Hello Paul,
I would like to add some of my views.
K2 is a radio which is actually serviceable by yourself. It is still one of
the best radio for field day and portable operation. Bearing in mind, the
standby current of K2 could be as low as 180mA which is lower than that of K3.
Don is correct that if you eventually go for a fully loaded K2, then you better
go for a K3/10.
Commerically speaking, K2 is a mature product and most of its R&D costs have
already been fully recovered. K2 is in fact a cash cow to Elecraft with nearly
no additional need for maintenance. There is currently not much point for them
to discontinue K2. Trust me, Elecraft is a very clever business organisation.
If you take a closer look of the components used in K2, there are really not
many parts irreplaceable. Even without the supply from Elecraft, you can
easily get close substitutes. Therefore, I have no worries about the
discontinuity (if it is the case).
Apart from budget, ask yourself what you really want? If more than 50% is for
portable and field day, I would choose K2. On the other hand, if you prefer
more station use, I would suggest a basic K3/10. K3 is all mode and has 6m.
Its DSP is far better than the KDSP2.
cheers,
Johnny VR2XMC
----- 郵件原件 ----
寄件人﹕ Don Wilhelm <w3...@embarqmail.com>
收件人﹕ Paul Huff <ph...@mi.rr.com>
副本(CC) elecraft@mailman.qth.net
傳送日期﹕ 2009/12/11 (五) 8:46:26 AM
主題： Re: [Elecraft] Is the K2 old technology?
Paul,
I do not believe Elecraft will discontinue the K2 nor its options for
some long time to come. Yes, the K2 is over 10 years old, but still
going strong. It is a 'mature' product, which means that there will not
likely be additional updates for it down the road. You can feel safe
buying the basic K2 and adding options later. These are not just my
thoughts, they have been confirmed by Wayne and Eric publicly on this
reflector.
A fully loaded K2 will give you most of the features that a basic K3
offers although the K3 offers some nice 'extras' too, so ...
If your final goal is a fully loaded K2 (with all options including the
KDSP2), then you will find the price is comparable with the K3 basic
cost, but if you must do it incrementally due to budget constraints,
then the K2 has a lower entry price.
The K2 is a great performing transceiver all by itself - and it is still
not very far down the list on the Sherwood listings.
I am assuming that you will enjoy building the K2 from its discrete
parts rather than plugging the boards together and assembling the
hardware pieces - the latter is the assembly process for the K3 kit. If
the building process turns you off, then save up your ham budget dollars
and go for the basic K3.
73,
Don W3FPR
Paul Huff wrote:
> I think that I have finally saved up enough money to purchase my long-desired
> K2. But there are two thoughts that cause me to hesitate:
>
> First, is the K2 "long in the tooth"? Am I spending a significant amount of
> money on technology that is on it's way to being obsolete?
>
> Second, I will only be able to purchase a basic K2 and plan on adding the
> extras to it over the next couple of years. Will Elecraft still be offering
> those products for that length of time?
>
> I guess that I will ask that 2nd question directly to Elecraft, but any
> opinions
> on the first question would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks in advance and 73,
> Paul - N8XMS
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