Hi Shane, I bought a K2 for myself this past Christmas and am building it now (I just finished my session for the evening, in fact). I have used K3's at other stations and they are wonderful; I have no doubt that at some point I will own one. Like you, I had the concern about longevity of the K2, but in the end my requirements were more fully met by the K2 than the K3.
In late 2009 I sold all of my appliances (except 2 HT's and a mobile in my vehicle) and bought a K1. The build experience was fantastic, I learned a lot about how the radio worked by looking at the schematics as well as the parts, and it forced me to learn CW if I wanted to get on the air! This year, I'm building the K2 system to expand both my understanding of more complex tranceivers and my stations capabilities. SSB and more bands will be very welcome. The traditional nature of the K2 kit appealed to me after my K1 experience. My operating needs can be met by either the available options or 3rd party modifications, and the size of the finished product will fit my shack better than a K3 just now. Someone else will have to comment on performance (mine is still mostly in parts bags, after all), but the K2 has already provided me with hours of pleasure and I haven't even powered it on yet! Will it be replaced? Well, it has, by the K3. I would not put it past Elecraft to come out with another small kit radio, but probably not a traditional full-feature radio kit like the K1 or K2. A KX3 SDR-based trail radio that uses cell phone DSP chips? That I could see them doing. My 2 cents, 73, Byron N6NUL K1 #2799 K2 #7077 (in progress. Unboxing video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFiXSuTiCmU) Most mini modules ---- - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2011 Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2011 - www.cqp.org ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
