flying solo with the K2

[Steve Jackson-5]

"Has anyone reduced his rig collection to just a
K2/100 and regretted it?  If so, would you mind
sharing your reasons why?  I'm considering doing just
that - the reducing, not the regretting.  :-)  A lot
of very
personality dependent variables in the decision, but
I'm curious nevertheless."

Mike: I did, last year, somewhat involuntarily.  I was
unemployed for an extended period of time (like so
many thousands of my peers in the telecom industry).
Property tax bill needed to be paid, so, off went the
756 Pro 2, the Hercules 2 amp, Heil mic, accessories,
etc.

Notice I sold the factory-built stuff.  All competent
gear, but, no soul.  Some people get it.  Others do
not.

The Elecraft K2/100 (#0771) built by me and with all
mods and options EXCEPT the DSP, is a FAR better RX
and CW TX than the Icom was, comparisons are a joke.
The SSB TX seems to not be at the same par according
to some signal reports, but it sounds great to me and
still others have offered unsolicited praise.  Weird.
So, on phone, yes I miss the Icom, on which I sounded
like a million bucks no matter what.  

But without the 500W amp ... Or decent sunspots ...
I've become more active on CW.  That is a good thing
no matter what else happened!  I find I don't miss the
twin PBT too much, nor the autonotch.  I *do* miss the
manual notch and the monitor port, the real-time
spectrum scope, and the 'second' RX that Icom calls
'Dual Watch.'

Some annoying things about the Icom I do NOT miss!!
Like no CW spot function, lame 6m performance, 1.2A
draw in RX, digital artifacts all the time...

There's a LOT more room in the shack now, and less
noise and heat too, as the K2 has no obnoxious fan
running all the time.  So I could go on for some time
extolling the virtues of the K2-only shack.  

Caveats: I do also have a TenTec RX-320D, which
mitigates the loss of the general coverage RX, and I
have a K1 for portable use.  There's a 706mk2G in my
truck, and an HW-101, PSK20, and Warbler in the shop
downstairs.  So I'm not radio poor.  But the main
shack (with 80' Rohn 55G tower and multiple yagis) is
Elecraft-powered.

I have no plans to add the Icom back, once I recover
financially.  I'd rather buy the new Elecraft amp, and
I will also be early in line to buy another Elecraft
radio that has more bells and whistles than the K2 --
as long as it has an equal or better receiver to the
K2.  If not, the K2 will be the horse to beat for many
years to come.

Hope this helps.

73  Steve KZ1X/4

* * *

Stephen S. Jackson
CTO
RadarFind Corporation
2 Davis Drive
P.O. Box 13169
Research Triangle Park, NC  27709
[phone]
[phone] cell
http://www.radarfind.com
[hidden email]

* * *

RadarFind:  Where, Matters.


               
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