Hey Jeremy, I got licensed a couple of years ago and built a K2 as my first rig. I too, have a similar technical background and found the building process very rewarding and gave me a great sense of how the K2 works as well as the ability to troubleshoot it if needed. It was a great educational experience for someone who wanted to get back into ham radio and electronics in general. I am sure that someone with your background will have no problem with the K1 - and if you do, you have a great community resource right here to help guide you along in the event you have problems.
If you are new to ham radio in general, QRP can be somewhat daunting in getting started and making contacts. I would do a lot of listening first to get a handle on things and hear what a CW contact sounds like. There are numerous references out there that list how a CW contact should go and all of the nomenclature that goes with one. With that said, after a couple dozen or so learning QRO contacts, I started operating QRP all summer long in my front yard with my K2 and had a riot. It certainly takes more practice and patients to operate QRP but I was totally amazed at the number and distances I covered running just 5 watts (and this at the low spot in the solar cycle). You will find this reflector a great resource for technical assistance and really, anything to do with ham radio in general. I know I have probably learned more about ham radio from this list than any other single resource (beside the great many books I've read). When you get that K1 on the air, don't hesitate to contact me for some practice QSO's. I live near Detroit, so I'm sure we can hook up QRP. I'm still trying to get my code speed up myself and I like to hang out in the old novice parts of 40 and 20 meters. Good luck in your decision and I hope this helps. Take care & 73, Dave W8FGU -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Elecraft-K1-as-my-first-HF-rig---tp17441394p17441931.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ 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
