KPA800 @ $2.8k: count me in/out

[dj7mgq]

> $2800 (if that's a true figure) is quite inexpensive when you
> compare the KPA800 (if that's the correct model designator) with the
> closest competition on the market: the Icom PW-1 and the Yaesu
> Quadra.

Don't forget the Tokyo HyPower HL-2KFX (Solid-State 1kW Linear Amp for
All HF Bands including 50MHz).

It costs about $2,500




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[Philip L Carter]

Well let's see.  My first rig was a Collins S-line in the 1960s.  It cost
about $1700 then.  What would that money buy me now as far as radios go?  Oh
yes, the Piper Comanche B was less than $50,000 and a car was around $2500.

As I recall not seeing, it hasn't been announced yet.  Isn't everyone
(including me) jumping the gun a little?


NRE/COLE Test Center OH-3
pcarter<at>gcfn.org or wd8qwr<at>arrl.net
Philip L. Carter, WD8QWR
wd8qwr@w8cqk.#cmh.oh.usa.na


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[rrennard]

My 75S-3B cost about 1/8th of what my 1969 Corvette cost.  So, I should be
able to buy a nice receiver today for about $6,000.  A 30S-1 cost about 1/3
of what the Corvette cost, so I should be able to buy a new amplifier today
for about $17,000.  However, getting this approved by the family CFO is
going to be a challenge.

I used to enjoy servicing my Corvette, rebuilding the carburetor, giving it
a tune up, etc.  I would not even consider it today.  The only way I can
enjoy putting my skills to work today, given that my time constraints have
gotten tighter, is by building a new Elecraft, or upgrading what I have.
Sweat equity, whether it is on the bench, or in the antenna farm produces as
much enjoyment to me as snagging a rare call sign at "reasonable" power.

I laud Elecraft for re-vitalizing the hobby, but I think I'll put the
KPA-100 back on the K2 if I need it.

N7WY
----- Original Message -----
From: "Philip L Carter" <[hidden email]>
To: "Stan Rife" <[hidden email]>
Cc: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 5:01 AM
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] KPA800 @ $2.8k: count me in/out


> Well let's see.  My first rig was a Collins S-line in the 1960s.  It cost
> about $1700 then.  What would that money buy me now as far as radios go?
Oh
> yes, the Piper Comanche B was less than $50,000 and a car was around
$2500.

>
> As I recall not seeing, it hasn't been announced yet.  Isn't everyone
> (including me) jumping the gun a little?
>
>
> NRE/COLE Test Center OH-3
> pcarter<at>gcfn.org or wd8qwr<at>arrl.net
> Philip L. Carter, WD8QWR
> wd8qwr@w8cqk.#cmh.oh.usa.na
>
>
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[Mike S-8]

At 08:34 AM 4/26/2005, Bob Rennard wrote...
>My 75S-3B cost about 1/8th of what my 1969 Corvette cost.  So, I should be
>able to buy a nice receiver today for about $6,000.  

It's more reasonable to compare similar items, such as electronics. My HW-16 cost about 1/100 of what a 1970 personal computer (PDP-8) cost, so I should be able to buy a basic transceiver today for about $10.

>A 30S-1 cost about 1/3
>of what the Corvette cost, so I should be able to buy a new amplifier today
>for about $17,000.

An SB-200 cost about 3/100 of what the PDP-8 cost, so I should be able to buy a new QRO amp today for about $30.


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[Earl W Cunningham]

Philip, WD8QWR wrote:

"As I recall not seeing, it hasn't been announced yet.  Isn't everyone
(including me) jumping the gun a little?"
==========
No one is jumping the gun (except for price speculation).  It was
announced and shown by Eric at the Elecraft booth in Visalia during the
weekend of the DX convention there April 15-17, 2005.

73, de Earl, K6SE
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[Chris-488]

The Dx Convention special event station was putting out a good signal.

N6V from memory.

I was their first Dx contact - There seemed to be a crowd around the
operating position and I mentioned that I was running a K2. How's that
for advertising?

Chris - VP8BKF

Earl W Cunningham wrote:

>Philip, WD8QWR wrote:
>
>"As I recall not seeing, it hasn't been announced yet.  Isn't everyone
>(including me) jumping the gun a little?"
>==========
>No one is jumping the gun (except for price speculation).  It was
>announced and shown by Eric at the Elecraft booth in Visalia during the
>weekend of the DX convention there April 15-17, 2005.
>
>73, de Earl, K6SE
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>
>
>
>  
>

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[VR2BrettGraham]

N6XI added:

>I don't think the Elecraft amp is targetting the budget end of the
>market. You can't do that with a solid state amp - tubes are still a
>decidedly cheaper way to go high power. This amp is really two
>separate products - a very light, yet high quality expedition amp and
>a state-of-the-art, full power, fully automated home station amp
>capable of "SO2R1A." (That's running two transceivers with a single,
>time-shared amp.) I believe it will be competing initially in a field
>of one in both categories.

Perhaps out-of-the-box field-of-one.

A transfer relay & a little band switching logic can make any
solid-state amp suitable for SO2R1A - just watch the duty cycle.

Full power, of course, is somewhat relative - for much of the world
market, many existing solid-state amps are already somewhat like
Alphas - capable of a number of dB more than one is allowed & not
break a sweat.

Amplifiers are products where I have felt the multiplier from BOM
to MSRP is hard to justify, as there is little room for adding apparent
value.  One of these is output matching - after years of driving my
Ten-Tec 420E (export Hercules II) into ugly loads, I'm tempted to
say I wish Elecraft current-limited the transistors too & not add
cost to the product for something not exactly necessary.  Or, since
the K2 is like this, could it be that any fancy output matching is an
option one could leave out?  Wish we knew more.  Between now &
Dayton the design will not change if the product is to go into
production soon.  A frustrating little tease for those who are right
now in the process of, or could be induced into making a purchase
decision.  ;^)

73, VR2BrettGraham

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[srife]

        Well, lets see...I never had a Corvette, a Collins or a Piper
Comanche, and I've only owned one new car in my lifetime.
        My first rig was a Tempo One that was a few years old when I bought
it for around 200 bucks in 1976. I bought a used NCL-2000 for 400 bucks a
year or so later, and then had to spend some time inside it to get it
working.
        Anything I buy over a thousand bucks or so, I have to finance. I
hope Elecraft doesn't price themselves out of most of our pocketbooks. It's
hell to be poor, but hey, somebody's got to do it.

Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N 4216
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Rennard [mailto:[hidden email]]


My 75S-3B cost about 1/8th of what my 1969 Corvette cost.  So, I should be
able to buy a nice receiver today for about $6,000.  A 30S-1 cost about 1/3
of what the Corvette cost, so I should be able to buy a new amplifier today
for about $17,000.  However, getting this approved by the family CFO is
going to be a challenge.

I used to enjoy servicing my Corvette, rebuilding the carburetor, giving it
a tune up, etc.  I would not even consider it today.  The only way I can
enjoy putting my skills to work today, given that my time constraints have
gotten tighter, is by building a new Elecraft, or upgrading what I have.
Sweat equity, whether it is on the bench, or in the antenna farm produces as
much enjoyment to me as snagging a rare call sign at "reasonable" power.

I laud Elecraft for re-vitalizing the hobby, but I think I'll put the
KPA-100 back on the K2 if I need it.

N7WY
----- Original Message -----
From: "Philip L Carter" <[hidden email]>


> Well let's see.  My first rig was a Collins S-line in the 1960s.  It cost
> about $1700 then.  What would that money buy me now as far as radios go?
Oh
> yes, the Piper Comanche B was less than $50,000 and a car was around
$2500.
>
> As I recall not seeing, it hasn't been announced yet.  Isn't everyone
> (including me) jumping the gun a little?
>
>
> NRE/COLE Test Center OH-3
> pcarter<at>gcfn.org or wd8qwr<at>arrl.net
> Philip L. Carter, WD8QWR
> wd8qwr@w8cqk.#cmh.oh.usa.na


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