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Reviews For: Elecraft K2 & K2/100

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : Elecraft K2 & K2/100
Reviews: 262MSRP: 599. USD
Description:
SSB/CW 160-10M HF Transceiver Kit
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.elecraft.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
002624.8
KG0WX Rating: 2005-12-21
Follow up after 7 mo heavy use Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I figured after a hard summer's use I'd report how K2 #4913 is doing. It's now a full blown K2 with all the options - SSB, 160 m, DSP, NB, Battery, PC interface, Transverter interface, 60 meters, Finger Dimple. I've got just over $1,500.00 invested and it's WELL worth it! After the few goofs I made assembling the K2, I learned to be more carefull and putting in all those options was both easy and error free.

I wanted to also comment on the performance of the DSP board - as good as the K2 is, the DSP seems even better! It brings the K2 to a new level of performance both in SSB & CW receving performance. One thing I really like is the ability from the front panel to add gain to the DSP filters. I add 1.5db to each. The DSP is so adjustable you can play for days before setting it up to your liking. I'm not referring to modes & levels specifically but more to setting the attack & decay, bandwidth and such. Once you've got those set, using the DSP is very intuitive.

The noise blanker is 100% absolutly the best on the market with real effectiveness, 2 blanker widths & 2 threshold settings, all adjustable via software from the front panel. Took out a S5 power line buzz on 10m just like that.

4913 has travled much this summer, from an operating demo at a local swapmeet to being disassembled (partially) for an exploded view next to another K2 (operating) at a hamfest. The question always pops up: "Is that *it*?" People are always stunned that such performance and features can be done with so little internal clutter - there are very few wires inside so when you open the radio up it looks like it's been stripped down.

I also built the XG2 reciever tester and 4913 had it's best MDS score of -141.78dbm on 40m, easily beating the published specs on all bands.

Also, the Elecraft reflector has been very helpfull, esp in deciding which options to build next. I gotta admit - I was having so much fun building add-on's that I got silly and now there are no further options to add on as I don't plan on going QRO. The 50 mhz transverter looks nice, though - maybe next month.

The main reason I sold my FT-857D's and went Elecraft was more for the performance aspect than the do it yourself mentality (although I like that, too). I was envious of a fellow ham who was running slightly poorer antennas only 2 miles from me on a FT-920. My friend could often hear signals my FT-857D's were completley deaf to. After building 4913 I was suprised that although I had narrowed the performance gap, I was still not hearing as good as him. Finally one day I took 4913 and my XG2 tester to his house. We measured his FT-920's MDS at -136.6dbm.

Then I hooked 4913 to his antennas - BAM! I had MUCH better reciever performance than his radio! Even he was shocked and a little dismayed at the difference. Turns out I was living on a hilltop with high antennas (line of sight to downtown's many noise sources) and he was in a depression with lower antennas. The noise floor at his QTH was about 2-3 S units lower than at mine.

One last thing I did to 4913 - I bought an engraved brass name tag for the rig from Arkay Engravers ($5.50). They are inexpensive yet do quality work.

Ken KG0WX
F.P. # -1055
K2 #4913, XG2


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Earlier 5-star review posted by KG0WX on 2005-05-28

I just got K2 #4913 completed. I frenetically rushed through assembly and I paid with several errors on my part. Every time, Elecraft's repair guru (Gary) was very quick finding the problem via email or over the phone.

1) I wound T5's primary winding backwards.
2) I had a solder blob on the pins for the PWR pot.
3) I had swapped the CPU clock xtals on the control board.
4) I had installed a diode wrong on the SSB board.

Like I said - Elecraft was quick to find the problems. None required the rig to be sent in or parts to be replaced.

Overall, I spent 50 hours assembling, 10 hours trouble shooting and 1 hour reparing.

In every case the problem was MY fault. By the time I got to the KAT2 internal autotuner, I had refined my procedures and it went together with no errors.

Moral of the story? Be precise in your work or you'll be trouble shooting.

One final note - many of you might not want to build a K2 because you have to wind toroids. Point #1: Elecraft uses a enameled wire that is easy to strip. Point #2: There are OM's listed on the Elecraft website that will wind your toroids for you. Heck there are dozens of op's listed that'll build the whole rig for you for free or almost free. The rig is THAT much fun to build.

Now, to performance - This rig screams! Everything people say about it's performance is true. Also, don't let it's looks fool you - this is NOT a bare bones rig. The menu's & sub-menu's are extensive.

One last thing - Worried about tools? I built mine with a good needle tip 16w soldering pencil, a Radio Shack desoldering iron and a cheap DMM along with basic electronics tools. The rig almost aligned itself using WWV as a reference. It was easy!

Ken KG0WX
K2 #4913
KZ1X Rating: 2005-12-20
SIX years of Happy Hamming Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Our little blue planet has made nearly six trips around its Sun since K2 #0771 took to the airwaves. Therefore, this radio's first signals have now traveled past the nearest star system. Pretty heady stuff when you think about it. A radio that *I* built with my own hands ... well, who knows if "they" have heard me, and just don't have the ability to answer ... yet.

Back here on Earth, however, you won't find a radio that supplies more fun-for-the-buck. Sure - popping open the box of a new ready-built radio with the latest supercomputer inside is a lot of fun, and, I've done it more than once. Lots of sizzle. But no soul.

Credentials? This rig has street smarts, every electron earned ... more than five thousand of these rigs are now on the air, making it among the most popular of ham rigs ever. The Elecraft's receiver remains top tier, excelled only by radios costing $4k and up. And, value? Elecraft rigs are a bargain among bargains ... remember:

A loaded K2 costs LESS than just the FIRST-YEAR'S DEPRECIATION of one of these super rigs!

My six-year old K2 has every factory update, and in performance and features matches the newest 5000-series serial number units. No "forklift" upgrades where you have to sell the old rig to buy the newest model; instead, just a series of pleasant new building experiences.

Wondering where the magic in radio went, after Benton Harbor went back to making only washing machines? You can find it still, with a bit of effort.

There's a funky little town with an odd name - Aptos - on the central California coast.

Start by looking there. You won't be disappointed.
KILOWATT Rating: 2005-12-20
Phenomenal Radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've already posted a review of this radio in the HF Transceiver category but after a few weeks of use I thought I'd take the liberty of posting a follow up review here in the QRP category.

I began construction of my K2 the day after Thanksgiving and let me tell you, it consumed many evenings and a couple of weekends. It is quite tedious to assemble. Not difficult, mind you. Just tedious. There are so many components crowded onto such small pc boards that it is very easy to cause collateral damage to other components with the soldering iron.

The toroids? Good grief. Wind them yourself. It's not difficult in the least. I had read so much hype about them before I got the kit that I was actually scared of them! The worst thing that will happen is that you'll have some sore fingers for a couple of days. They're very small and I wound mine very tight and so my fingers hurt a little for a couple of days. Big deal. The tinning is even easier and actually one of the more fun aspects of the kit! For each lead I would just melt about a four inch piece of solder onto the tip of my soldering iron and then drag the lead through it. It worked great and I have to admit that I got kind of addicted to that smell. So much so that I've even considered offering to wind toroids for other kit builders. haha! Besides, coming from a "ham radio family", I grew up watching my dad, uncles and grandfather wind coils on varnished oatmeal boxes. To me, winding coils is the epitomy of homebrew ham radio! In short, wind them yourself. It's really no big deal.

I never kept accurate track of the time I spent building my K2 but I would say it was somewhere between 50 or 60 hours. Give or take, that is.

I purchased the noise blanker, audio filter w/RTC and also the SSB options. Now I'm thinking I might sell the SSB kit on Ebay because I love the radio so much as a "cw only" rig.

I've received nothing but high praise and good reports on the air. Everyone says it's a "FB radio wid an FB sig." I live in CA and have even made a New Zealand contact with only 5 watts. A short-lived contact but a contact nonetheless.

It's a great little radio. You'll spend quite a few intense evenings and a couple of weekends putting her all together but you'll love the end result. Just take your time. Double and triple check everything before you solder and take breaks often. If you're a smoker, go smoke. There are some points during the build when you want to drive to Aptos, CA and strangle someone but they're few and far between. HAHA!

Highly recommended. Worth every bit of the work.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KILOWATT on 2005-12-01

I just finished assembling my K2 about a week ago and it fired up for the first time with zero problems. I attribute this to the fact that I double and triple read every step in the manual and double and triple checked every component prior to soldering it in place.

I've already made many contacts with it at only 5 watts out. It's a great little radio........once it's complete, that is! Its receive is just slightly better than my Ten Tec Corsair II but my Corsair II is head and shoulders above my FT-847! So the K2(in receive) leaves the FT-847 in the dust.

It's about the size of a cigar box and performs extraordinarily well. I highly recommend one if.....

You know how to solder, can read and follow directions and can step back and use a little common sense whenever the directions leave you confused. It happens a time or two with this kit.

I can sum up this kit with only one word. Tedious. TEDIOUS!!!! It's not a question of soldering skills with this kit but more a question of "How small can you solder?". Everything about this radio is small and you damned near have to be a ballistics expert to pull off some of the maneuvers that are asked of you during its assembly. It can become overwhelming. Trust me.

I also didn't like the fact that Elecraft obviously made some design changes with this radio and instead of having the radio re-tooled, they opted for having you "jerry-rig" capacitors and diodes across heat sensitive IC pins. Also making the end result look like some kind of hack job. I have to admit that for the amount I spent on this kit, that kind of pissed me off. If I'm going through the trouble of assembling a radio that costs as much as an already assembled rig.......I expect perfection. Sue me.

I give this radio a 5 because the end result is fantastic. Nice rig!!!!! Kudos to Elecraft. But......you had best have tons of patience and an understanding wife/girlfriend. This puppy is one ball-buster to assemble. Unless of course you're very experienced at assembling radio kits. Even so, I'm skeptical about claims of assembling this radio in less than 30 hours. It's a real booger.

Although the end result is very much worth the effort. Spectacular little rig, indeed.

W3PH Rating: 2005-12-08
Great performance in a small package, great support Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I didn't build my K2/100, but have built several of the modules and have DSP, 160 meters, 100 watt tuner, etc. now.

The rig is great - performance really is first class - it doesn't have all the whistles and bells of, say, a 756 ProIII, but it does the important things and the receiver is great, esp. in the presence of strong RF from nearby neighbor hams during contests).

I think the really great thing about the Elecraft is the excitement they've generated. The Elecraft mail reflector is an amazing source of support (ask for ideas why something isn't working, get answers (good ones, too) right way - compare that to the old pre-internet Heathkit days when you were pretty much on your own to figure out what you did wrong). It also provides a great sense of community.

I was inactive for a decade or so, and was afraid that I'd have to go into appliance-operator mode when I got active again because the new gear was so complicated. The K2 fixes that problem - this is a rig that's an excellent performer and that you can fix yourself if something goes wrong. The on-board diagnostics make problem isolation a quick process, and between the great information on the Elecraft web site and the super user community on the mailing list, you won't be wondering very long what to do if and when some part does fail.
VK4TZL Rating: 2005-12-07
Still going Strong ! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Well, it's now almost a year since I built up my K2, K2/100, XV50 and XV144. All the gear has been faultless, and I am more than happy with the on air performance. No problems with any assembly and all the gear turned on and worked first up ! The build time for the two Transverters and the K2 was exactly one week...it's very hard to put down the soldering iron once you get started.
I still follow the Elecraft Reflector, and if you ever do get stuck, this group is an absolute mother lode of information !
I'm itching for the release of the XV432 Transverter which I'm expecting shortly. The Elecraft range has put the fun back into AR for me...it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is a fantastic experience.
73
Glenn
VK4TZL

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Earlier 5-star review posted by VK4TZL on 2005-01-11

It took me just one week from start to finish to complete my K2 and the XV50 and XV144 Transverters.
The Kits are really well presented, easy to assemble and all three units just powered up...no problems. I opted for the SSB K2 with NB, DSP, 60M Option and the 160M Option

Performance after just three days of use is equal to or better than my Icom IC910 that recently failed and has been at Icom for almost a month and they have yet to Quote me on the repair ! I am using the K2 as an IF for 50/144/432/1296 and doing a direct comparison on 144 to what I could hear on the Icom, the K2 and Transverter system appears to hear equally as well, and time will tell if I can definitely see a performance improvement...early days yet.
The K2 was a joy to assemble and I now know that I can repair my own gear...Goodbye Icom

I will certainly be getting another K2 for HF only, and have just sent my 756Pro2 off to its new owner. 300mA on HF receive against 3A for the Pro2 and a heatsink on Receive that you could not hold your hand on after an hour ot two of receiving !

73
Glenn
VK4TZL
WA3ELQ Rating: 2005-10-18
Great radio! Great company! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I recently completed building K2 #5053 with the KPA100, KSB2, K160RX, KNB2, KDSP2, and K60XV. Both building the kit and operating the radio have been a great experience.

The kit is well engineered. All the parts, from the components on the boards to the plug in accessories to the cabinet pieces, fit together perfectly. And once installed, all the accessory boards become part of a fully integrated system.

Construction is easy. The instructions are well written and easy to follow. The sequence of construction is well planned, avoiding those “almost impossible” construction steps found in some kits. Any steps that require special handling or care are clearly marked. Pictures and diagrams are provided to aide in proper construction. Also, the locations of components are clearly marked on the boards, making it easy to get things in the right places.

Tune up and alignment are also made easy. While the proper test equipment is always helpful when setting up a rig, Elecraft has designed the K2 with some of those tools built in so that alignment can be accomplished even if you have only the most basic test equipment.

Tech support is superior. I ran into only one minor problem that required contact with tech support. I made a phone call to Elecraft and was immediately connected with the tech support department. The technician was very helpful, taking the time to discuss the problem and find the solution. But even more impressive, I felt as if I was being treated as a friend and valued customer, not just another caller.

Once built, the K2 has performed beautifully. The performance rivals the Kenwood TS-2000 and TS-930S units I have been using. Receiver sensitivity and selectivity are very good, and for the most part I have been able to work anyone I could hear. Reports received indicate a solid signal and, on SSB, good audio quality. I recently put the K2 through its paces, working several hours of the PA QSO party. In that highly demanding environment, the unit performed flawlessly. I was able to pick out the weakest of signals even in the very heavy QRM (thank you DSP filters). The transmitter ran at full output for hours with no problems despite the heavy duty cycle. (The heat sink got quite warm but performance never wavered.)

One area I have found that is a small problem concerns the menu items. There is a bit of a learning curve to operate the menus effectively. Some functions require multiple button pushes (in the correct sequence) to find and change. This is especially true of the DSP filter settings. Direct front panel control of the filter skirts (as on the Kenwood TS-2000) would make this function a lot easier to use, although the small size of the K2 makes the addition of more controls rather difficult. Some compromises had to be made to keep the size (and weight) down. I have found the Nifty reference guide for the K2 very helpful in navigating the menus.

One other comment. Elecraft has been a pleasure to work with. It is truly a quality operation. The products are superior (I have several), tech support is excellent, the people in sales and shipping have always been very helpful and very pleasant, and everyone there goes out of their way to take care of the customers. I have worked with a number of companies that cater to the ham market. Some do a better job than others, but no one does it better than Elecraft.

Larry WA3ELQ
Hatboro, PA
K3NC Rating: 2005-07-03
Can't stop using it! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I started building K2 (4490) in January 05 and it, along with all the modules, was finished in March. In April, I also upgraded to a TenTec Orion so I have a very big rig and a very compact rig on the same desk.

Building the K2 is an intoxicating experience. Not only do you start appreciating the design and utility of the rig as it comes together, you are in constant contact with the nicest ham email reflector in existance.

After finishing the ATU (the final thing in the K2 line I built), I felt like my best friend had moved away. Coming home and soldering for 2-3 hours each day was a lot of fun.

I lent my K2 to a friend who was looking for a new rig. While he was very impressed he decided it was not the rig for him.

Somewhere in these reviews there is a warning that the owners can sometime not see the reality of using the rig because they are so influenced by the building experience. I do accept some of that comment. The radio is small (especially if you have big hands) and having to press buttons multiple times and remembering to do so is something we have to live with.

I cannot really say that I think the K2 is an "Orion killer" but I am not sure Elecraft would position in that way. In contests, I use the Orion as I love the feel of the big knobs and the display.

But having said that, the K2 is what I turn on most evenings when I am just tuning the bands. The combination of the performance, my experience with building it and the tremendous community I am part of is very persuasive.

As was also written earlier, its a $1400 investment with all the bells and whistles and if purely on 'touch and feel' it is understandable that others might prefer something else. I could say the same thing about the Orion, if you love the feel of an Icom (and I do) its not the same experience.

But, its the one I am most connected to, the one I turn on each evening, the one I cannot wait to upgrade with whatever Elecraft comes up with net.
VK2NW Rating: 2005-06-25
Great Experience Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a great product! I think I spent about 20-30 hours over five days to build the K2/160m/DSP/SSB version (S/N 498). It was a lot of fun and was the first substantial amateur radio I have built in 30 years - the last was a Plessey chipset based single band 20m SSB transceiver - a long way from this radio.

The kits are well organized and provisioned. The construction details are precise to a tee - even providing you with lookahead hints for any options you might have purchased.

I made the inevitable mistakes - the main bug I made was a single pin on a connector unsoldered. These were fixed quickly with the help of the hints in the manual.

This is a sophisticated radio. It has well engineered build-in-test (reminiscent of single chip IEEE 802.11 radios that I have been involved with) that aids in debugging and commissioning the radio.

In operation, it works as advertised. I have just used wire antennas so far in a portable location. I have some LiPo 11.1volt 3600mAH batteries than run the radio for hours - in fact theoretically for roughly 18 hours in low power listening. The 10-15w SSB seems adequate for 80m and 40m in country contacts - I haven't tried much 20m DX yet - conditions.....

I have the K2/100 option kit - I'm going to enjoy the current config awhile before commencing that (OK, next week!!).

In line with a lot of other comments, at the end of this experience, there is something in the radio roots that gives one a lot of pleasure in completing contacts with a radio that you know virtually where every R L and C are placed.

The folk at Elecraft should be congratulated on a n excellent radio (and experience).
AB0UK Rating: 2005-06-23
Professional Grade Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is a very top quality radio. Getting it there for me was an occasional case of guessmanship and going with the flow after the fact.

The radio is a marvel of engineering. It's small size should not be confused with small performance. It's performance is as good as or better than radios that cost as much or more and you have the pleasure of building it yourself. By knowing how it all goes together and having detailed troubleshooting help in the manual, at Elecraft customer support and on their email reflector it is relatively easy to repair should the need arise. I also own a IC746pro and in many ways the K2/100 beats the socks off it. The noise level is much lower and the sensitivity is better and the DSP is better.

Most basic controls are easily accessible on the front panel. However, the DSP and some other functions are menu intensive and not very intuitive. Some parts are difficult to identify during assembly. Several options are available and to install or uninstall them components must removed or added to the printed circuit boards. This requires unsoldering/resoldering and keeping track of small parts depending on which options are installed or not. A nonstandard cable that you build for computer control is needed as using a standard serial cable will damage your radio. The K2 has evolved over time and occasionally following the modifications documentation trail can be confusing.

While it is possible to test and align the radio with a DVM and received signals it is far better to have a good frequency counter and use a software program to align the numerous filters. This is not clear at the start. Documentation is not clear as what procedures are one time test and which are alignment procedures that could/should be repeated after assembly is completed to assure top performance.

Performance wise the radio is definitely deserves a five rating. While basic construction is documented well there is a definite need for clarifying and tying together all the loose ends of documentation for testing and alignment. The radio performs satisfactory with the basic alignment but can be enhanced with additional steps that are not immediately apparent in the manual.

Jim, AB0UK
AC0H Rating: 2005-05-13
Staggering little box of wonder! Time Owned: N.A.
What a radio!

I'll preface this review by stating that this was my first major kit. My previous kit building experience was limited to the Idiom Press Super CMOS III keyer.

I began building K2/100 #4684 on January 15th of this year. In addition to the basic K2 I built and installed the 160m, SSB, and DSP modules. From start to finish the entire process, building, testing, and aligning took about 8 weeks. First QSO was with KØEWS on or about March 15th.

The kit was absolutley first rate. No missing parts, in fact had a few left over.

The problems I had, and they were few and far between, were caused by pilot error. As the wise old man once said "Patience Is A Virtue". In my enthusiasm to get the rig on the air I made a few simple mistakes. Basically parts in the wrong spots. I am proud to say not one single soldering problem.

Once the radio was finsihed and on the air I was amazed by the performance. For a single conversion kit built radio this thing is amazing. It holds its own against more complex, multi conversion DSP radios costing 2X as much or more. Listening around during a couple of CW contests I could crank the crystal and DSP filters down to 100 Hz or less and the QRM simply disappeared. Operations on SSB have yielded good audio reports from the K2/100 - Heil Proset combo. PSK31 operations illicited the same kinds of reports, good, clean signals.

Each of the 2SC2879 finals in the KPA100 are rated at 100W output so the pair running 100W max out have plenty of "headroom". I regularly run PSK31 @ about 30W and the heatsink does get warm but not objectionably. If you're worried about heat you can always go to the local computer parts supply store and get an 80mm 12V DC computer case fan and attach it to the heat sink. If you're a dedicated, long winded, or contest oriented RTTY op I would suggest it.

The fit and finish of the radio is good and the panels panels fit perfectly. No extra curicular drilling or metalwork necessary. You will be assembling and disassembling the radio case several times during the build and test process. I Never had a problem getting things to line up like they did before disassembly. As the previous reviewer said this rig isn't as flashy and pretty to look at. No fancy flashing lights or dancing displays. It just works.

Test and alignment couldn't have been easier. The onboard frequncy counter and digital volt meter make it easy to align but I'd recommend using dedicated outboard instruments. The one thing I missed during the alignment and test was an RF signal generator but Elecraft have thought of ways around that using and existing HF rig as a source. I suppose something like an MFJ 259B would also work. There are some requirements for building this kit.

#1. A temperature controlled soldering iron/station with small diameter tips. Forget about using your old RS 25W pencil soldering iron. I used a Hakko 936D.

#2. A decent quality DMM. You probably don't need a top of the line Fluke benchtop model but something other than the old trusty analog meter.

Computer control for logging and contesting is easy with the KIO2 built into the KPA100 final section. All of the popular logging, contesting, and rig control programs work with the rig using the "Kenwood" settings. I'm partial to Ham Radio Deluxe.

The one thing that I'd like to see added to this radio is continuously variable PBT and IF Shift.

To summarize, my experience building and using this radio has been a great deal of fun. It's gratifying to know your using a radio that you built. I also smile when I think about the fact that any other rig in this rig's price class can't touch it performance wise. TS-2000, IC-746, Yaesu 1000MP MkV Field all have inferior receivers. You have to "move up" to an IC-756 ProIII, IC-7800, Yaesu FTDX 9000, or Orion to equal or better it's performance.