Which rig is Elecraft's best value?

[Darwin, Keith]

Pretty subjective, ea?  Yes, the K3 is the best performer, but I wonder
if it is really the most bang for the buck.  Is it the best deal?  Does
it deliver the most fun per dollar?
 
I'm actually thinking the award goes to the K2/10.  You get to build it
(really build it) and it's performance is simply great.  The K1 is a
great 2nd / portable / QRP rig but isn't really fulfilling enough to be
a main or only rig.  The K2 is good enough and provides a lot of
performance / fun at a low cost.
 
- Keith N1AS -
- K3 711 -
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[John W2XS]

I think I agree with the K2/10 being the best QRP rig ever made. And, as you said, it is good enough to be the main rig.  When the bands are open, the 10 to 15 watts seems to be enough for plenty of QSOs and some DX. It has a built-in tuner, battery, keyer, etc., and can run in the "battery-saver" mode which helps.

Eventually, I think the K3 will be the ultimate all-in-one-box rig. I look forward to the time when I can:

1. Connect the K3 to my ladder line without balun heating, balun loss or without needing the manual balanced tuner.  Then I can take advantage of the KAT3's remembering its settings from band to band. This might be solved with the addition of a better balun here.

2. Listen to AM BCB and SWL in hi-fi sound.  The KXV3 will help the AM BCB sensitivity.

The K3 has so many features (software updates, NB, NR, AFX, general coverage, data modes, small footprint, nice looking display, passband tuning, roofing filter selectivity, etc etc ) that it is hard to beat as the ultimate rig operating on a power supply.

I am sure that you will get plenty of opinions on this one!

73,

John W2XS

I'm actually thinking the award goes to the K2/10.  
- Keith N1AS -
- K3 711 -
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[Gary D Krause]

This is something that I have been thinking about recently.  I have the K2/10
and I don't consider it to be a QRP rig.  If it were to put out five watts or
less then I would call it a QRP rig.  For me, it works great and 10 to 15
watts is all I need, even with the current band conditions.  It just makes it
that much more fun!  The only option that I have installed is the SSB board.
 I have also had unsolicited great audio reports with it.  I've thought about
maybe getting the DSP board but, I have on outboard DSP unit that I use and to
be honest, I don't like DSP all that much.  I also have an Autek audio filter
that works great with the K2.  So, I pretty much have what I want.  Is it the
best bang for the buck?  For me it is and as you said, you build it yourself.

I order my K2 a couple of days before Elecraft announced the K3.  It is #6113
and I'm wondering how many K2's have been sold since then.  It seems that they
are still selling them even with the K3 on the scene.  Some people still like
to build and some people don't.  It's a fun and simple rig to operate.  I
operate mostly CW, however.

Gary, N7HTS


On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:41:34 -0700
  "Darwin, Keith" <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Pretty subjective, ea?  Yes, the K3 is the best performer, but I wonder
> if it is really the most bang for the buck.  Is it the best deal?  Does
> it deliver the most fun per dollar?
>
> I'm actually thinking the award goes to the K2/10.  You get to build it
> (really build it) and it's performance is simply great.  The K1 is a
> great 2nd / portable / QRP rig but isn't really fulfilling enough to be
> a main or only rig.  The K2 is good enough and provides a lot of
> performance / fun at a low cost.
>
> - Keith N1AS -
> - K3 711 -
> _______________________________________________
> 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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