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write your own review of the Elecraft K2.
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KC0FNS
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 24, 2010 17:53
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10W K2 is FB for my small rig space and crowded city lot
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought my 10W K2 years ago, second hand, with noise blanker, antenna tuner, SSB interface, internal battery and 160M kit. In the 5+ years that I have had K2 #559, I have used the K2 mobile, fixed and even with temporary wire antennas. Because of the community of knowledgeable folks on the web and the elecraft email list and Elecraft staff, I have been able to repair and maintain all the little glitches, and learn to use most every little feature this gem has to offer.
Since signals are often low when I want to operate, I love the scan feature of the K2 while I am at my computer. A friend loaned me a TenTec Jupiter which I used for a couple of years, but I ultimately found the K2 much easier to operate and service.
Right now, some of the close in signal handling capabiltiy is lost on me, as I use small antennas, but the filters are ready and capable when I need them. Lately I have started to use the SSB, and find QRP SSB to be fun!
To me, the front panel is easy to use, and the secondary functions of the buttons become second nature, even for a casual operator like myself. Over the years, I have had a few commercial HF radios now and this is the only one that I won't part with.
73,
Mark - KC0FNS, Colorado Springs, CO
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KG4WEZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 24, 2010 08:11
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Great radio, great kit!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I missed the Heathkit era, wanted to build something, the manual is excellent and it is obvious that one reviewer did not read it! It is so much fun to build that I am considering buying another K2. As to the performance: I reached the Russian research station in Antartica on 20m at midnight from North Carolina in the worst band conditions with 30 watts on PSK31. On SSB I get New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa with 100w on 20m. I know the band conditions are bad but this seems to be able to hear these station and make contact. BTW I am using a Carolina Windom at 33ft (not a beam!). Great radio designed by hams for hams! Start with the mini kits first then get the courage to tackle the K2.
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VK3GMO
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 23, 2009 18:40
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OK but
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have been out of ham radio since valves were the only go. I was attracted to the K2 due to the "state of the Art" reputation. My build went ok but seems I had one wind extra on my toroids...didn't realise the first pass through the core represented a wind. Learned my lesson. The unit was checked and aligned by an Elecraft technician. BTW I bought a Yaesu FT 840 to get on the air quickly on Ebay for $440 AUD. Best way to summarise the K2 is to compare. Sensitivity....goes to the 840 primarily due to better audio quality. The K2 can be fine tuned to exceed the 840 but by the time you have done that the station has likely disappeared. Transmit, audio reports on the K2 with the Elecraft mike are ordinary but signal was good. wouldn't claim a practical difference here, both put out above 100 watts according to my wattmeter.
Useability I would give the 840 the edge. If I had had an opportunity to test both, I would have gone for the 840 as the price differential is huge. Documentation is good for building the Elecraft but troubleshooting doco is only going to get you close. I also built the K2 ATU and the combination is truly great. Tunes quickly and seems to match anything...but being an old timer I am well used to manual tuning. Summary, I am not convinced technology has truly advanced so far in the last 50 years. Guess that is why there is such a premium on some of the old gear. I would be interested in other views as I seem to be the odd one out here!
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NB4M
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 17, 2009 12:10
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Beyond Expectations
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The K2 exceeds expectations.
Superior receiver, filtering, and signal processing.
Fabulous CW for the casual, DX, or contest environments. Great service and great product.
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N7KRT
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Rating: 5/5
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May 15, 2009 10:48
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Great Radio-Requires effort to reap benefits
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have been using my K2 since May of 2007, and I like it more each time I fire it up. The receiver is so nice...I can slide right up against S9 plus CW sigs, dial down the filter bandwidth, and work an S2 guy with no AGC pumping or desense. I can't even get close to that kind of performance with my TS480 and narrow CW filter. I have the SSB option, and after tweaking, it sounds just fine. And the internally generated noise is for all intents and purposes just non-existent.
It does take some work to assemble, a bit of patience and attention to detail to successfully build the rig. And you should be ready to and enjoy the process of setting up (alignment) and fine tuning the radio for best performance. It is a labor of love. This is not for those who don't have a bit of experimenter in them...You gotta enjoy the process or you will not really appreciate the rig, nor will you be able to achieve the fine performance the K2 can provide.
I guess the customer service qualities of Elecraft have been mentioned in almost all of the reviews...let me just say "Top Notch!"
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AC7A
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Rating: 5/5
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May 15, 2009 08:10
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K2 - a decade of performance
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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It is hard to believe that in June it will be 10 years since I built my K2. During that time it has been a solid, reliable performer. It has always been a level 5 performer from my experiences. This radio has been to Europe, Hawaii and multiple mountain top Field Days with me. It is the basis for most of my QRP operations. My K1 is used when I am packing light.
Indeed as other have mentioned the alignment and filter settings must be set up correctly. That takes practice and patients to get it right. Within the past year I re-educated myself on the procedures and was rewarded with much better sounding audio on SSB. Now the radio sounds more balanced between LSB and USB, and CW and CW-reverse.
My K2 is with me for the long haul.
'73, Thomas - AC7A
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N4DSP
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Rating: 5/5
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May 15, 2009 05:46
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W8YG here you go
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I will take your radio and pay shipping W8YG. The K2 needs to be aligned properly for it to perform and this might be the problem with your radio. I am 100% CW and its one of the finest rigs for cw.
I prefer FedEx over UPS.
john
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EA1BSU
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Rating: 5/5
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May 15, 2009 02:40
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Good audio ! !
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have built all the Elecraft transceivers for me and different some for friends. The audio of the K2 (and generally of the Elecraft radios) is not too much powerful but the quality is very good.
Certainly I do not believe that thousands of satisfied users are all masochists.
Alex, EA1BSU
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N0XE
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Rating: 5/5
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May 14, 2009 14:11
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bad audio??
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Have had three K-2's and know exactly what the previous poster is talking about, one of mine sounded aweful, very high pitched, turnd out it had a problem in alignment and I am sure this is what he has experienced. Going to Utube and watching the many videos on the K-2 will quickly show a proper working K-2 is an awesome machine and has super audio. I hope he got it fixed and did not get rid of it, It is one super radio.
73 Jim N0XE
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W8YG
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Rating: 0/5
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May 14, 2009 13:39
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How can you stand to listen to this radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Somebody take this radio please.Awful plan awful audio on recieve. I cant imagine listening to CW for more than 10 minutes and then heading for the bathroom for extra strength tylanol..
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