If it was me (and it isn't  ), I wouldn't try to make one radio
accomplish all the things that you are trying to do.

For portable, battery powered operation, none of these radios
really does that very well, even the FT-817D. The reason is that
it pulls over 300 mA when it is just sitting squelched, which is
quite a lot of current.

There are some QRP radios available, such as the Wilderness
Radio, Elecraft and Small Wonder Labs radios, that draw less
than 30 mA when receiving; a factor-of-10 improvement.

Then you could purchase your main station radio without having
to make any compromises to accomodate portable operating,
and use something totally different for your portable operations.

In the ARRL 10m Contest, there was a significant amount of activity above 28100 KHz.

73
Scott

As I understand it, 'redneck' is a term that originated in Britain, although I believe it's no
longer part of their vernacular.

It was a disparaging term for Scottish Covenanters (read more about them on Wikipedia).

The image conveyed then is similar to that in the States today; a truculent rural people.

73 Scott W5ESE

I've been to a couple presentations about the Texas QSO Party,
and I enjoyed watching those.

The ones that don't interest me are the ones that are not related
to radio.

Some clubs get so desparate for topics that they have
presentations on unrelated subjects; electric power plants,
photography, astronomy, etc.

I'd prefer that a club either have a radio-related topic, or just
have an informal gathering around a meal, and gab with others
about what they're enjoying in the hobby.

Most amateurs send with their right hand. I do, although I am definitely left-handed. It's best to send the way most
amateurs do if you anticipate operating as a guest at times in someone else's shack (or with a group of other Morse ops at an event like ARRL Field Day).

I think they're very different radios.

If you primarily value "raw radio" receiver performance (sensitivity, ip3 and blocking dynamic range, etc), you probably will go for the K2.

If you more value the ability to control most aspects of the radio with software, the Jupiter would probably be a better fit.

It would probably be more reasonable to compare the K2 with the Ten-Tec Omni series.
73
Scott W5ESE

I think you made the right choice.

I occasionally take a QRP rig on backpacking trips, and find that 40m is a better fit for operating in
the evenings, when I am in camp and have a little time to get on the air.

If you haven't yet, look into the activities of the Adventure Radio Society 'Spartan Sprints', and
also 'Summits on the Air' for activities to put your new radio to use.

The 'Summits on the Air' activity is more likely to be on 20m, although I've made 40m contacts as
a summit station, too.

Don't know if they still do, but the ARRL had a package deal in which you could get a 40m Cub and
the book 'Low Power Communications' for a pretty nice price.

73
Scott W5ESE

I have three Rockmites (3579.5, 7040 and 14060 KHz). I use them from time to time, primarily on
camping trips. Something magic about using a minimal radio from my tent a few miles from the
nearest road.

You sound like a good candidate to dabble in QRP ARCI's 'Pet Rock Contest' (on January 7 2012).

I've participated in it a couple of times, and had fun.

You don't have to be a QRP ARCI member to participate.

http://www.qrparci.org/content/view/8373/118/

73
Scott W5ESE

I just put in a minor effort. Here is the distribution from my log:

[scottm@shingleHills 2011]$ ./analyzeSSLog < W5ESE.LOG
1920    1
1930     
1940    4
1950   27
1960   35
1970   21
1980    6
1990    2
2000    3
2010     
total:  99

Quite a bulge from the 1950's through the 1970's.
Scott W5ESE

Maybe he just likes the call, and it has nothing to do with contesting? 

May come as a shocker to some of you guys, but there are some hams that don't live for
contesting.

I also like his Swedish cousin's call, 'SE5E'. 

73
Scott

I disagree with this; Field Day is a well-selected example precisely
because it draws out a large number of operators that do not
regularly participate in contests, and so it is a much more accurate
reflection of the hobby than the DX Contests, WPX, etc.

I think the excessive emphasis on emergency communications will be the death of ham radio.

See if we can break a >50 year old record.

1677 CW Sweepstakes logs submitted in 1958. Unequaled to this day.

http://sites.google.com/site/arsw5ese/home/sweepstakes-participation

I just remembered; it was in 'The Wayback Machine'.

http://www.twiar.org/aaarchives/WB034.txt

Dick Bash claimed his operation was 100% legal. He said that since the
questions were available via a FOIA request, they weren’t classified and
could be published. He further stated that he was justified in publishing
“The Final Exam” because the syllabus and License Manuals out there did not
adequately prepare applicants for the exams. Indeed, FCC records showed
that the failure rate at some exam sessions was 69%--less than 1 out of 3
passed. This was before the Volunteer Exam program. FCC exams were given
at the 20 field offices nationwide, and at quarterly, semi-annual, and
annual examination sites. If you failed, it might be 3 months or more
before you could retake the test.

I read somewhere (think it was on AC6V) that the passing rate for the Advanced Class exam back when the FCC was administering it was about 30%. Times have certainly changed.