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Reviews For: Elecraft W2 Wattmeter

Category: SWR & Wattmeters & Dummy Loads

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Review Summary For : Elecraft W2 Wattmeter
Reviews: 24MSRP: $229.95 Kit $289.95 Assembled
Description:
• Power & SWR LED bar graphs with peak/hold
• Four power ranges with auto/manual selection
• Up to 2 remote sensors with selection switch
• Compact size: 1.5x6x4.5” (HWD)
• 1-200 W sensor for 144-450 MHz
• 0.1-200 W & 1-2000 W sensors for 1-54 MHz
• Remote control/measurement via RS232
• Overrange alarm output & amp keying control
Versatile Auto-ranging Power/SWR Meter
The Elecraft W2 wattmeter provides fast
LED bar graphs to keep track of
transmitter and amplifier performance. With four power
ranges (2/20/200/2000 W), the W2 can satisfy the needs
of both QRO and QRP operators.
Sensors optimized for
144-450 MHz and HF-6 m are available
The sensors use standard CAT5
shielded or unshielded cables.
The W2’s built-in RS232 port allows you to use a
computer to read both power and SWR with higher
accuracy, as well as to set and check alarms, turn the
LEDs off, and other operations. You can use the
supplied PC software, or write your own remote-control applications.
Factory-Assembled or No-Soldering Kit
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.elecraft.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
14244.5
W6MK Rating: 2013-10-10
Improves tunings Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This wattmeter makes tuning my multiband antennas for minimum SWR much easier than using the excellent cross-needle meter on my high-quality wide-range tuner. The W2 display LEDs are quite brilliant and respond very clearly and definitely to subtle tuning variations. In contrast the movement of the needles is much more subtle and requires more deliberate attention. Yes the cross-needle meter is well-illuminated and my eyesight is excellent.

Assembly is easy despite having to scrape some paint and spend some time aligning the rows of LEDs.
AD9DX Rating: 2013-05-20
A few tweaks could make this an easy 5 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a fairly easy build. It took me about 90 min, most of which were spent scraping paint off the inside. The paint surface is very tough, I wish I had used a dremmel tool to remove it. I can't believe that it would add too much cost to actually mask off the inside. The other issue is the absolutely terrible DC power cable provided. It needs to be longer than 10". Here again pennies more to make it way better. I used an extra I had around to reach my supply. The only other beef I have is the LEDs needed a lot of alignment to look good. They were way out of alignment out of the box.


Once those "problems" were resolved the Watt meter is really nice and a good value compared to the LP-100 or others. The meter with properly aligned diodes looks really good. The brightness is adjustable, but the lowest 25% is more than adequate. I may in the future put a resistor in the circuit to make it a bit dimmer. The free program makes this unit emensly more useful and is easy to use. I like that you can change the sample rate.

Accuracy is very good and on par with my other calibrated meter.


Overall it is a 5 once the little issues are resolved.
KU6RT Rating: 2010-08-25
Great Kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Nice kit and useful shack accessory. Kit took about 1.5 hours to assemble. Assembly was very straight forward. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. The most difficult part of the assembly is removing the paint from the inside of the cover.

I like the free software interface downloaded from the Elecraft website. No issues using the XP operating system.

I found that when I left the case screws a little loose, as indicated in the instructions, very little force was required to line up the screw holes.

Nice product.
K4BWG Rating: 2010-07-12
Great for remote monitoring and amp protection Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The kit was easy to assemble (<30 minutes)and easy to install along with the RS-232 cable and software. The accuracy is a little lacking and the LED brightness control does not allow from the factory to be set to a comfortable level. I don't think these two issues downgrade it to a 4. I am using it in a remote shack and it does a great job protecting my amplifier and giving me relative power output. For the price and functionality, I think it is hard to beat!

Paul
NU4J Rating: 2010-05-24
Small but Bright Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the factory assembled unit. It's just a good solid SWR/POWER meter and not that expensive for what you get.

There may be a few watts play between led segments at the higher range, I don,t know that for sure but if you must have the most accurate meter out there that measures down to that one accurate watt.. good luck.
KC2NIN Rating: 2010-05-21
I like it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Works as advertised, in my situation the remote length is 50 feet away and the accuracy is a little off, but not terrible. The convienience is worth the price, software also easy to install and works fine
WU8P Rating: 2010-02-21
Not Happy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This was my first purchase from Elecraft. Sorry to say it wasn't very good. The W2 was D.O.A.
The worst part was trying to convince Elecraft is was bad from the factory. Also the person I talked with didn't even understand the product. He said he would send a replacement IC to plug in the socket. I asked what socket? All components are board mounted and coated , sealed. No sockets. A new board was finally shipped. So after 5 weeks I had a working W2. I didn't like the way it preformed so I sold it and purchased my old standby Autek Research WM-1.
I guess I expected a lot more from Elecraft after reading the comments for years about the other gear they produce.
The W2 is priced way to high for what you get.
K9YEQ Rating: 2010-01-25
Updated software makes for a keeper Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I withheld my review knowing that once I purchased the kit there would be firm/software updates and would reserve judgment until the product was "mature". Elecraft staff are very pleasant and responsive to customer concerns and early release issues have been quickly corrected.

I built the 2KW unit. The device allows updating and has computer software to closely monitor detailed forward and reflected power levels while the LEDs give a quick view of transmission characteristics. Alignment via utility has also improved. When I first received my unit there was an issue with instability when changing from the factory presets. This has been corrected by updates.

What I really like about the unit, besides the PC software, is the ability to interrupt the amplifier with the device in the event of high SWR. I can leave the transceiver on and adjust settings until the SWR is brought down. A great tool to protect against the loss of my amp. My Solid State amplifiers have built in fault circuitry but I would rather have the fault detected quickly by the W2 before the Amp. It does this for me when I inadvertently forget to change antenna or my frequency is in the wrong part of the band and the SWR is high.

The build for this unit was quick and easy. I have built plenty of equipment in the past so no big deal. The instructions are clear enough and the builders Elecraft reflector is a place to ask and answer questions... or pick up the phone and get help.

Criticism of accuracy in most cases is of little value based on non-lab comparisons. I find the meter to be right on. This device is a keeper!
K6CTA Rating: 2010-01-09
Form follows Function Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased a W2 in kit form. From opening the box to putting the W2 in-line took about 45 minutes. The kit goes together very easily.....there were no assembly issues. I added the power-on mod, which involves soldering 1 short jumper. If you do not put that mod in, there is no soldering required.

The unit is compact and well designed. It has a nice clean look to it. The led bar graphs allow for a very quick glance to see what is going on. I find this useful when operating. It is very easy to glance at the display to get an indication of output power and swr.

The firmware utility is simple to use, as is the interface for the computer if you wish to have an on-screen display.

I'm pleased with the W2......it does what it was designed to do very well......
HB9ANM Rating: 2010-01-04
Very nice SWR/wattmeter Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The W2 does exactly what it is supposed to do. And it does it pretty well. Assembly went smoothly. The problem IMHO is that it was developed by people who know a thing or two about power measurement, accuracy, resolution, precision and the like. For people who may not always be familiar with such matters... or are just accustomed to needle meters.
With the W2 Utility and/or the W2 PC program, it is quite easy (and for some people maybe comforting) to adjust the W2 to match the 5+% error of your BIRD which is by no means supposed to be a standard (even if recently calibrated), hi...
73 Richard - HB9ANM