| K5EOA |
Rating:  |
2002-04-07 | |
| Greqt QRP Box |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I purchased my K1 at Dayton last year (2001). The assembly and testing instructions were very well thought-out and written. They were actually better than what I remember from Heathkit. The unit went together and was checked-out and aligned with no problem.
After making a few contacts, I took it to Field Day last year to see how it would perform under crowded band conditions. I must say that its performance could only be described as outstanding. The receiver and built-in antenna tuner were nothing short of super.
The only shortcoming that I experienced that it was limited to only two bands (40 and 30 on mine). In January of this year, Elecraft corrected this shortcoming by making the 4 band module available. I quickly ordered one and selected 40, 30, 20, and 15 Meters when I built it. Again, I was quite pleased with what I got.
I am looking forward to much more enjoyment using my K1 in the future. |
|
| G4AON |
Rating: |
2002-04-07 | |
| Does what it says on the box! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
It's easy to praise the little K1, straightforward to build and simple to align, especially if you have some basic test equipment.
In theory you don't need test equipment, but in practice it helps if you have access to a signal generator, power meter and frequency counter.
Watch those costs when ordering additional modules, it can become expensive. You might really only need a couple of bands and do you need a noise blanker in a portable rig?
I built the rig for 80 KHz VFO coverage and found the drift exceeded the 200 Hz/hour figure in the manual. After replacing the NPO ceramic capacitor at C2 with another 68 pF cap, using a -150 ppm polystyrene, the drift is now slightly less than the book figure at approx 130 Hz/hour in the first couple of hours.
The receiver performs surprisingly well here in Europe on 40m during the darkness hours, not needing the attenuator! This is with the four band board which may have a narrower band pass filter than a two band board.
The auto ATU works fine, but beware it's only got four inductors and five capacitors to choose from. The tuning range is less than the ATU in a K2 and won't necessarily tune a doublet on a random length of ribbon feeder. This is no worse than the auto ATU in most current HF rigs, but may catch you out if you expect miracles. The settings are stored in memory on a per band basis.
The internal keyer works well, with a choice of mode A or B and two memories.
Several fellow K1 builders commented on not using the KBT1 internal 8 cell battery option and preferring an external pack of pen cells. Something to do with the alternative small sized speaker and having to fiddle around with removing the top cover to swap batteries. I bought 10 x 1800 mA NiMh cells and a 10 cell holder and use them external to the K1. This gives around 12 to 12.5 volts, as displayed on the K1's built in volt meter, and hours of operating on a charge.
When the internal ATU is fitted, it mounts on top of the band module. Swapping band modules in the field is fiddly but can be done if you are desperate. Note the four band module doesn't accommodate the 80m band and isn't easily modified to do so.
Elecraft have some of the best support in the industry with e-mail contact to both the designers and factory service support. This is in addition to around 1000 active users on their e-mail "Reflector". A question posted to the Reflector can often receive a reply in minutes.
Dave |
|
| K4BKD |
Rating: |
2002-03-13 | |
| Is a real radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Have had my K-1 for a year now and just love it! It hears as well as my 1000MP. Just finished the internal auto antenna tuner and noise blanker. The boys at Elecraft have a winner! |
|
| N7XM |
Rating: |
2002-03-13 | |
| Great Little radio !!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just got my K1 four band version on the AIR !
This is a great little radio ! I am not a
QRP zealot . I needed a small radio for field
day and backpacking - the K1 fills the bill!
Impressive receiver! fast QSK ! many features
accessible via menu. Low current drain and all
at One pound weight! My hats off to the gang at
Elecraft - they have surpassed themselves! |
|
| WA4FOM |
Rating: |
2002-03-09 | |
| Elecraft is Heathkit on steroids |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The K1 QRP CW transceiver kit is not just another
bag of parts with a PC board. This is a serious
radio, albeit low-powered. If you can make
civilized solder connections (with small-gauge
solder and a temperature-controlled iron, not a
flame thrower and acid core solder as thick as
your arm) and follow simple directions, you WILL
complete this kit and have a really sweet rig to
brag about.
It took me about three times as long to get my
K1 working only because I like to take steel
wool to each component lead and "ohm-out" each
connection. Can you say "anal retentive"?
You are called upon to wind a few toroids, but
that shouldn't be a problem for most of us "manly
men". If you, your YL, or XYL can thread a
needle, you can wind a toroid and actually enjoy
it.
Buy it and RTFM (Read the Friendly Manual); you
will have a blast. The e-mail reflector is packed
with people who don't sleep and are willing to
offer tons of help in case you have a problem (or
think you have one).
The receiver is pretty peppy; mine can receive
anything my Kenwood TS-570SG can, and with a
lower noise floor. The keyer doesn't seem to
complete dots quite the way my aging wrist would
like, but I suspect this is merely an artifact of
the keyer circuitry. As the Borg might say "You
will adapt". The transmitter is as clean as any
of the KiloBuck behemoths.
It's little. It's cheap. It's a hoot to build,
a breeze to support, and a delight to operate.
I have since bought a K2 that I plan to
(eventually) build and review. The K1 transceiver
DEFINITELY brings back the thrill of building
your own radio. If you've never had that thrill,
there's nothing like it. If you're like me and
miss it since the demise of Heathkit, this is
your chance to relive it. 'Nuff said.
|
|
| N8RQJ |
Rating: |
2002-03-03 | |
| SR# 01122 ON THE AIR |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just completed the K1 2 Days ago.
It recieves better than my Icom IC-718.
The ajustable filters are awsome!!
It was easy to build and I have only built
1 other qrp rig.I believe if you can read and understand the terms in the book you will not have any problems. The only problem I found was that the manual had one error. I went to website
and E-Mailed Elecraft. In about 10 mins I had a reply with the correction sheet. The rig also
has ajustible power via the menu option.
I rate the K1 a 5 because.
1) Easy of build.
2) Great support. (Websites & Elecraft)
3) Wonderful features in the rig.
4) Size. (Small but not to small)
5) Power Max 6.8 Watts on 40 and 6.4 on 20
73's
N8RQJ |
|
| K4NVJ |
Rating: |
2002-02-23 | |
| This is a fun radio. |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| In the 2002 ARRL DX CW test ran my K-1 @ 5watts and 136' dipole fed ladder line to external tuner. In 7 hours of operating I worked 55 countries on 20/40 (including JA and VK) from Alabama. Boy have I been surprised at results I get with this radio. Try it, you'll like it. 73. |
|
| W2VD |
Rating: |
2002-01-16 | |
| Update-Keeps Getting Better |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Just an update to my previous review. I ordered the four band filter module kit (KFL1-4) and the
internal battery adapter (KBT1) for my K1. I built the KFL1-4 in a couple of hours, without a hitch. Replacing the existing 2 band filter board took 30 seconds, and alignment of the new 4 band filter board took about 10 minutes. Now my K1 covers 40, 30, 20 and 15 meters. I still have to install the KBT1 (I've started building my K2, which takes priority). I have several suggestions:
1. Be sure to install the variable caps in the right direction.
2. Buy an OptiVisor! I can see all those small parts again without going cross-eyed!
3. Get a K1 if you can. You'll like it!
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by W2VD on 2001-08-12
I have a K2 which I have not yet built. I decided to start a little smaller, so I ordered a K1. I finally managed to build it. I have built a good deal of gear in the past, but not in many years. I learned several things:
1. I need a new prescription for my glasses.
2. Have parts gotten smaller, or do I need a new prescription for my glasses?
3. This is one quality kit!
I built the K1 over a period of several weeks. It went together smoothly. The manual is excellent. I ordered the 40 and 15 meter band kits. I aligned 40 without a hitch. On 15, I could only get about 350mw out. I checked the Elecraft mailing list, and it was suggested that you adjust the bandpass filters carefully. But I was already adjusting the bandpass filter coils correctly. Or so I thought. I looked closely at L3, and the tuning slug was up rather high, sticking a bit out of the can. This couldn't be correct. I removed the Filter Board, and discovered a barely soldered capacitor (C6) that is part L3's tuning network. Whoops! I soldered C6 properly, and voila, nice power ouput on 15.
This is a great kit, but take your time building it. And if your eyes are tired, do yourself a favor and put the kit aside until you are fresh. The K1 is fun to build, and fun to operate. The QSK is nice, and the receiver is hot. Now, on to the K2 (after I get new glasses...). |
|
| KB6MMS |
Rating: |
2001-12-26 | |
| Great radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
What a rig! sn# 1014 is on the air and working great. I took my time building it. Since I triple checked every component before soldering, it took me about 17 hours to put together and tune up. I highly recommend that you also triple check every component before soldering. I learned this the hard way on a previous kit I built. The toriod winding also took alot of time. I also triple checked each core to make sure that it had the correct number of windings and that the transformer windings had the correct orientation. The instruction book is first rate and if followed EXACTLY will lead to a happy result. All the parts were in the kit and they even include extra screws. I guess the extra screws are in case you drop one on the floor and can't find it. I always do that!
Here's some short specs I measured on my K1: Rx current is about 50mA, Tx current is about 800mA, tuning bandwidth is about 170KHz on each band! Output power on 40m is 7.5Wmax, 30m is 5.8Wmax, 20m is 6.0Wmax, 15m is 5.0Wmax all with 12.0V into the K1. Output power is flat over the whole band on 15m & 20m. But 30m has about a 1W variation when tuning over the whole 170KHz bandwidth and 40m has about 2.5W varition when tuning over the band. I recommend that you set the dial to your expected (preferred) operating frequency on 40m & 30m when tunning the filter board for those bands. I have not measured the sensitivity yet, but by ear it seems great.
I really like the selectable Rx filter feature. It is very helpful. AGC also works good. RIT works just fine with a +3.9KHz and -3.6KHz tuning range.
I did have a small issue with one of the front panel LEDs. One of them is a little tough to solder since the board is double sided and parts on the solder side are in the way. I just had to be REAL careful with the soldering iron. A fine tip soldering iron is helpful. Other than that LED, all the parts went on the board with ease.
This rig is a real pleasure to build and even more fun to operate. I highly recommend it to anyone with a desire to operate a rig that they have built with their own hands. Thanks Elecraft! |
|
| N1KV |
Rating: |
2001-12-21 | |
| Might have to sell my TS850! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
K1 #1003 is alive and well and on the air. I'd been thinking about building a QRP radio for some time, but I'm something of a gadget fanatic, so the more spartan offerings out there left me cold. Then I read about the K1 - 60mA RX current, bells and whistles galore, and all in a box small enough to stash in a backpack! I ordered mine with 20&30m, the ATU, and the internal battery pack. All I need to complete the station is a wire and a key!
Construction took about 20 hours, and when I damaged the AF pot Elecraft responded to my email in <24 hours. (BTW, don't push too hard on the small knobs during installation).
Performance? My first 30 minutes on the air and I worked three continents and 3 states on 30.
Construction? I work in electronics mfg, and I agree with other posts - this thing is top shelf from start to finish.
Difficulty? Take your time, do the inventory, and go to Staples and buy a $20 magnifying lamp.
My TS850 is gathering dust.... |
|
