| N4MJG |
Rating:  |
2024-08-23 | |
| updated AUG 2024 OF MY KX2 |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
UPDATE AUG 2024
I Recentlt got back into my my kx2 again atfer i put it away last years, going usine it more and to get on 60 meter again. i love this rig and swr is better then for the band i can opater it tune good on 20 30, 12 40 and 60 meters that can tune better my fc 20 tuner off of my ft 847 big radio the power is very low round 20 to 30 watts were kx2 does it better with 1.0 swr i really like this built in tuner beeter my fc 20
since i can't do outside due my daibettic back 2019 unble to go outside but i use it at home with power supply that hook up with my kx2 since 2 of my battery pack both are dead cannot charge no it why why i use power supply to get on the air to use my kx2.
73
Jackie
N4MJG
Since nov 2923
for first time i ever use 60 meter bandon this elecraft kx2 works great and tune good of 1.0 swr since i upgrade general lic of 2007 when i was no code tech 2001 this radio is really good for me glad i i pick this rig i'll never go back back ft 817 again !
73
Jackie
N4MJG
I brought this rig late 2000 ser. number is 2554 since it's the radio I ever owned I love better then I do 817 love the big display better then 817 since my right eye 2019 due to diabetic store I ever enjoy my retirement since 2019 I'm on hf more then ever !
Thanks you
for the best radio
73
Jackie
N4MJG
NOV 2022
SINCE I SINCE RECENT SROKE 2019 THAT DON'T STOP ME ENJOY MY KX2 ATFER SO MANY YEAR NOW MY BAETTERY PACK ARE NO LONGER IN CHARGE ANYMORE.sO I USE POWER SUPPLY TO RUN KX2 NOW I CAN START TO ENJOY MY KX2 AGAIN !AFTER LEARNING HOW TO USE SDR UNLIKE IF SHFT WAY BETTER THEN IF SHIFT BUT SDR DOES IT JOB !
since i can't drive anymore .so i stay at home to run my kx2 again that don't having fun kx2 more so small and lite weight rig !
73
Jackie
N4MJG
SKCC 7305 SINCE 2005
NAQCC 5233
OMISS 11548
PREFER EQSL |
|
| WA2HLM |
Rating: |
2024-05-12 | |
| I love it |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have always wanted a small rig for camping and have followed the market for small rigs for a while. For me, it came down to weight and simplicity. The ICOM 705 has a ton of bells and whistles but has more complexity. I really wanted something easy and super light.
I wanted a great receiver so decided upon the Elecraft KX2.
The unit came after a 6 month delay. All was packed correctly. I charged the battery and set the rig up. I did have a few questions which were answered by Elecraft customer support quickly and responsively.
After charging the supplied battery, I carefully placed it into the KX2. I set it up on my deck, extended the 4 foot whip antenna, put the supplied counterpoise wire down, turned the rig on and heard many stations on 20 meters. I worked a station in Ohio as my first contact with reports of excellent audio using the unadjusted factory presets. The receive audio is excellent.
Next, I took the rig into the shack and connected it to the Hexbeam. My first contact using the hexbeam (SSB) was with a station in Estonia! I was a 5 by 7 by his report using all of 10 watts.
I have already obtained the matching amp (KXPA 100). I ordered the wrong cable set initially despite being cautious so it may make sense to be sure you have it all right beforehand (in retrospect, I should have asked Elecraft about what specific cable set to use to connect the amp to the KX2 rather than just ordering online and watching a youtube video. I now have the correct cabling and will soon set up the amp (it is being used mostly outdoors over the summer hence not yet connected).
My home station is a Kenwood 890 and an ICOM 9700 so I am used to top of the line quality. The Elecraft KX2 is top of the line quality for what I am using it for. While it is not a Kenwood 890 connected to a high-power amp, the KX2 does the trick, fitting nicely into a backpack and weighing less than a pound.
So far, only good experiences. I will use some of the digital modes in the future but for now greatly enjoy the combination of portability with excellence in SSB. |
|
| MORSEMAN |
Rating: |
2023-12-07 | |
| quality |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I bought the KX2 because of all the rave reviews it got. In retrospect, I would have bought an Icom IC-705. The KX2 when it arrived, had the rubber feet secured to the case bottom with screws that were too long. They stuck down below the rubber feet about 1/16 of an inch. I filed them down so I would not scratch anything I set it on. I was disappointed by the lack of internal charging. The case looks like it was constructed for a grade school project. The clear window and the controls are not even close to being sealed against dust and dirt. The rotary controls are very cheap and many are having to replace them. The knobs are cheap too. The performance of the radio is relatively good but is offset by the lack of good engineering in the case and controls. For what it cost it sure is no bargain. Go with the Icom 705. |
|
| LNXAUTHOR |
Rating: |
2023-11-02 | |
| updated experience |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
i originally purchased a kx2 w/tuner, paddle, clock, battery, and book, but a few things soured me on the purchase and the rig:
the internal battery was not Tenergy as advertised, and i instead received a substitute... next, the kxpd2 paddle never functioned properly, and tightening down the key caused the rig to throw out errors... the serial/clock card never kept acceptably accurate time even after compensation and the serial i/o was not implemented
i was also initially put off by the manual, and i did not find the third-party book all that helpful... also, i felt the rig was too fragile without 3rd party rails and cover... so i sold it on
fast forward several years - i remembered the rig's excellent receive and filtering when i ran across a used kx2 at a great price, so i bought one again - i'm glad i did!
my opinion of the rig completely changed after a thorough read of the manual and several outings to exercise the rig's capabilities... what may also have helped revise my appreciation of its prowess is that i now mostly do CW...
is the rig perfect? no, but Elecraft has addressed and fixed some issues (such as being able to charge the battery internally - which should have been done from the git-go), and over the last several years has added new capabilities, such as 10M FM repeater support, and 10W output with reduced batter voltage... quite a few firmware updates since i initially owned the kx2
i also received a kxpd2 w/the used rig... it works perfectly!
so now i am happy with this qrp transceiver, and look forward to many more outings |
|
| K4COP |
Rating: |
2023-11-02 | |
| Jury is out. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
11/1/2023 - I have now used this unit exclusively and is getting more time out than my IC705 due to its small size, built in tuner and 10 watts using internal battery. I really like this Elecraft KX2. I also really like the AX1 antenna for quick deployments and recently made a contact from Florida to Spain, a few thousand miles away with this tiny 3 foot coil antenna, amazing. The unit has been solid to date and no problems.
3/22/2023 - Update -Okay, after having more time with the KX2 I can honestly say it is an amazing rig. I have taken the KX2 to parks, hotels , or just in the yard and it has performed great. What I really like about the KX2 are the filters, the ability to hone in on a weak signal using the EQ RX and TX, turn off AGC ( careful for my ears)) and enabling AFX using AF gain with headphones. What a great receiver, especially considering the size. I am finding myself using the KX2 more than my IC-705. Again, 10 watts with internal battery , internal ATU and less than a pound. Incredible rig even after all these years. I should have bought it earlier. I'm hopeful the rig will be problem free for a long time, time will tell.
2/9/2023 - Quick turn around from Elecraft to get me a working KX2. There customer service was as many had said, excellent. Since I received a non-working unit initially, I was sent a completely new unit and this one appears to working well. I have not had a chance to do a thorough review but I am impressed with the size, quality of voice reception, and yes the tuner which is now able to tune my little AX1 1 to 1. I am still learning the menu, making fine adjustments for better TX and RX, but overall very happy so far. After more time with the KX2 I will update this review again.
1/24/2023 - After ordering and waiting for approximately 14 weeks I finally received my KX2 in the mail, but it was inoperable upon receipt. My long awaited rig, ordered with clock and tuner installed at Elecraft was not working properly out of the box. I initially charged the battery pack, and got to reading the manual. I couldn't wait to understand the menu system and hook up an antenna, fire it up and hit the tune button, but to my surprise it would not tune. The readout said 25 4-1 when using the AX1 antenna I bought with it. I switched to another HF antenna thinking this little compromised antenna was the problem, and still it would not tune a Chameleon MPAS. I then bypassed the internal tuner through the menu and hooked it to my loop in an attempt to tune it manually, and still no luck. At this point, I called Elecraft the next morning and I have to say Doug, in their service dept., was very apologetic, understanding and promised to get me out a new KX2 ASAP. He also stated my unit was put on the rumble table and working when it left them. That did make me feel a little better. I am hopeful this is a temporary blip and is not a real reflection of the quality of this unit, after reading all the glowing reviews and spending all this money. We will see. I will UPDATE this review when I receive my KX2 back from Elecraft and had some time to actually evaluate the product. I am hopeful the turn around time and customer service of Elecraft is as good as others have said. |
|
| W6KIC |
Rating: |
2022-09-27 | |
| Beautiful Tiny Rig, When it Works |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
UPDATE 11/26/2022: This was the second time I returned the KX2 for repair under warranty, and they they turned it around in two weeks this time, despite their backlog, which I appreciate. So I'm raising my rating from 3 to 4 stars. Fingers crossed this time. (I just took it to a local Los Angeles park with the AX1 antenna and worked a SOTA station in Idaho, 559 both ways.) If I can get through a few more months with no problems, I'll upgrade the rating to 5 stars, which is what a trouble-free KX2 deserves.
Here's my earlier review:
I ordered the KX2 in late December, 2021, and with supply chain issues, received it four months later, in April, 2022. No problem there, since supply chain issues have affected everyone. The radio is tiny, well designed and superbly engineered, definitely worth five stars, when it works. The problem is that it has spent nearly as much time with Elecraft customer service as it has with me. I would take it to a local park whenever I could for a quick CW QSO or two. In mid-June, the right-side controller seized up, so I returned it to Elecraft for warranty service. Six weeks later in late July, I received it back, I was told with a new controller. In late August, the same right-side (new) controller seized up again and Elecraft has had it, again under warranty, for the past 10 days. I'm told the repair will take 6-8 weeks. (It took just 2 weeks). I love the transceiver, but feel like the owner of a cool British sports car that spends most of life in the shop. I now rely on my backup QRP rigs, a Xiegu G90 and X5105, neither of which is as refined as the KX2 but neither of which has given me any problems. If I can get through a couple months without issues after the current KX2 repair, I'll update the review. |
|
| W3DX |
Rating: |
2022-04-09 | |
| Ultimate Trail Friendly, Grab and Go Radio! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The Elecraft KX2 was announced just today, but I’ve had the pleasure of being a field tester for the radio and have been using serial number 0005 for the past three months. I don’t have any affiliation with Elecraft (other than being a big fan of their products and testing other radios), but was asked to test the radio because of my involvement with Summits on the Air (SOTA).
In the short time I’ve owned the radio, the KX2 has become my favorite radio of all time. It puts an incredible feature set into a 13-ounce package that fits in the palm of my hand. It’s ideal for SOTA and other grab and go applications: National Parks on the Air, vacations, business trips, bicycle mobile, etc.
The KX2 has too many features to enumerate in a review, so readers should consult the Elecraft website for details. But I’m impressed to find features normally reserved for competition class radios. These features include dual receive, high performance antenna tuner, CW/SSB/Data, CW text reader, Data text reader, Split, RIT, XIT, programmable CW memories, digital voice recorder, adjustable filter widths and offsets, 100 VFO memories (which actually give you 200 memories because you can program both VFO A and B), and 4 “quick memories” for each band (actually 8 because of the two VFO’s).
I particularly like a number of features that make it a “complete station” for taking to a park: built-in internal microphone, built-in speaker, mini paddle that’s compatible with the KX2 and KX3, tilt-stand, built in 2.6 Amp-Hour Lithium-Ion battery, built-in clock (with the KXIO2 option), etc. The KX2 even has a battery consumption amp-hour meter and voltage meter so you can monitor the state of your battery. These are examples of features that were designed into the radio to make it the ideal trail friendly, travel ready, grab and go rig! A lot of thought went into the design of this amazing little radio.
As a result, I have my entire SOTA station packed in a tiny LowePro CS60 soft case, which also includes room for the paddles and all of the parts for my home-made SOTA antenna. And, if I want to protect the KX2 for really rugged travel, I can fit the entire station into a tiny Pelican 1120 waterproof hard case.
When you first see the KX2, you’ll notice the knobs and pushbuttons are very economically used, with a number of functions accessed through the menu system. My experience has been that everything I need to use regularly is available through the front panel, and the features accessed through the menu are not frequently used.
If you already happen to own a KX3, you probably won’t need to read the user’s guide to get started (but it’s probably a good idea to do so anyway, especially with respect to the proper management of the battery). The menu system is very intuitive, and based on the KX3.
But do be aware that the KX2 is NOT a KX3 in a smaller package. Sacrifices were made to fit the KX2 into such a tiny package. If the KX2 is the ultimate portable, trail friendly radio, the KX3 is still the ultimate QRP rig. Features found in the KX3 that are not available in the KX2 are: 15 watts output (10 for the KX2), 160 and 6 meters, VHF option, roofing filter, internal battery charger, PX3 pan adaptor compatibility, and other features.
If size and weight (and price) are important, the KX2 is a really amazing solution. If your radio is never going to leave your station, the KX3 still brings additional features to the table.
My prediction is that many users will want to own both!
Update: I first reviewed the KX2 after I field tested it in 2016. Since then, it's been my go-to radio for SOTA and expeditions. I wanted to take a moment to mention that the radio has had extensive firmware updates to add cool features. Today, the firmware was updated to enable more time transmitting at 10 watts. Other cool features include internal battery charger support, improved ATU tuning, max power increased to 12 watts, and a very cool built in logging function.
If you own a KX2, be sure to go to the Elecraft firmware page to peruse the release notes and download the latest cool features for the radio.
|
|
| F4HPX |
Rating: |
2021-06-21 | |
| Great SOTA on Indian Ocean |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Using still as preferred portable radio for some 4 years now for SOTA and Mobile (Maritime) - not planning to go for IC-705 although such waterfall might be appealing.
No problem at all on SSB (I am very weak on CW side but I try to work that out).
I love the size, power consumption vs features. Yes it might be seen as complex to operate but once the things are set properly you don't need to change a lot and dig into the menus.
Once completed with solar panel and charger it will work virtually forever.
I think this one will stay with me. |
|
| NO9E |
Rating: |
2021-06-20 | |
| No competition for its size |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Fairly easy to use after owning kx3. Very compact for 10w with its internal battery and tuner. Even built in microphone. Tuner a bit less capable than kx3 but tunes everything with miniature 4:1 balun. Hears very well. A built in battery charging would gave been great |
|
| KA1YBS |
Rating: |
2021-06-12 | |
| Perfect SOTA companion! The IC705 is for POTA |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Rarely will I give a 5 star review, so here goes...
I do about six, 10-point (sota) summits along with as many others as I can during our short New England snow-free seasons. I'm not a mountain goat (yet) but as many sota enthusiasts will tell you, even with spotting, it's not always "a walk in the park" with 5watts and a wire.
I used an FT817ND for 15 years prior to the KX2 (long before I knew what sota was) and made hundreds of memories with that rig.
One of my biggest hurdles was tuning the bleeping antenna. I did not bring an external tuner, so I did things by hand, with good success.
I had 5w with the 817. For CW, that is fine, for SSB, (my favorite mode), you need a great opening!
With my Elecraft, I can do, in one package, that neither the 817 or Icom 705 will do... that is put out 10w using the internal battery, and also provide an efficient automatic antenna tuner!
With the 705 and 817, forget it... you have to drag an antenna tuner as well as external battery pack, and for that least the 817, a mic, to boot... this all adds weight and bulk to your pack. Ok, use an end fed resonant antenna.. what happens if you have no support for it? Ok, Buddipole and Buddistick are kinda heavy...
My KX2 is charged up prior to the hike and the only accessories that come with me are extremely light-weight antennas and CW paddle, which affixes directly to the rig!
I get the other rigs if you want 6m, 2m and 70cm. 2m especially could complement your SOTA. However for me, those bands don't always cut it. I know with the AX1 vertical and some radial wires, or a dipole/random wire... all of which I can make up depending on peak conditions at deployment time... I use the ATU and I'm OTA. No fuss, no headaches.
The KX2 is the lightest HF all mode you can ask for. Your back will thank you after a 16+ mile trek!
My FT817 will stay with me until I find a good deal on the Icom 705, but the Elecraft KX2 is a solid keeper for a long time coming. |
|
