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| Reviews Summary for Elecraft K2/100 |
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Reviews: 83
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Average rating: 4.7/5
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MSRP: $589 (K2), $349 (KPA100)
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Description: 100W SSB/CW 160-10M HF Transceiver Kit
(K2 Transceiver built with KPA100 Internal Option)
High performance RX plus silent diode switched T/R at 100W
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More info: http://www.elecraft.com
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K1LI
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 22, 2010 13:25
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Still a great rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I built s/n 3070 in 2001 to replace my FT1000MP, whose front end used to fold like a cheap suit under crowded contest conditions. My fully-loaded K2/100 did take me several weeks of spare time to build, but it worked as specified the first time I turned it on. I learned a lot in the building process, finishing with what became my primary rig for seven years and which I continue to use regularly next to my K3 in SO2R contesting.
The K2's combination of high performance, portability and durability, and my intimate knowledge of how to fix it if something should go wrong (which it never has) make it ideal for portable and DXpedition operations.
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WA2DTW
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 29, 2009 08:11
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Never ceases to amaze me
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I previously reviewed the QRP K2, before building the 100W amplifier. This had included the 160 and 60 meter modules, the SSB, audio filter and noise blanker options. I highly recommend the Rework Eliminators.
I found the amplifer build a bit more difficult than the basic K2, mostly in fitting everything together. But now that it is completed, it works like a charm. The QSK CW is silky smooth. I have received only complements on the SSB audio. (using an alinco hand microphone). Although there are still some trips back to the manual, the basic operation is simple and intuitive. Have not tried the DSP. The only real shortcoming may be the lack of AM, and the lack of general coverage. But this is a great radio for the money. And you can fix it yourself, especially with Elecraft's excellent support staff.
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ZL2AIM
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 14, 2009 23:33
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Worked first time!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I had built a K1 about 7 years ago and it had been a great little rig. I then got a K2 which I was very happy with and some weeks ago decided to add some bits and pieces.
I ordered the 160 meter module, the KAT100 tuner and the 100 watt PA.
I am afraid that one of my weak points is failing to do a complete stocktake of all the parts. With all the accessories delivered it ended up that I was short of one capacitor and an incorrect speaker socket. These were replaced by Elecraft.
I added the 160 m module first and that worked fine. Then came the 100 watt tuner. That also went together without any hitch and it tunes up my G5RV and long wire without any problems.
Then I tackled the 100 watt PA. Everything went as per the manual and then came the testing. Once again no problem. But how did it perform?
After doing a bit of testing on 40 meters CW at 20 watts output, I put it up to 80 watts and seeing as no smoke was coming out of the box, I called CQ. Within 3 calls, I had EA7AVP giving me a 579. That is pretty close to being my antipode and he is 19,900 kms from me in North Island New Zealand. I was using my G5RV and the KAT100 tuner. Next evening I called again on 40 meters with 80 watt output and had QSO's with Venezuela and Germany (13,000 and 18,000 kms respectively.) Both with good reports.
I really like this rig (not just because I built it) but because it does everything I want it to do on CW which is 99% of my operation. It is my rig of choice and I feel that my other rigs are no slouches when it comes to performance (TS570 and TS870) So at this time I see no need for me to drool over a K3 as this rig does it all for me and then some......
I have no hesitation in giving it a 5.
Ian ZL2AIM
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KS1U
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 8, 2009 17:41
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A throwback to hands on Ham Radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I now have a few weeks of using the K2 after building it with all the available options. I have designed and built most of my own equipment since I was first licensed in 1966. This xcvr is a superb radio. You would have to spend much more money to get an equal or marginally better piece of equipment. One of the questions I have seen from the few detractors of the K2 is "Why would someone spend $1500 on a kit?" If you have to ask that question, then I'm afraid you'll never understand my answer. While I don't begrudge anyone for being an appliance operator, there has always been something compelling for me about putting together a bunch of parts and communicating with someone else on the other side of the earth. Additionally, if you buy a radio today and it develops an out of warranty problem, you're going to have to pack it up and send it off to be repaired at a fairly hefty price per hour plus shipping. The K2 is user repairable and modifiable. By the time you complete the kit, you have at least partially disassembled and reassembled the radio a few times to check portions of the radio sequentially. Repairs, if you should ever need them will be a snap. The radio is easy to use although there is a learning curve to any new product. The receiver and transmitter are a joy to operate and it has such a small footprint you can mount it anywhere. If you are a builder with moderate experience you'll be able to put everything together if you take your time and read the directions first. If you're looking for a nice project which you can use and display with pride get the K2, you'll love it. If you are concerned about the few people on this forum who have panned the K2, I assure you they didn't follow either assembly or alignment directions.
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AD4C2006
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 19, 2009 20:20
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K2 a Great radio to own
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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For years I tried to find a decent fully loaded already assembled K2 but had no luck,nevertheless I got my new K3 serial 2192 on 11/08 and I am very pleased with it but still the wishes to have the K2 was in my heart.Finally after a recent decent trade with a guy who professionally assembled this one,serial 03511 and add every single board Elecraft designed for it,including a wide filter for 2.6Khz,I received yesterday my used but mint condition fully loaded K3-100 with the external automatic ant tuner KAT.
My first impression was WOW ! it look beautiful,very lite,very portable that make it perfect for field day,picnics,dxpeditions,etc.
When I hooked it up to the PS and my HyGain vertical,another surprise,the receiver seemed broken or misaligned,it was so quite that was hard to believe it was working,and tunning the 20M band,found stations all over,even from Europe very strong,even without the preamp ON.
This one has the filters set as follow
SSB
FL-1 2.6Khz
FL-2 2.4Khz
FL-3 2.0Khz
FL-4 1.6Khz
CW
FL-1 1.6Khz
FL-2 0.7Khz
FL-3 0.4Khz
FL-4 0.2Khz
When working SSB very weak stations within band noise level it was very easy to pull them up using the 2.0Khz and the NB trough the DSP,funny thing was that with the FT-2000 I could not pull them up.Same deal on CW,using the narrow 400 and 200Hz is very easy to select weak stations from the noise even having strong stations at just 1Khz apart.The selectivity is as good as my K3
Now comes the part of this review that you will not believe,I have been doing all day for more than 12 hours comparisons A/B switching same antenna between my K3 and this K2 and guess what,the K2 is quiter than the K3,also when QRN is heavy,the NR and NB of the K2 performs definitively better than the K3,it seems that been single conversion and using mannualy variable bandwith on the ladder filter makes the K2 receiver much better than the K3.
This don't mean I will get rid of my K3,no way,it has more features the K2 don't have like monitor,RX/TX EQ,digital modes trough cw TX,etc but for weak dx signals and heavy noise,the K2 at least on my qth,performs better than my K3 and way better than my FT-2000.
This radio is a keeper,if you have a chance to get one fully loaded like mine,don't think twice,it will outperform what other radio you have at your qth.Again Elecraft,thanks for having designed a high performance radio in a very small package.
Hector
AD4C
07/19/09
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N2DTS
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 23, 2009 12:52
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Best small rig
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I just built another K2, the basic K2 took me 3 days of part time work, all the options took me another 2 weeks, the noise blanker, 160 meters, the 20 watt int ant tuner, the 100 watt amp, the 100 watt antenna tuner, the rs232 port, and the ssb option.
I put the 100 watt amp and tuner in the same ec2 case, that way, the basic K2 sits on the table in the den allowing me to listen to the bands while the wife watches TV, and I just carry it into the shack, hook up 3 cables (antenna, power and rs232) and I am ready to go 100 watts with auto antenna tuner. I dont have to take the qrp K2 apart to go qro.
I use an old radio shack dynamic hifi mic I had around, and got some great audio reports on SSB.
The SSB option really improves the sound of the received SSB signals, it has a much better filter (at wider bandwidths) for SSB, and you can set it at various bandwidths when you build it.
Its not ESSB but it sounds very nice to me with a bookshelf hifi speaker.
The last K2 I built was about a year ago? and it seems the rig and the assembly process have been improved quite a bit, I remember looking where to install a resistor or cap for 15 minutes till I found the spot, that did not happen this time, they bunch things in area's and give clues where the part goes, so its much faster to build.
I had no issues or problems with the entire project, after some trying to do it the quick way and failing, I did the freq calibration the way they say on the web page and quickly had it spot on.
I dont know how many parts in total I got with all the options, thousands, but I did not have one missing part, not one bad part, amazing!
The price with all the options adds up, plus it takes a good amount of work building it, but building it is the fun part, its really fun if you like that sort of thing (I do).
Building a K2 requires a good lighted magnifier, a good soldering station with a small tip, and the small side cutters.
Its also best to have a place with room to build, I build on the operating desk and it gets tight, and some micro capacitor WILL fall off the desk and bounce someplace...
Keep other rigs off while building, they distract and can cause mistakes..
What do you get after you are done the building?
A small radio that works really well.
It works better than the big fancy radios in most respects, but does not have stuff like bandscopes, auto notch, or second receivers.
You get great raw receiver performance, its sensitive, VERY quiet and clean, with NO off frequency trash getting through.
No dsp artifacts, no odd AGC operation, just the signal you want to listen to.
Its likely the best analog can do, and does not have digital and dsp issues that some modern rigs have.
The K2 is a LOT of fun, dont miss out.
Brett
N2DTS
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9V1VV
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 6, 2009 09:51
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Hard Work
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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OK, the K2 is old news by now. It is probably the last transceiver kit to be offered by any manufacturer, anywhere in the world, which uses discrete components.
The new K3 is really an easy assembly job where you fit together pre-made SMT boards with a screwdriver.
The K2 100 needs about 30 to 40 hours of work. It is not for busy people with things to do. If you are already in the electonics industry you will get an appreciation of how assembly line girls feel.
It can be very boring. It all depands on your state of mind.
The finished article is a thing to behold. Elegant for sure. And the receiver, once aligned and calibrated correctly, can beat any professional marine or government communications receiver hands down.
It is quite simply a great CW receiver. A single superhet with excellent image rejection plus superb dynamic range and sensitivity, making you ask the question - why didn't Elecraft just stick to receiver design?
The answer is of course that receivers don't sell. A transceiver is what the average ham wants.
Tne transmitter is so-so when compared with others. In the tropics the 100 watt amp overheats in a few minutes and you need to instal extra fans on the heatsink. The tiny whizzer fan supplied is just not up to the job.
If you are also into SSB, PSK32 and RTTY you need to spend a lot more money on options.
If your time is valuable, maybe it would be more cost effective to buy an Icom ready made?
But I go back to the receiver, which for a CW man is the ultimate. For that alone it is worth the effort.
Would have been a 5/5 but the transmitter is not up to scrach.
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KR4OW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 17, 2008 07:52
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Just keeps getting better
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Its been awile since my last review and I did so with the old config. of only 15 watts.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/92?page=2
I built mine back in June 2004 with SSB,160M,NB,KIO2 option. Now with the KPA100 Option This rig has done nothing but continue to the job I need it to. As far as the alignment issue went I had no problem I followed the instructions to the letter. It did 990 q's in this years field day (K4FC)in 20hrs of operation It got me 4th US 1st 4 call area in 2005 CQWW single band low power 160m its strong signal handling and tight filters do a really good job. I spent extra time when it came to doing the agc timing to fine tune it so there is no issues for
me like I had on my Yaesu MK5 Field
Pet peeves Vox
This will be in the shack for a few years to come
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N2DTS
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 4, 2008 16:55
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great cw radio.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Its REAL fun to build.
It works REAL well on receive.
Nothing wrong with the transmitter on CW.
I think they pushed it to far by adding ssb and the dsp stuff, it was never designed for that, and it shows.
No built in ant tuner with the 100 watt amp.
Its got to be the best rig you can build yourself though, and everyone who is fond of building should get one.
I built #6065 in a few days, no problems, but the alignment is a real pain, as others have pointed out, but once its done its done, unless you change something (say sidetone pitch).
Elecraft does simple RF design, that works really well, then they use complex computer tricks to get it to work like a normal rig, but they are very fond of compressing the controls, no band buttons, its up/down, every button has at least 2 functions, many things are in menus.
The rig is very small, which is incredible for something you build, and that works so well.
Its amazing how they designed it to be built, yet it comes out so nice.
The K2 is at its best as a cw qrp rig with the antenna tuner built in, the tuner remembers band settings for 2 different antenna's, is fast, and seems to tune anything, and you get much better power control with it.
The 100 watt amp seemed to work great for me, but you loose the auto tuner built in.
I give it a 4 in the general ham shack department, but it would be a 10 if you had to take a 100 watt rig to the top of mount Everest.
Its very small, very light, and uses very little power.
Its also a 10 in the 'you build it' department.
Brett
N2DTS
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W2RBA
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 8, 2008 10:26
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Great Rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my K2 for 7 years now and it occurred to me I never reviewed it when I got the 100 watt PA, so here are a few comments about just the PA. Mind you, my review of the K2 as a low power rig was that it was a wonderful rig, both in the building and the operating phase.
The KPA100, too, is just about perfect. When I take off one the side panels on the rig, you can see quite clearly how everything just fits beautifully, real concern for making that way was exercised by Elecraft. By the time I built the amp, I had purchased a desolding iron and that made the stripping of the the toroid wires as easy as, well, pie. It worked the first time and puts out a conservative 100 watts (I can crank it up to 120 in some cases, but concerned about linearity, I limit it 100). In short, it transforms the K2 into a typical 100 watt class transceiver -- except that the resultant rig is hardly "typical". Thank you Elecraft! Now, when will my K3 arrive? :)
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