Hi Richard: It sounds like we are on about the exact same page :) The biggest issue here of course is money ...I've spent ..well I don't even want to guess how much in the last year or so on ..the K3 Line ..plus the Expert Amp, plus an IRLP Micronode and so on and so on. Sooner or later I'm going to end up with another K3 for the remoting possibilities ..if nothing else. I'm not patient enough I guess to order a basic model ..then pull the cover off and add things as I go ...so my only option on that is to go as loaded as I'm going to be and that's gonna end up costing 4 to 5K. KX3 is out for the reasons you described. I've heard about the same issues you have as far as ALC spikes. Supposedly there is a partial fix in firmware, and a promised hardware fix ..but that promise has been out there for a couple of years. I'm gonna try and dig up a contester or two who uses the 590 with a solid state amp and see if they have issues.
I expect that ultimately ..I'll end up buying all three ..I want the KX3 to play with for "holiday dxpedition" kinds of things (I operate from J7 once in awhile, and in general travel a fair amount) and a K3 for general backup and remoting). If the chances look good that I can reliably drive the amps with the TS590 ..that will probably be the first purchase ...since ...well ..I can afford it! BTW, I hate you! :) Now I'm looking at the 4O3A Triplexer and thinking "Hmmm ..I wonder if there is enough RF isolation for it to work with my Log Periodic." I don't have room for a second tower ..and really am pushing the Wind Load Capacity of my guyed 70 feet of Rohn 25 with the LPDA and a VHF/UHF beam. If I had a triplexer, it would make SO2R a lot more helpful ..since for now ..Radio 2 can only use my various wire antennas. Have I mentioned just how much of a money suck this hobby is! 73 Steve KL7SB -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Richard Thorne Sent: Friday, March 28, 2014 3:43 AM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] SO2R thoughts Steve, I'm going through the same exact issue as you. I currently have the K3/P3/KAT500/KPA500 combo with a MK2R+ connected to it. I already have an Ameritron AL-1200 for a backup amp (I'm working anything I can hear with my K Line so I took the AL-1200 off line for now). My plan is to get a 2nd rig and use my loaded K3 as the main radio in combination with the AL-1200 amp. Since, in theory, I won't be jumping around band to band with the main run rig tuning the AL-1200 won't be that big a deal. Now to your question on a 2nd rig. I went through the same exact analysis as your doing comparing the K3, KX3 and TS-590. After researching the KX3 it's lacking FSK and there is no direct support from Microham for the rig, so I crossed it off the list. By the time you get the KX3/amp combo you start approaching the cost of a basic K3. I joined the Yahoo group for the TS-590 and there are a lot of issues, apparently, with power spikes when the rig first transmits. That would probably trip the KPA-500, the Expert amp or one of the high end auto tune tube amps. I really gave the TS-590 some serious thought for the 2nd rig since top contester N2IC uses a pair of them, but he's driving manual tune tube amps. So I've crossed the TS-590 off of my list. I've decided to target another basic K3 for my 2nd rig. I won't get many options. Probably just the rig with a couple of 8 pole filters to start with. I really think there is an advantage of having two identical rigs from an operational stand point. Now if I can just come up with some hardware to share my current antenna system (a couple tribanders on the same tower and monoband antennas on 40, 80 and 160) between the two rigs. The triplexers (for 10,15,20) on the market are interesting but my 500 watt station is caught in the middle. There are 200 watt triplexers and 1.5kw triplexers with prices of a few hundred $'s a a few thousand $'s. I do have room for a 2nd tower, so I'll have to go through a cost and operational comparison of triplexers or a 2nd tower with antennas. I picked up a used Acom 2s1 t/r switch I may experiment with. It won't give me a true SO2R station but it will at least allow me to use two rigs with one antenna system/amp for now. In the mean time I'm having a blast with my K line. I worked VU4K on 10m and 15m ssb the last two evenings. Rich - N5ZC On 3/27/2014 9:25 PM, Stephen Bloom wrote: > Hey all: > > I've been the owner of a K3, KAT500, and KPA500, and a Microham MK2R+ > for about 9 months now. Love em all. The one additional thing I > wanted was a Legal Limit amp (I'm a fairly active contester). Bought > an Expert 2K-FA and just put that online. So far so good. The one > clear downside to the 2K-FA is ...that it is loud (actually quieter > than most High Power amps but still loud). > > With that said ...and given the fact that the Expert Amp SO2R isn't > really SO2R (second antenna is rx only) ...I'm going to pair a second > rig with the > KPA500 and use it as a backup contest rig and as main for non contest > Qs where I don't need the extra 3DB. Right now the second rig is a > Kenwood > TS2000 ...which isn't really a contest or DX quality transceiver. The > three options I'm mulling over are .. > > 1) another K3 ...Upside: SO2R is most intuitive with identical > xcvrs, plays well with KPA500/KAT500, identical cabling ...Downside: > Expensive, It's more fun to have different rigs to play with, and like > others, I find the K3 can be kind of "harsh" to listen to for many hours. > > 2) Kenwood TS590 ...Upside: Biggest bang for the buck (IMO) contest > capable xcvr, Good audio ..Downside: Looks like it has a weird audio > codec (meaning not the standard Kenwood). I see that N1MM works with > it ...but I wonder about other software plus the MK2R+. > > 3) KX3+KXPA100(+existing KAT/KPA500) ..Upside: The KX3 really intrigues me. > In a perfect world ...the Second Rig would be one I could easily take > portable. The Sherwood reviews seem to indicate that the KX3 rcv > performance is comparable to the K3, and I'm a real fan of Elecraft in > general. Downside: Clearly there is no technical reason one couldn't > chain all this together, but I wonder if anyone actually has done it, > and if there were any configuration issues > > > Any input would be appreciated. > > Thanks and 73 > Steve KL7SB > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 Message delivered to > rtho...@rthorne.net > ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to sbl...@acsalaska.net ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
