Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Elecraft W2 Wattmeter

Category: SWR & Wattmeters & Dummy Loads

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
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
NZ0T Rating: 2009-12-22
Another great Elecraft product Time Owned: N.A.
I bought the kit and it went together easily and quickly. I don't have a Bird meter but the W2 agrees for the most part with 3 other meters I have and I doubt all 3 are wrong. I like the LED readout and the first couple of versions of the computer display software are excellent. I had 2 glitches. 1. The supplied sensor to meter cable developed an intermittent and 2. I had some trouble with the software. Why do I rate it a 5 even after a couple of problems? In both cases Elecraft responded very quickly to my questions - one of them on a Sunday - and both problems were resolved very quickly. I doubt very much that any other ham manufacturer would have done so. Great company and great products.
N0GZ Rating: 2009-12-11
First disapointing Elecraft product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this because I wanted an economically priced meter with dual remote sensors to indicate power to/from my linear amplifier and to provide over-SWR protection. The W-2 does do these things, just barely.

Because of the 20 LED display, do not expect great resolution. This long all-green RF power light bar is labeled but hard to interpret at a glance. I replaced the middle "10" LED with a red one which improved it somewhat. The SWR light bar is three color, perfect. The LED brightness is adjustable from very bright to way too bright.

The power accuracy is poor with both the low and high power directional couplers. Compared to my Bird and other meters, it reads 10-15% low. The SWR accuracy is ok. The peak reading hold time is too short to be useful. The auto-ranging feature, which is obviously designed to improve resolution, works but is confusing as it tends to quickly jump up and down a lot, especially with SSB. Alternatively, if you set it to a fixed higher range the lower power resolution suffers.

The W-2 comes as a semi-kit (no soldering), the assembly was quick and easy. It's compact, solid,and looks good. The manual is up to the usual excellent Elecraft standard.

I own several other Elecraft products, all outstanding. Unfortunately, this was the first big disappointment.
K4VUD Rating: 2009-11-30
Very good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a review of the new W-2 Elecraft wattmeter IN KIT FORM. Mine was purchased with two HIGH power Directional Couplers. The second coupler costs $100usd.

Assembly: Assembly is not for those with problems with small screws and tiny lock washers. Fortunately, those items are all you have to deal with in assembly, but they are small! In the lower center of the main board, one must align and insert a screw through a loose spacer into the board. If the spacer slips, start over. You could, I guess, put a small dab of RTV to hold the spacer in place, but be sure to wait for the RTV to dry.
The case is all that is to be assembled, and it is in 5 pieces. Screw hole mis-alignment was a medium problem for 2 screws, requiring lots of force to get the holes to line up. Removing paint from the inner holes to allow electrical continuity is fastest done with a grinder because this paint is really tough (a good point!).

Instructions: The 5 pages of instructions are clear and well photographed. You must look very carefully at the "2D" fastners to see a wider shoulder on one side--not well indicated in the instructions. My kit had an errata sheet with 5 changes. You are advised not to open the fully assembled Directional Couplers, and Elecraft has thoughtfully inserted a photo of the insides of the Couplers so you will be less likely to open them.

Supplied Parts: Included are a 1 meter red/black power cord with the coaxial power plug installed. There are no markings anywhere to indicate the polarity of the plug/socket--bad news if you are in the field with no factory wired plug. (The polarity should be written on the rear panel.) A five foot flat cable is supplied for each Directional Coupler to connect to the main unit, and telephone type plugs are factory-installed on both ends. One RCA/phono plug is supplied loose (that fits the 12VDC power out jack on the K3) and has to be soldered onto the power cord if desired. Also, a nice serial cable is provided with pre-installed plugs--to fit the rear of the main unit and a 9-pin computer plug on the other end.

Kit building summary: The screws are tiny. If you can handle them, the kit assembly is easy--2 hrs for the clumsy; 1 hr for everyone else.

Features: Dual Directional Couplers for two rigs are available, the Couplers are separate from the main unit to keep thick coax from pulling unit off the table, everything has a plug and socket (no dangling wires permanently connected), remote usage, over-SWR lock out, simple but adequate controls, and LEDs to indicate everything. It can be up-graded via downloads from Elecraft.

Overall: I had to push too hard to align the holes to give it a "great" rating, but assembled, it likely would be great.

I do not pretend to measure its accuracy, but it does what I want--indicates output power. See Elecraft notices for other features and details.
de K4VUD Charles
K2NF Rating: 2009-11-14
Built and installed in 45 minutes ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received the kit version today with the 1.8-54 Mhz 2kw sensor. Assembly takes about 45 minutes. Plug the led display circuit board into the main board and then build the case around that assembly. Uses right angle connector blocks and about 30 4-40 screws. Make sure you read the errata sheet before building otherwise you will have problems with the screw type counts. When constructing I had a problem with alignment of the top and bottom case parts where the relay phono jacks come out of the back of the case. Appeared to be due to the jack assembly being about 3/16 inch off from where it should have been on the main circuit board. Went together ok but both jacks are off center from the case cutouts. Will follow up with Elecraft to see if it can be resolved. Will note that they did a very good job of aligning the 40 LEDs on the display circuit board- very little " tweaking " if any is required to get them into straight lines. As assembled, the unit worked without issue the first time 12V power and TX was applied. The LEDS are very bright but they can be toned down with the brightness pot. Auto range idles on the 20W setting and then jumps to 200W when barefoot power is applied. LEDs respond rapidly to power and SWR peaks. Have not cranked up the linear to see how it plays on higher power nor did I test the high SWR relay cut-out feature. Peak hold is kind of brief in that it illuminates the peak power led for about 1 second so you need to pay attention if you want to see the peak. I dont have a Bird or other " reference grade " wattmeter, but compared to my various MFJ meters and Autek WM-1 the W2 seems to be reading about 80w out when all of the others show 100w for keydown CW when running barefoot. SWR readings seemed to be in line with the other meters. I would be interested in other builders observations on accuracy. Overall a very simple build and very easy and quick deployment. I actually forgot how small it was - just 6 inches across and a little over an inch high. Overall a good accessory that allows a quick (and entertaining) visual check on PO and SWR without having to resolve a meter needle.