David and All, Elecraft has stated that the K2 is an ongoing product and not replaced by the K3. I have a considerable investment in my K2 and would like to believe Elecraft when they state that they will continue to develop it. This is one of the things that has separated Elecraft from the rest of the manufacturers who will develop a rig to a certain point then discontinue it and replace it with a new model.
Certainly the K3 is a more flexible radio and has a much greater potential for a multitude of features. To me it would be very sad, if Elecraft only devoted their engineering efforts on the K3. I can see where getting the announced features working would be a priority, but K3 further enhancements should be scheduled to at least allow for some development on the rest of their product line. There are many things that can still be done in the K2. First in my mind is to fix the synthesizer clicks every 5 Khz when tuning in the presence of a strong signal. I know this is a difficult one, but I feel it is a glaring problem in an otherwise excellent receiver. The K2 manual on page 6 states that "Other CW and SSB fixed crystal filter options may be available." It would be nice to have more fixed crystal filter options available. I would like to be able to add a 1.8 KHz fixed crystal filter. Yes, the variable CW filter can be set to that bandwidth, but it has considerable ripple at 1.8 KHz. The noise blanker and VOX could be greatly improved. In the past there were discussions that a high performance noise blanker could be developed. The downside was that it would use mostly SMD components and not be in step with the through-hole design philosophy of the K2. Most people were willing to accept the deviation from the philosophy for the added performance. Flatter 160 meter bandpass filter characteristics, less harmonics in the sidetone, or built in digital mode interfaces are more examples. There is also a list of firmware feature enhancements that have been asked for over the years. I would love to see a menu option to delete the reverse sideband selection from the mode button rotation. The CW RV key already switches between USB and LSB, so not having to step through an unused mode with the mode key would be welcome. Or a selectable range for the Keyer pot. I would also like to see the KRC2 to be configurable to operate or release a relay for things like ANT 1/2, TUNE, and PRE/ATT. Also many of us have done considerable mods on our K2's, but we are limited by the firmware. With active firmware development more mods could be supported. I would love to see Elecraft open source the firmware, as it would allow independent development of new features and hardware mods. This would really allow the K2 to become an experimenters rig. I really have a hard time believing that open sourcing the K2 firmware would give away all of Elecraft's secrets or cause them financial loss. I would expect it would increase sales as more experimenters would be attracted to the rig. If Elecraft can't be persuaded to open source the K2 firmware, and have no time to further develop it, another solution is to grant a licence to a few independent developers. Like the Giehl and N4PY chips for some Ten-Tec rigs, or the DSWK chip for the Small Wonder Labs DSW and DSW-II transceivers. Like those waiting for K3's, I too hope that Elecraft catches up very soon so that they can further develop existing products and bring new ones to market. 73, Darrell VA7TO K2 #5093 On Monday 28 April 2008 14:25, David Yarnes wrote: > Darrell And All, > > No flame intended here, but just what do you expect to be done for the K2? > Remember, the K2 is not expandable like the K3. It did have some spare > room in the firmware initially, but I think much, if not most, of it has > been used up. Furthermore, the K2 had many, many years of being pretty > much center stage, so I think you can reasonably say the K2 is "mature", or > at least nearly so within it's range of possibilities. Sure, it can still > be improved in bits and pieces here and there, but not as dramatically as > can the K3. I think many of the significant improvements that could be > made to the K2 would require considerable reworking of the design, or at > least the physical properties in the K2. I may be dead wrong about this, > but that is certainly what I was led to believe by the folks at Elecraft > themselves when they first announced the K3. In other words, Elecraft was > breaking out from the limitations inherent in their own K2 design by > initiating the K3. If you have a thirst for some substantial increase in > performance in your K2, I think what you really need to a K3! > > Dave W7AQK > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Darrell Bellerive" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> > Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 12:56 PM > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Concern > > > Exactly one year ago today Wayne Burdick, N6KR, wrote: > > "The K2 is an ongoing product that we'll be updating as time permits. As > > you may know, we're not a large company, so our engineering resources > > will be stretched at times." > > > > I think that after a full year of K3 development, Wayne and the rest of > > the > > Elecraft R&D team should take a break from the K3 and go back to K2 > > development. And I'm sure those waiting on the KPA800 and KPA1500 would > > like > > to see some progress there too. > > > > That should get the K3 whiners going. :=) <flame suit on> > > > > 73, > > Darrell VA7TO K2 #5093 -- Darrell Bellerive Amateur Radio Stations VA7TO and VE7CLA Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
