[Elecraft] K2 and the TX9 from the Southeast
Hi Don: I have been away for several days, and just now read your account of working TX9 under tough conditions. Your experience with the K2 mirrors mine, although you have more equipment! There is a lot I like about my TS-850, but if truth be told, the K2 is my main station rig (and it is still only QRP, the KPA100 is not finished yet). The K2 is better on CW, and despite the 850's wonderful (and much fuller audio) the K2 is less fatiguing to operate on SSB, at least for me. Also it is simply more fun. Don, your report is the kind that should be put on the eham review site. Personal experience of real operating, balanced, believable, and with a minimum of hype. If it is not there already, I hope you will consider sending it to them. 73 John, N6JW K2 #3290 [Original] With my poor antennas and equally poor propagation (with only a couple of exceptions, they were ESP) working the TX9 from here in the Southeast was NOT easy for me! Like some others, I also spent pretty much the entire period of their operation chasing them on about 5 hours of sleep per night. The result: 3 contacts - 2 cw (17 meters - one QRO, one QRP) and 1 ssb (10 meters). TX9 is DXCC # 344 for me so in my little world it had to be bell to bell. I have 4 stations set up (lots of equipment - lots of covenant restrictions and therefore rotton antennas!) each with linear amps. K2; Icom 756 Pro II; Yaesu 1000MP Mark V; and Collins S-line. All three qso's were made using the K2! [snip] There are lots of things about each of the other rigs that I really like - but - if I had to keep just one it would have to be the K2. What an amazing little box! 73 es gud dx --don n4hh K2/100 #2028, etc, etc. ___ 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
[Elecraft] K2 and the TX9 from the Southeast
With my poor antennas and equally poor propagation (with only a couple of exceptions, they were ESP) working the TX9 from here in the Southeast was NOT easy for me! Like some others, I also spent pretty much the entire period of their operation chasing them on about 5 hours of sleep per night. The result: 3 contacts - 2 cw (17 meters - one QRO, one QRP) and 1 ssb (10 meters). TX9 is DXCC # 344 for me so in my little world it had to be bell to bell. I have 4 stations set up (lots of equipment - lots of covenant restrictions and therefore rotton antennas!) each with linear amps. K2; Icom 756 Pro II; Yaesu 1000MP Mark V; and Collins S-line. All three qso's were made using the K2! With their signals ESP most of the time, the only rig that gave me any sort of readable copy was the K2 - yes, I could tell they were in there on the others but I could actually copy them on the K2 ! In order they were: K2, 75S-3, and the Pro II and MK V were about the same. I know that the 40 year old Collins 75S-3 being second may seem out of place to many but with the 200 hz Collins xtal filter (augmented with the Timewave DSP 5-9+) it is quite amazing even in today's world (see Sherwood's various musings on rcvrs). The Pro II had one advantage over the K2 and the others - the notch filter on it simply is the best! On ssb the notch filter eliminated the cw on top of them on 40 in the manual position - the others could not touch it! I've never been impressed with the dsp notch in my K2 even with lots of fiddling with the parameters. I have to rate it as only fair - 'course, I believe that the Pro II does the dsp notch at the IF and that makes an amazing difference! There are lots of things about each of the other rigs that I really like - but - if I had to keep just one it would have to be the K2. What an amazing little box! 73 es gud dx --don n4hh K2/100 #2028, etc, etc. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.778 / Virus Database: 525 - Release Date: 10/15/04 ___ 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
