Hi everyone, I am forwarding this partial email thread from the Moon-net list to everyone here on the Elecraft list in hopes to generate a good discussion (not a flame war!) on the use of the K2 for weak signal use. I would appreciate hearing all responses to this subject because I was considering using the K2 (or maybe the K3?) for weak signal work someday. What are the major strengths/weaknesses of the K2 in this area, and what can be done to improve this.
There are some very knowledgable people on this list and your experience in this area would be most appreciated. Thanks, Tony K4YYZ -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sergio Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 4:08 AM To: D.W. Harms Cc: Moon Net Subject: Re: [Moon-net] Elecraft K2 IF for EME All, I used to have a K2 and I share the same comments you have mentioned as well as Shawn's one. Aside a number of minor things, I was mostly annoyed by the bad ripple of the IF filters too, which is not a trivial thing. They kept the filters area still at a 'very kit level' , maybe it would have been better to put some extra effort there. Another major draw back for me it was the 10Hz step tuning, which with the very tight DSP set at maybe 50Hz BW it didn't really ensure a proper operation in CW/weak signals. Yes one could eventually set the RIT as the 'fine resolution tune' but then the split function was lost and, in my case, I could not compensate the doppler anymore thus being obliged to use another rig in TX... This is just to report my practical experience, it is not my intention to bias any soul. Aside this, I also have to report that building the radio was definitely a nice experience bringing a lot of satisfaction and excitement during its progression. Sergio IK2MMB D.W. Harms wrote: > Hi Don e.e. > > Besides my home mde transceiver I have the K2 with a built in DEM > transvertor (144-28 ECK) in use since Januari 2004. > In combination with the transvertor it slightly outperforms my home made > transceiver. I can highly recommend the radio! > > There are only two things that bother me: > > 1. The throughput gain on 28 MHz seems to be low. I made a seperate output > on the rig to bring the 28 MHz signal to my Drake R7/Tr7 combination and I > have obviously more signal there. This of course could influance the > overall noise floor... > The K2 really marvels at the lower HF-bands, but the front-end filters on > 28 MHz are not that good. That is probably why the excellent strong-signal > behaviour for which the K2 is well-known, is not too obvious on 28 MHz. I > sometimes think about replacing the frontend filters, or to change the IF > to 14 MHz. > > 2. The IF-filter seems to produce some ripple, as reported by another ham > here on moonnet. Of course this is a killer in weak signal work! I have > not noticed it myself, but heard others (PA0CHN) complain about it. > > It was fun building the radio during the x-mas holidays together with my > youngest son. So if you are looking for a "heatkit-like" project, then go > for it! > It is a superb radio for portable work. I use it in combination with a > 300W mosfet amp for MS-work and have good experiences. It is probably much > better than the average portbale multi-multi band rice-boxes... > > I am not too sure yet if it is the best radio for weak-signal EME work. I > have to do some more investigation. It is hard to judge given the fact > that I have lots of urban noise, something that EVERY radio would suffer > from hi! > > I also saw a remark about microphones. Well, I have used the K2 wit both > an electret and a MD-microphone. Both worked well, though you should not > expect HIFI reports... But then again, I am no fone-fan so I dont bother > too much... > > VY 73, Dick PA2DW > > > >> Is anyone using the Elecraft K2 transceiver on 28 MHz as the "IF" in an >> EME system? If so I would appreciate your evaluation of the K2 in terms >> of "receive" capability of weak EME cw signals. Please reply direct to >> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Moon-Net posting and subscription instructions are at >> http://www.nlsa.com/nets/moon-net-help.html _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] 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
