Which one for me?
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I'm thinking of a second rig and that possibly being an Elecraft. Here's
the deal: 1. I've been spoiled or demanding, take your pick. Before I went inactive about 10 years ago, my rig was the Kenwood TS 930 which, by all accounts, had an excellent receiver. With modest antennas, I worked over 150 WAZ zones. The ability to do relatively (or actual!) weak signal HF work with it was important. I did not get my results primarily from stacked monobanders on 20 and working pileups. That was not me and probably never will be. 2. I now have the SDR 1000 as my primary rig. This rig was an idle dream of mine ten years ago brought to life today. I love the rig. It, too, has a pretty hot receiver, among many other things. No use pretending this one won't receive the bulk of my attention, now and always. However, the SDR 1000 is currently my only rig. I'm looking at some sort of secondary rig because there are times and places I just can't take today's SDR 1000 and there is no SDR <something else> even in prospect. Requirements for the second rig: 1. Be able to be put it into the station as a primary rig. Obviously to even be talking about the K1 or KX1 means a little compromise here. But, (cover your eyes QRPers) there is an Ameritron 500M that I could put in-line to get something like 40 watts output if I wanted to. A compromise to be sure over the 100 I normally run (the Ameritron is mostly used to boost my RTTY signal -- seldom over 100 watts anyhow), so that isn't as compromised as it sounds. Maybe the recent sunspot down cycle will do me in, but even with what I have, I've made reliable digital contacts with 30 watts on 40 and 20 meters in 2005. That would get me by while the SDR was in the shop (SDR's maker, Flex-radio, has offered regular upgrades for reasonable prices and I'm due for another). 2. Be able to take mobile / portable / backpacking. The SDR can also be used in these roles, within limits. At a cabin with 110 VAC, the SDR works fine. In a true backpacking role, I don't think so (the wonderful SDR receiver is too power hungry, for starters). Mobile probably works with the SDR, but it seems comparatively awkward compared to something more basic, especially as this would be a car and not an RV or camper or something where the SDR would be better served. I'm not a big backpacker and so on, but I do some of it (e.g., the Boundary Waters Canoe Area) and if I bother to take the gear, I'd like to have something that hears well in addition to working well. I'm probably more likely to use the rig in that role than true automobile mobiling, on my known history. I'd like have as many bands available as common sense allows. Interests change over time as does the sun. Here's the pros and cons as I so far see it (but, assume maximum ignorance): 1. The K2 (if I bothered with it) would be a pretty "full out" order. Probably: K2 K2 HF Transceiver 599.00 KPA100 K2/100 Internal Int. Kit (w/RS232) 369.00 KDSP2 Advanced K2 DSP Filter 219.00 KSDB2 K2 SSB Option (includes RTTY et. al.) 99.00 K160RX K2 160M / 2nd RX antenna 39.00 FDIMP Finger Dimple for K1/K2 4.50 The truth is, while this is probably what I'd want to do, this is also probably too rich for my blood for a second rig. 2. The KX1 would be another possible choice. Probably: KX1 CW Xcvr 289.00 KXAT1 Internal ATU 79.00 KXB3080 30/80m adapter 65.00 3. The K1 is so far in third place, but maybe it will jump up a bit. The K2 may be too rich for my blood after all (especially for a second rig) and I would miss 17 meters. Probably: K1-2 K1 w band 5W CW transceiver 289.00 KFL1-4 Additional Four Band Module 129.00 (all six bands, I presume) K1BKLTKIT-X Backlight mod kit 14.95 KAT1 Internal Auto antenna tuner 99.00 KBT1 Internal battery adapter 44.00 KNB1 K1 Noise Blanker 35.00 FDIMP Finger Dimple for K1/K2 4.50 Still at about 630 dollars, shipped, the K1 is a bit step up in weight and price over the KX1. And, neither would allow data, which I would miss as much as SSB (actually, I wouldn't miss SSB all that much -- doing nearly none of it now -- RTTY matters, though). So, on the capability side, it would be all about operational convenience versus added weight, I assume. The main drawback of the KX1 over the K1 for me would be the loss of 17 meters. I'm mostly into DX, so losing 80 in a QRP mode would not be a big crushing loss. I don't (yet anyway) have the antenna farm to seriously think about 80 meter QRP DX. Keep in mind, too, that I simply am not a builder. Don't waste your time suggesting it (three solder joints is a lot for me). I'd have to work with one of the builders (seems easy enough -- e-mails are pending), but it boosts these prices a bit over Elecraft list. Obviously, I could just run out and get an old TS 430 or something for maybe 500 dollars and have done with it (and have SSB/RTTY besides), but I really do insist, these days, on the kind of receiver I've become accustomed to. So, it probably is some refinement of the above or simply doing without. As I read through the above, the "dark horse" option might be: 1. The K2 "not so full out after all." Probably: K2 K2 HF Transceiver 599.00 KSDB2 K2 SSB Option (includes RTTY et. al.) 99.00 K160RX K2 160M / 2nd RX antenna 39.00 FDIMP Finger Dimple for K1/K2 4.50 This would be a good compromise from a money point of view, and it has all the basic capabilities in terms of bands, and has data/SSB as well. It would have the same output with the Ameritron, I presume, so would be good from that standpoint as well. But, would it be too heavy to take on foot? Do I need the KX1 from a power point of view to even think about putting it in the pack? Your thoughts would obviously be much appreciated. . . Larry WO0Z _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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It seems to me that you are talking yourself into a K2.
You say that backpacking is not a big priority, but you may want that option. The K2 is definately the heaviest of the three but it also has the best receiver. I took one up a mountain for field day. It is not all that heavy by my standards, but others will likely say otherwise. What puzzles me about your lists is that they include a KXAT1, and a KAT1; yet when you strip the KPA100 off your list, you leave in the K160RX but do not include a KAT2. If you have little need for 80 why 160? Also, for field work having the internal tuner is a major benefit since you want to spend more time operating than tuning an antenna. Certainly dropping the KPA100 and KDSP2 from the original list is the best way to minimize the price of the K2. This will still give you more power than either of the other two choices and is also the best choice for a replacement base station. Good Luck with making your choice. Fran K2 s/n 314 _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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Francis Belliveau wrote:
>It seems to me that you are talking yourself into a K2. > > Might well be. >You say that backpacking is not a big priority, but you may want that >option. The K2 is definately the heaviest of the three but it also has the >best receiver. I took one up a mountain for field day. It is not all that >heavy by my standards, but others will likely say otherwise. > > I'll look into this. While it wouldn't be the primary item if I went K2, it is definitely something I want to be able to do when I wish. I am not a great physical specimen and like all too many of us, need to be in better shape. Way better. However, I am smart enough to at least train for major expeditions that involve carrying a lot of weight. I carry full packs for at least a week before going to the Boundary Waters, for instance. IIRC, I carried about 52 pounds in my pack last year and the Kevlar canoe was 45 or so. Longest portage was a mile with two half milers in there as well. If you saw a picture of me, you'd wonder how I made it. So, I can carry weight if I need to, but if I'm walking up a hill in a public park of some kind, I'll presumably be carrying a battery of some heft one way or another, I presume, if we're assuming operating for a long enough time it's going to be more than the built-in options. I haven't done this with ham gear yet, but surely, batteries aren't lightweight. So, obviously, the less the rig weighs the better. The more CW I send, the better, in that circumstance. >What puzzles me about your lists is that they include a KXAT1, and a KAT1; >yet when you strip the KPA100 off your list, you leave in the K160RX but do >not include a KAT2. If you have little need for 80 why 160? > Optimizing a little different. The "maxed out" K2, which I probably won't get anyway, "leans" a litte more towards the base station role deliberately. At home, I do operate 80. I have a Harris military amp that needs some fix or other, but when it runs, it (amazingly enough) takes 150 mA all the way up to the legal limit. That boat anchor, however, obviously does not go up the hill. Currently, runing an Ameritron amp, which has its place even when the Harris is working. > Also, for >field work having the internal tuner is a major benefit since you want to >spend more time operating than tuning an antenna. > > Definitely a consideration. >Certainly dropping the KPA100 and KDSP2 from the original list is the best >way to minimize the price of the K2. This will still give you more power >than either of the other two choices and is also the best choice for a >replacement base station. > >Good Luck with making your choice. > >Fran >K2 s/n 314 > > > > Thanks. The main issue really will probably turn out to be how much I want tied up in the backup rig. Won't see much use as the base station rig (the SDR has been wonderfully stable and forgiving), so the backpacking/mobiling considerations will be an issue, here and I really have to weigh out both roles. The real question might turn on how often I'll be operating out of a cabin / motel room instead of a true back pack. That, I don't really know. But, if I'd have had a KX1, I probably would have taken it on last year's trip. K2 also, but that's not as much of a slam dunk as the KX1 would have been. OTOH, the K2 would be a better choice if it does turn out to be a "normal" location most often. Still, I presume operating on some park's hilltop takes minimal prep and permissions. . . Larry WO0Z _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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Larry W0OZ wrote:
So, I can carry weight if I need to, but if I'm walking up a hill in a public park of some kind, I'll presumably be carrying a battery of some heft one way or another, I presume, if we're assuming operating for a long enough time it's going to be more than the built-in options. I haven't done this with ham gear yet, but surely, batteries aren't lightweight. ---------------------- Something that sometimes gets overlooked about the K2 is that, while it sports a "world class" receiver, that receiver was designed for low current drain for portable operation. You are likely to find the K2 easier on batteries that most of the competition. And it's designed for flexibility so you can change between a QRP (10 to 15 watt) portable rig with self-contained antenna tuner and battery to a hefty 100 watt CW/SSB rig by simply swapping tops. That way, you leave the weight of the 100 watt power supply behind along with the power supply for it <G>. To really stretch your battery life, the power of the K2 can be turned down to less than 1 watt on transmit. If you do enough operating out in the field, you may find that you want more battery power than the K2 carries internally, but you are not likely to find a rig that will give you more hours of operation for a given battery weight or the flexibility of operation than the K2. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Larry Loen
Larry
I assume by the inclusion of the K1 and KX1 in your list that you are looking for CW, and also by including those you are biased towards a portable transceiver giving greater priority than a second rig for the shack... I have a K2 and K1/4 with boards for 80/40 (two band board) and 40/30/20/15 (four band board), but not a KX1. Note the K1 with the four band module only covers four bands not six, regrettably the K1 doesn't cover 80/40/30/20/15 in one package... You can achieve this by swapping the band boards around but it needs a screwdriver to remove the upper half of the case and the KAT1, not something you would want to do too often. As a shack rig the K1 is poor, it drifts a little and has a marginal dynamic range receiver which overloads on 40 metres on a quarter wave vertical during the late afternoon/evening, the attenuator "fixes" the problem. The KX1 appears to have a similar limited dynamic range. Where these rigs shine is with portable operation, the K1 draws around 58 mA on receive which is hard to beat. With an external 10 AA cell NiMh pack it produces 5 Watts on key down without difficulty and can be used for several hours on 2500 mAh cells. The internal battery pack for the K1 only takes 8 cells, which limits you to 9.6 Volts when using NiMh cells and more importantly limits the K1 (at that Voltage) to around 3 Watts output. Primary cells could be used for higher power in the internal pack if you wish. With the KAT1 you can tune many of the common multi-band antennas, such as some doublets fed with 300 Ohm ribbon and end fed wires. The tuning range of the KAT1 is more limited than the one in a K2 but works fine provided you pre-select a suitable antenna at home and make sure it tunes easily before venturing into the field with it. My main shack rig is a K2, it's the 10 Watt version. Being a 99% CW operator I usually find 10 Watts more than adequate. The K2 has the following modules: K160, KBT2, KDSP2, KSB2, KAT2 and KIO2 With those fitted, the current consumption runs around 360 mA. With less modules, especially the KDSP2, the current can be as low as 160 mA. Some of these modules can be removed for operating in the field by fitting a strip of pins with various resistors/capacitors in their place... This is very easy to do and can be worth considering as the receive current is roughly halved. The internal battery is a sealed lead-acid type which makes the K2 very heavy, weighing in at more than 6 lbs. The K2 is primarily a CW rig with SSB added, most HF transceivers are SSB with CW added... Having the keyer speed and power output knobs on the front panel may not seem to be a big deal, but compared to having to use the menu system of a FT857D (which I also own) it really is! The internal keyer is as good as any keyer I've ever used. Having seamless QSK on the K2 is a real pleasure, often the side tone sounds like another signal on the band (the antenna change over is diode switched, so no relay noise). The internal KAT2 ATU will tune more or less any antenna, or at least something which looks like it should work as an antenna. The settings are stored on a per band basis which makes it very nice to use. What isn't apparent when looking from the "outside", is the enormous pleasure obtained from building your own transceiver, especially the K2. There is something called "Mojo" about using your home built K2, even to the point of needing to use it at least every weekend - nearly five years since building mine! 73, Dave G4AON _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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Dave wrote:
> Larry > > I assume by the inclusion of the K1 and KX1 in your list that you are > looking for CW, and also by including those you are biased towards a > portable transceiver giving greater priority than a second rig for the > shack... I have a K2 and K1/4 with boards for 80/40 (two band board) > and 40/30/20/15 (four band board), but not a KX1. Note the K1 with the > four band module only covers four bands not six, regrettably the K1 > doesn't cover 80/40/30/20/15 in one package... You can achieve this by > swapping the band boards around but it needs a screwdriver to remove > the upper half of the case and the KAT1, not something you would want > to do too often. Somehow, this had escaped my notice. An added compromise to consider in this rig. . .it has the odd side effect of making the KX1 more attractive. > > As a shack rig the K1 is poor, it drifts a little and has a marginal > dynamic range receiver which overloads on 40 metres on a quarter wave > vertical during the late afternoon/evening, the attenuator "fixes" the > problem. The KX1 appears to have a similar limited dynamic range. > Where these rigs shine is with portable operation, the K1 draws around > 58 mA on receive which is hard to beat. With an external 10 AA cell > NiMh pack it produces 5 Watts on key down without difficulty and can > be used for several hours on 2500 mAh cells. The internal battery pack > for the K1 only takes 8 cells, which limits you to 9.6 Volts when > using NiMh cells and more importantly limits the K1 (at that Voltage) > to around 3 Watts output. Primary cells could be used for higher power > in the internal pack if you wish. With the KAT1 you can tune many of > the common multi-band antennas, such as some doublets fed with 300 Ohm > ribbon and end fed wires. The tuning range of the KAT1 is more limited > than the one in a K2 but works fine provided you pre-select a suitable > antenna at home and make sure it tunes easily before venturing into > the field with it. I assume the KX1 has similar battery properties to the K1? It's in the spec and I've probably read it, but there's theory and then there's practice. . . > > My main shack rig is a K2, it's the 10 Watt version. Being a 99% CW > operator I usually find 10 Watts more than adequate. The K2 has the > following modules: > > K160, KBT2, KDSP2, KSB2, KAT2 and KIO2 > > With those fitted, the current consumption runs around 360 mA. With > less modules, especially the KDSP2, the current can be as low as 160 > mA. Some of these modules can be removed for operating in the field by > fitting a strip of pins with various resistors/capacitors in their > place... This is very easy to do and can be worth considering as the > receive current is roughly halved. The internal battery is a sealed > lead-acid type which makes the K2 very heavy, weighing in at more than > 6 lbs. Very useful, thanks. > > The K2 is primarily a CW rig with SSB added, most HF transceivers are > SSB with CW added... Having the keyer speed and power output knobs on > the front panel may not seem to be a big deal, but compared to having > to use the menu system of a FT857D (which I also own) it really is! > The internal keyer is as good as any keyer I've ever used. Having > seamless QSK on the K2 is a real pleasure, often the side tone sounds > like another signal on the band (the antenna change over is diode > switched, so no relay noise). The internal KAT2 ATU will tune more or > less any antenna, or at least something which looks like it should > work as an antenna. The settings are stored on a per band basis which > makes it very nice to use. I'd probably let the KAT2 go, at least the first time around (have to draw the money line somewhere, but that's probably the last cut). but I agree about front panel controls for things like CW speed. The SDR's software console didn't used to have these things and now it does. There's a reason. But, true QSK is a pleasure to consider as I don't think I've ever had it. > > What isn't apparent when looking from the "outside", is the enormous > pleasure obtained from building your own transceiver, especially the > K2. There is something called "Mojo" about using your home built K2, > even to the point of needing to use it at least every weekend - nearly > five years since building mine! > > 73, Dave G4AON > _______________________________________________ Larry WO0Z _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Larry Loen
My son just got his General Class license yesterday, KD8DKT, and I set him up a little station with my K2 and a dipole. He got his license mainly to work cw and digital modes, so we had to interface the rig to his computer. I left him playing around, trying to make his first contact on cw. Later last night he excitedly informed me that he had just made his first QSO... Argentina, running 5W on Throb. Not a bad start. Larry N8LP _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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