K3 at the home station, and do not want to purchase a 2nd K3 for
> portable ops, then the K2 may be a better fit for you.
>
> The K3 has more features than the K2, but whether those features are
> needed depends on you particular portable operating aspirations.
>
> As a "for instance", I have the K3/100, but I take the K2/10 with the
> KAT2 and the KBT2 along when I want to do portable operation at QRP
> levels - If I wanted to operate at the 100 watt level, I would take the K3.
>
> Bottom line - no real answer, but consider your own desires and
> anticipated operating scenarios, and you will have the answer that most
> closely matches your needs and desires.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> Phil Hystad wrote:
> > When I got my K3/100 I had been thinking that I would use it in portable
> operations at times.  The kind of portable I mean is one that does not
> necessarily operate on just battery power.  I am thinking of grid connected
> power too.
> >
> > But, now that I have so much hooked up to my K3 here in my shack and more
> to be added when the P3 arrives that it might be good to get something in
> addition to this K3 for portable ops.
> >
> > A lot of guys talk about buying a K3 and using their K2 for portable ops.
>  I am curious -- other then the obvious cost difference and the fact that I
> don't have a K2, is there any reason why a K2 would be a better portable ops
> rig then a K3?   Is this a silly question?  It is just that I hear so many
> here comment about a K2 being a good portable rig but I don't know if I have
> heard the same comments about a K3.  I am thinking it would be a better
> portable rig.
> >
> > phil, K7PEH
> >
> >
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>

--
Gary
VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile
http://www.qsl.net/vk4fd/
K3 #679
For everything else there's Mastercard!!!
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[k6dgw]

Phil Hystad wrote:

> A lot of guys talk about buying a K3 and using their K2 for portable
> ops.  I am curious -- other then the obvious cost difference and the
> fact that I don't have a K2, is there any reason why a K2 would be a
> better portable ops rig then a K3?

You're going to get a LOT of opinions, Phil!  I bought the K2/QRP
because it was the Elecraft top-of-the-line at that time, I had used one
and was stunned at the receiver, and I liked the weight, size, and low
RX current drain, I do some field events and contests in the summer.  I
used it for a couple or three years, augmented it with a KX1 for a
cruise through the Panama Canal, and was a pretty happy camper.

Then the K3 was announced and I got a couple of chances to try out early
S/N's and decided it would meet a big need ... I have two local friends
who run a lot of power within 4 km of me.  My TS-850 was essentially
unusable on the band they were on, so I got the K3 [#642].  I am hugely
happy with it, the TS-850 is gone, and the old TS-830 will be soon.

Like you, my K3 is fairly well shackled to the rack with lots of cables.
  I take the K2 for the field events.  It works great for me, YMMV.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2010 Cal QSO Party 2-3 Oct 2010
- www.cqp.org
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[Phil Hystad-3]

Fred says, "You're going to get a LOT of opinions, Phil!"


Well, I guess the good news for asking a question is that the various opinions and comments were all consistent with each other and even with those I received on my own e-mail address directly.

Unfortunately, there is not real big blooper that forces the decision one way or another so I need to decide based on my own personal choices.  Which is good as I would hate to make a choice and then later discover that I made some big blunder in choosing the wrong rig.

Thanks for all the comments though from everyone who chimed in.

73, phil, K7PEH

On May 8, 2010, at 6:58 PM, Fred Jensen wrote:

> Phil Hystad wrote:
>
>> A lot of guys talk about buying a K3 and using their K2 for portable
>> ops.  I am curious -- other then the obvious cost difference and the
>> fact that I don't have a K2, is there any reason why a K2 would be a
>> better portable ops rig then a K3?
>
> You're going to get a LOT of opinions, Phil!  I bought the K2/QRP
> because it was the Elecraft top-of-the-line at that time, I had used one
> and was stunned at the receiver, and I liked the weight, size, and low
> RX current drain, I do some field events and contests in the summer.  I
> used it for a couple or three years, augmented it with a KX1 for a
> cruise through the Panama Canal, and was a pretty happy camper.
>
> Then the K3 was announced and I got a couple of chances to try out early
> S/N's and decided it would meet a big need ... I have two local friends
> who run a lot of power within 4 km of me.  My TS-850 was essentially
> unusable on the band they were on, so I got the K3 [#642].  I am hugely
> happy with it, the TS-850 is gone, and the old TS-830 will be soon.
>
> Like you, my K3 is fairly well shackled to the rack with lots of cables.
>  I take the K2 for the field events.  It works great for me, YMMV.
>
> 73,
>
> Fred K6DGW
> - Northern California Contest Club
> - CU in the 2010 Cal QSO Party 2-3 Oct 2010
> - www.cqp.org
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