| K0KZO |
Rating:      |
2006-06-08 | |
| Spectacular ! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I aquired a mint used K2 recently. (80m-10m, CW only, low-power, KAT2 installed). No other options. I wanted to use it as a portable for my car and patio, but now I have reservations because this is a kick@$$ QRP base station !!
In comparing it with my entry level Yaesu FT-840 on a quiet band, the practical sensitivity is about the same to my ears. However, this K2 just blows the doors off of it as far as selectivity goes. I have a decent 500hz filter in my Yaesu, but the filters in this K2 are spectacular!
I recently used it in the CQWW prefix contest. I casually tuned around the bands and logged 81 contacts with 79 mults in just a few short hours of operation. Several DX stations from Europe and Japan included. Never was there a time when a strong station wiped out a weaker one and I operated with 5 watts the whole time.
I'm not one to dwell on receiver specs. I just want a rig that is simple to use and performs. This one performs and really gives me confidence as a new QRP/CW operator.
73, Doug |
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| KA3IXF |
Rating:      |
2006-05-29 | |
| MY APARTMENT RIG |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I built the Elecraft K2/100 and I use it with a homebrew helically wound dipole sitting on my third floor window sill. I did not expect too much from the rig, but to my suprise, I have worked all of Europe on 20 meter cw, and alot of rare dx. I also enjoy getting on 40 meter cw and rag chewing about the rig. This is the perfect Apartment Dwellers Rig.
Bill, KA3IXF |
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| UR5LAM |
Rating:      |
2006-05-15 | |
| K2 #5287 in air now! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
My K2 has the high-sensitivity receiver with very small own-noise level. I have been surprised, as weak signals easily are accepted, is especial on 160&80m bands. Thanks all team of Elecraft for excellent product, service, patience, high qualification of technical support experts, and certainly to founders of this excellent radio!
73! Alex UR5LAM ur5lam@yahoo.com |
|
| LU5OM |
Rating:      |
2006-03-18 | |
| PLUG & PLAY K2 # 5310 ALIVE |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
My K2 is on the air CW'ing all over the place....I even entered the RUDX
contest, on this weekend, and I have made a few countries. What a pleasure!
QRP, of course...the KPA100 is still in the box.
I am a Portuguese ham living in Spanish-speaking Argentina. I am 58 and have
been a ham since the age of 15. CW and RTTY are my favourite modes.
PLEASE ALLOW ME TO THANK A GENTLEMAN FOR HIS HELP
I had a problem for quite some time on the TX side of the rig and, honestly,
I was embarassed to take it up here on the forum. I am sure, from what I
read everyday here, the Elecraft community would get me out of trouble as
well but, my knowledge was so limited, that I did not want to tire everyone
here. Somehow I felt it was surely a silly mistake on my part. Therefore, I
asked Don, W3FPR, to help me and, for a few weeks, Don patiently and
expertly guided me through the testing procedures. I finally found the
problem and yes, you guessed it right, I had a bad solder!
I would like to express my gratitude to Don for his assistance and endless
patience.
THE PROBLEM IN BRIEF FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS
The rx on the K2 was perfect but I could not get more than 200 mw of power.
I was at the 40 METER TRANSMITTER ALIGNMENT section on page 75 (right
column) and adjustment of L1 and L2 did not produce any power results. To
make matters worse I had an old analog meter and I did not have a dummy load
(ooops!).
Don strongly suggested I did away with my analog meter and buy a dummy load.
When all measurements throughout the PREDRIVER-PA BIAS-DRIVER-POWER
AMPLIFIER were over and the situation did not change, and although I had
checked and re-checked all pads many times, indeed I found a bad solder on
C121 and perhaps (I am not sure) another one on one leg of T1. I re-soldered
that and, a few seconds later, my K2 was on the air. It took me the best
part of two weeks to find the problem.
MY PLUG AND PLAY K2:
I would also like to address my experience with the REWORK ELIMINATORS (an
after market K2 accessory) that I bought from Gary Hvizdak, KI4GGX and Ken
Kaplan, WB2ART. My K2 is now a Plug and Play unit for all options, and
assembly, believe you me, was a breeze. All parts arrived in perfect order
and after annotating a few changes on the K2 assembly manual, everything
worked as indicated and what a relief...no rework has to be done and every
option plugs in and works perfectly. Congratulations are due to these two
gentlemen for an innovative and extremely efficent product. Thank you Gary
and Ken!
FINALLY
My gratitude to Elecraft. For someone whose recollection of a soldering iron
dates back to a few 6L6's, some EL84's, a Geloso VFO and an 807, this has
been a rewarding experience. It was a challenge but Elecraft, with their
perfect design, quality of components, perfect packaging and shipment (thank
you Lisa, Pam, Val and Chris) made it possible.
Although they are now fully-loaded with praise I must, however, congratulate
and thank Wayne and Eric for their products. You gentlemen have made me a
very happy ham again!
FOR THOSE WHO WONDER
My previous rig? A Yaesu FT1000MP
Was it good? Yes indeed.
Would I buy another MP? No, but I hope I can buy another K2 and re-live this
soldering fun all over again.
Do I miss the MP's receiver? Honestly? No.
73
Manuel Wilches
LU5OM
CT4IK
ex - CR6IK, XX6IK, D2AIK, CT4IK/LU, LU6TEA, LU6T, AY5OM.
|
|
| GM0ELP |
Rating:      |
2006-03-11 | |
| Superb |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Elecraft have left nothing to chance by spending time making the manual suitable for the first time builder with no electronics experience, thus maximising the build success rate. I took my time, never had to ask for any support, and it worked with no problems at all, first time.
The receiver is as good as anything out there (I also own a MkV and an IC751A) and the QSK is so quiet I didn't believe it was sending until someone came back.
The beauty of this transceiver is that it isn't like a normal kit where you love it despite it's flaws because you built it. It's a fully featured, no compromise, top performing transceiver that could replace any of the big four's £2000 offerings, believe it!
It's such a rewarding experience to build a K2 it's well thought out, well documented, well designed and the engineering precision is second to none.
Thank you Elecraft.
Doug
GM0ELP |
|
| VK2NU |
Rating:      |
2006-03-10 | |
| Brilliant |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I've just built my second K2. The first time around I had nothing to compare the radio against, as it was my only rig at the time.
This time around I have been able to do some side by side tests with my FT1000mp (with all optional filters installed).
Basically, without going into any technical details, anything that can be heard on the Yaesu can be heard equally as well on the K2.
I don't think it's all that fair to say one rig is better than another, because a lot of it comes down to personal taste. But when you consider the basic K2 is cheaper than the cost of just the optional filters on the FT1000mp, you have to take your hats off to the people at Elecraft.
For the price, I don't think you'll find a better radio, and you get the added enjoyment of building the thing yourself.
----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by VK2NU on 2004-06-23
I've only had the radio up and running for a few weeks so don't think I can give it a 5 yet, but initial thoughts are positive.
I've always been a closet homebrewer and kit builder, but the K2 with 100w PA, SSB module, 160m module, and KAT100 ATU were by far the most complex kits I've tackled.
The actual building was great fun, and like a really good book I had to drag myself away from it a few times during the early hours of the morning. The instructions are very, very, well set out and a breeze to follow. I did have a couple of problems, which were in all cases due to poor soldering, or missed solder joints. The support and help from Elecraft in finding these was excellent, and could not be faulted.
My previous rig was a TS570SG, which I'd had for 3 years and only sold to finance the purchase of the K2. The Kenwood is well known for having a great receiver for the money, but to date I'd say that the K2 would just about match this.
The TX side is great although I have heard that SSB side of things is not the best (not really a problem for me), and for me, the radio has a very good balance of functions. In other words, it has everything you need, but is not overloaded with minor functions like some of the big commercial radios.
All in all, the only negatives I have with the radio is the poor action of the tuning knob, which seems to be something a lot of operators dislike. The price, which is not really the fault of the people at Elecraft, but more to do with the US-Australia exchange rates, postal costs and import taxes.
All up I have no major grumbles about selling my Kenwood, but I'll post another review after I've had a good chance to try the radio out during our summer months, when hopefully the conditions are a little better. The real test of the RX will be how well it pulls in the Dx on the 80M ??
Cheers
David, VK2NU |
|
| WA8VBX |
Rating:      |
2006-01-23 | |
| Outstanding |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I traded 2 radios for my K2 and I think I got the better deal. Wow I was surprised when I hooked it up. The receive was great, and the ATU tuned my G5RVjr on everything freq from 75 meters thru 10 meters. I have the 160 options but don't think I will try it until I get a better antenna up. Still getting use to the menus etc but it is getting easier each time I use it. This is a keeper and will be used while traveling also. |
|
| W6LAX |
Rating:      |
2006-01-14 | |
| Remarkable |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I hesitate writing a K-2 review because what can I add to all the great things other uses have said? But after nine months of using my K2/100 (# 4714) I do want to reinforce a couple of points and possibly encourage someone considering this kit.
This kit is a joy to build. I so enjoyed building the K-1 a year earlier that I was looking forward to having a block of time to construct the K-2. Once I got started it didn’t take as long as I had expected – although I was very careful and methodical.
I made a single error during assembly: not taking Elecraft’s warnings about ESD seriously enough. After damaging a component on the control board, mid-construction I purchased an ESD-safe soldering iron and an anti-static mat. Elecraft’s tech support was patient and encouraging in helping me chase down the damaged part and correct the problem.
The performance of this receiver is as good as it gets. I already was running a Yaesu Mark V and an IC 765, both of which are fine receivers, yet I was hankering to try something new. But after reviewing the lab tests of other receivers and the comments of various users I concluded that the K-2 might be a superior receiver (at a fraction of the price!).
Let me be clear that I have virtually no SSB experience with this, but a lot of CW and some RTTY. I have added the 100-watt amp, the noise blanker and the SSB option. The SSB option allows digital modes and interfaces with computer logging programs. I already had a Timewave DSP 599-zx or I would have purchased the DSP option.
The first thing I noticed is how quiet the K-2 is – a considerably lower noise floor than the Mark V and the IC-765. Second, there is not the de-sensitizing from nearby strong signals that other rigs have: you tune across the band and suddenly – bam – a signal just pops out of nowhere.
I have run this side-by-side with my other receivers listening to very weak signals and the K-2 wins each time. The noise blanker is better than the IC765 and about equal to the Mark V.
There are a number of nice features that actually are missing from some of the big-name rigs: a tune button, a memory keyer, a slick band-scan function, and a couple of menu shortcuts, among other things. All the menus are intuitive and with a little practice easy to access. A simple turn of the power knob and the main PA shuts off leaving your with a true QRP rig.
This is the only transmitter I’ve owned where I actually get compliments on the quality of my CW signal – a far cry from the key clicks many of the newer rigs inflict on the band.
The biggest problem I had was getting the RTTY filters aligned. It was a confusing process, and I think Elecraft could be clearer about how to do this. However, after some thought and patience, and using the Spectrogram software Elecraft suggests, I got everything perfectly aligned. Using MMTTY, I copy weak DX RTTY stations that my Mark V cannot decode, and the filters are so sharp that there is no discernable desensitizing from nearby signals, even during contests. (If you continue to run the Spectrogram software while operating you have some of the experience of the displays on the newer big-name rigs.)
As others have commented, the audio output on the K-2 is a bit weak. To overcome this I run an amplified external speaker.
I wish the PA would tolerate more power on the full duty cycle digital modes. I run mine at a conservative 20-watts, which gives me 400 to 500 watts from my linear, but there are times I miss having the full 1500 watts that the Mark V can drive from my Ameritron.
This is a truly great receiver, and Elecraft deserves kudos for their customer support.
|
|
| K3EY |
Rating:      |
2006-01-07 | |
| STUPEFIES |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I recently purchased a complete K2/100 and since my life is beyond overflowing and knowing the warranty would expire before I had it built I looked at the Builders For Hire list on the Elecraft site. At the top of the list I picked what turned out to be a builder who not only is a true expert but a gentlemen as well, Jim K4ZM. He provided blow by blow details and pictures of the progress, a great choice and pleasant experience. Having owned the PRO series HF radios I was pleasantly shocked at the power in this little box that came together from what seems like a million parts. Doing A&B tests right next to a PRO III the K2 heard everything just as good and in some instances even a little better. I found that both radios hear about the same overall, although, the PRO is way easier to manipulate as it is just about totally intuitive where the K2 has a definite learning curve to achieve the same results. For example pushing two buttons at once and going thru menus where the PRO lets you see everything graphically. I notice the K2 does more than 100 watts, more like 110 where the PRO is exactly right at 100 watts. The K2 fan does not kick on half as much where the PRO kicks on even when running QRP and almost constantly. The selectivity believe it or not is almost a match, as far as my ears anyway and not looking at the paper work specs. In a nutshell the K2 has selectivity that is unbelievable matching the PROIII. You can actually do more with the K2 than the PROIII as far as changing parameters around where in the PRO they are set permanently. But you need to know what you are doing and why I left just about everything at factory default settings which works fantastic. I wanted a K2 since they came out and even read about them when the K2 was still in the developing stages and they were asking interested hams for input as to what they wanted in a really great HF radio. I read this stuff years ago when I was doing QRP work big time on QRP-L. It turned out to be more than what I believe most expected considering their sales and the accolades received world wide. You need to actually sit behind one of these small little wonder boxes next to a high-end high priced modern HF radio to really appreciate exactly what these guys developed, it is simply amazing. I found the DSP in the K2 to be at least as good as the PROIII, and the PROIII has been improved and is no slouch, having owned both the original PRO and the PROIII I do know what a good DSP sounds like. I have avoided working low band DX because of antenna restrictions and noise, lots of noise down there. After I received the K2 and found how great the DSP works I started working DX on 80 meters CW, something I never did, not even on the PRO because I thought it impossible, until I actually did it on the K2 using its phenomenal DSP system. The guy who developed that needs to be congratulated big time! What else can I say that already has not been said other than I am very happy I decided to go with K2. It is truly an unknown secret to the many who believe you need display screens and twenty band stacking possibilities to be considered a modern day HF radio, when in reality what is really necessary is a fantastic receiver which the K2 has and then some. |
|
| EA8AY |
Rating:      |
2006-01-01 | |
| k2 SN 5206 on the air |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Fantastic rig, was very funny building step by step with Kdsp2, Knb2 and Ksb2. My first experience with Elecraft was Kx1 and now I sold my Icom 706mk2g for buy the K2, I make a good change. In the first days with 10 w worked TR, I and K3. The tech support for Gary was very nice. Really is a great transceiver. |
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