Phil if you had read down to the next paragraph you would have seen that I wrote that I do exactly the same thing using the VFO B knob for coarse tuning … except I prefer to use 2.5 khz for SSb.
From: Phil Wheeler [mailto:w...@socal.rr.com] Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2016 9:21 AM To: Don Butler; 'Doug Turnbull'; elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KX1 vs KX2 vs KX3? from someone who owns one of each.. Don, Re "it is really rather cumbersome to slowly tune the bands with the KX2 main dial ... ": I use the VFO B knob as a coarse VFO A tuner, set at 0.5 kHZ for CW and 1.0 kHz for SSB. Works great! Phil W7OX On 6/30/16 7:44 AM, Don Butler wrote: In addition to a few K3s, I also own a KX1, KX2, and KX3 and believe that I am in a position where I can make a few unbiased comparisons between the “KX” group. EI2CN asked today about weight comparisons between the three radios so I thought I would provide that info and add just a couple of my own thoughts about the three different radios. My KX1 (4 band and tuner) with paddle and 6 lithium batteries weighs 14.6 oz. My KX2 (tuner and clock) with battery pack but without paddle weighs 20 oz. The battery pack alone weighs 5 ½ oz. Adding the KXPD3 (since the KXPD2 is still back ordered) adds about 1 oz to make the total package 21 oz. My KX3 (with all options and also with the 3rd party sidekick panels) and with 8 NIMH batteries, charger and KXPD3 weighs 35 oz. …. The NIMH batteries make up about 8 oz of that total. Since I own and have used all three radios, and really have no reason for bias, I thought I would share my thoughts relative to comparisons. For clarification these are MY opinions only … the way I feel about the three radios as an owner of each… and of course this is not an attempt to be any kind of in depth review or comparison…. I’m going to focus on the main encoder dial only. Here goes: To me, the KX2 has rendered the KX1 obsolete .... the KX2 has virtually every capability of the KX1 but also has much much more … is about the same size and weighs just 7 oz more. It’s the perfect radio for travelling light or backpacking for portable QRP operation. I prefer the KX3 over the KX2 .... mainly because of the main tuning knob …. It was apparently necessary to use a smaller encoder on the KX2 to keep the overall package small (and that has been accomplished). But to me it came at a significant price because it is really rather cumbersome to slowly tune the bands with the KX2 main dial when compared to doing so with the very nice encoder on the KX3. To me the main dial on the KX2 has the same feel as the dial on the KX1 ….. while the main dial on the KX3 is more like that on the K3 …… the KX3 wins on my scorecard on that comparison hands down, and it therefore remains my choice for most operating situations. There are workaround alternatives to make tuning easier on the KX2 .. for example it’s actually easier to tune up and down the bands using the MH3 up/down buttons than doing so with the main tuning knob …. But who really wants to tune a radio with mic buttons? …. Not me! Coarse tuning with the VFO B knob is the best option in my hands… and I have mine set for 0.5 khz on CW and 2.5 khz on SSB, which allows me to scan the band with coarse tuning and tweak with the main dial when I find a signal of interest. I will choose the KX3 for “in shack” use (but after the K3 of course) and for any portable use when I want to spend significant time with the radio and log lots of QSOs. ( FYI, our Field Day group operated 1A here in Utah using my KX3/KXPA100 at 100 watts , deep cycle battery, CrankIR and center fed zepp … and, with lots of off time and sleeping through the night we still managed to log over 600 CW qsos). I will pick the KX2 for portable QRP operation when I want to travel light and do not plan to spend hours on the air. I doubt that I will be using the KX1 in the future …. but it’s still a keeper as far as I’m concerned J Just one man’s opinions … 73, Don, N5LZ ______________________________________________________________ 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
