First licensed in 1952, I've never felt as good operating any rig as one I built myself, either from scratch like my first Novice rig or at the very least from a kit.
I still remember running net control during a Civil Defense exercise from W6CV in Southern CA, a station owned by a good friend with a beautiful collection of National and E.F. Johnson equipment and, after the exercise was over as I drove home in my '47 Studebaker eagerly looking forward to putting my homebrew 6L6 oscillator on the air in the 80 meter novice band. Doing that was more exciting because I had worked out the circuit from an old handbook and built it on an salvaged chassis, complete with a tank coil made out of (door) bell wire wound on a circle of nails. My station was completed with a homebrew superhet - several of them over time. Because of that background my K2, built in 1999, is still my favorite rig in spite of the K3S it shares my shack with. I was an eager participant in many of the upgrades it got in the first few years, happy to modify the circuits and do the required testing. For SOME of us, the "magic" of cobbling together the parts, working out the circuit, building and putting a rig on the air is more important than our contest scores or DXCC standing. 73, Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Buddy Brannan Sent: Friday, January 26, 2018 6:29 PM To: Elecraft Reflector Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Who would spend 30 hours+ building an Elecraft K2? (plus: special pricing) Howdy, Thanks Wayne for the look back. Great stuff! Like others, my K2 is not for sale. No matter what other rigs may grace my shack, the K2 stays. Nope, I didn't build it (I'm all thumbs), but, besides being a super performer and just tons of fun, being a gift from my first guide dog upon his retirement (with help, naturally, from other humans), it has huge sentimental value. Thanks Karl. Come to think of it, I think Elecraft has been something of a tradition for important milestones. The KX1, I got when I went to Ukraine to adopt our daughter in 2004. It's now living with a longtime friend and partner in mischief. The KX3 I got myself as a 25th hamiversary gift. What's next? Vy 73, -- Buddy (a fake ham) Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA Mobile (preferred): (814) 431-0962 Phone: (814) 860-3194 Email: [email protected] "We are all just walking each other home." > On Jan 26, 2018, at 7:02 PM, Bill Frantz <[email protected]> wrote: > > I have always thought that real hams build their own equipment and uber hams design and build their own equipment. I guess that makes Wayne a uber ham. > > 73 Bill AE6JV > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Bill Frantz | If the site is supported by | Periwinkle > (408)356-8506 | ads, you are the product. | 16345 Englewood Ave > www.pwpconsult.com | | Los Gatos, CA 95032 > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email > list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to > [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
