I have had my K2 with SSB, DSP, Noise Blanker, and KP100 for about a year.
I had a few problems of my own making while building it, and Don/others
helped get things straight. I work mainly CW. I use SSB only when that's
the only mode for desirable DX; my mike is a Heil HC4 plugged in directly
[no preamp]. I use the K2 to drive a 500w tube amp when that seems
necessary. I have played with the filters using Spectogram on many
occasions, for fun as well as for performance. I've never missed a contact
because of the K2's "limitations," on CW or SSB. Now, all that said...
It's a great radio. I put my FT990 on the shelf and it's gathering dust.
Wouldn't go back for anything. Are there commercial transceivers that out
perform it in some manner? Can you spend several $K's and out
bells-and-whistles it? Sure. But for the joy of building something that
performs as well as it does and that I can tinker with to my heart's
content, I wouldn't trade it for anything. And, that includes the K3 for
the time being. I'm still learning how to use it to its maximum capability,
and I have a lot of experience in electronics.
So, there are no doubt those who gripe about one thing or another with the
K2. It's unfair to say, but as a clinical psychologist [cross trained from
aerospace :-) ] I'm guessing that their main expertise is griping, not
rigorously evaluating the K2. Does the K3 and others offer more? Perhaps.
But you can't smell the solder, and for my money and fun, that's
irreplaceable. I started on Heathkits in the 1950's, and allowing for the
usual old geezer effect, the throw-it-away-cell-phone mentality and griping
that goes along with it is a sad development that has little if anything to
do with the K2's performance.
...robert
At 02/07/2008 21:31, DW Holtman wrote:
Hello,
I have a K1, which I like. I was thinking about getting a K2 while waiting
for my K3 (ordered 27 Dec). I went to the E-ham web page and read some of
the reviews. There are a lot of people who really do not think too much of
the K2. One or two might be some crack pot, but there are a whole bunch of
not happy users. All of the magazine reviews seem to love it.
Comments on why the ratings have so many unhappy K2 users? The worst are
the users using the K2/100 and most complaints seem to be it's ability on
SSB. I guess it was originally designed for a CW rig, so don't expect good
performance on SSB?. The reports on the K1 and K3 are glowing.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/2357
Best,
DW Holtman
WB7SSN
elecraft.com
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Robert G. Strickland PhD ABPH - KE2WY
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Syracuse, New York USA
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