Jeremy wrote: >I've been looking around for a few weeks now for my first HF radio >(just recently newly licensed as a General) - and am looking at either >something like a Yaesu FT-101, or a Kenwood TS-820S.... or an Elecraft >K1 (probably just the 2-band 20m/40m version).
1. A person with reasonably developed technical skills will find that construction of the K1 presents no problems at all. One may be thankful that no surface mount components are used. 2. There is *no* reason other than cost to ever choose the two-band filter board over the four-band board, as long as the two bands in which you are interested are available on a four-band board. The K1 is limited at best, so it is unwise to choose a filter board that makes K1 coverage any more limiting than necessary. The two-band board is also inferior in RF performance, because the filters on the four-band board are very much sharper. I found that going to the four-band board more than doubled the usability of my K1. The best coverage option for the K1 is a four-band board for 40/30/20/15 meters, with a VFO span option of 150 kHz which will allow you to receive 10 MHz WWV on 30 meters. I also have a two-band board for 80/17 meters, though I seldom use it. 3. The KAT1 automatic antenna tuner should be the next item considered for addition to the K1. It is an excellent unit, within its limitations. The KNB1 noise blanker I have found to be ineffective on most noise sources I've encountered in seven years of K1 usage. The KBT1 internal battery I found to be troublesome (not easy to recharge, or remove, and it forces use of a very small speaker) in comparison using an external battery pack, so I discarded mine after 18 months. Thus, I'd put low priority on getting the KNB1 or KBT1. The K1 is my personal favorite QRP rig of all time. I own eight other commercial QRP rigs, but nothing I've seen that was before or after the appearance of the K1 meets my requirements so well, even after almost eight years of use. I especially like being able to easily set up at a campsite or park. All that having been said about the K1, in all honesty it would never be my first choice if I were trying to select an economical, general-use HF rig. I would want something that provided: 1. A maximum power output of about 100 watts, 2. Usability on Morse and SSB (and maybe AM and 10 meter FM), 3. General coverage receive capabilty (100 kHz to 30 MHz). Rigs with these capabilities began appearing in large number more than 25 years ago, though some were problematic. More recent rigs like the Kenwood TS-50S and Alinco DX-70 do very reasonable job providing all these capabilities in small packages (about seven pounds) and are low-cost on the used market. But a heavy 12 vdc power supply and antenna tuner will also be required. If I forget about general coverage receive, then the older last-generation vacuum tube PA rigs like the Kenwood TS-530, -530, 820, and 830, or Yaesu FT-101 series provide a lot of radio for the price, assuming the used set is working properly. The nice thing about them is that the AC power supply and a limited range antenna tuning (Pi) network is standard on these sets, most of which use some version of a pair of 6146 tubes in the PA. With a reasonably matched dipole system, then the radio is the only box that needs to be at the operating desk. I treasure my old TS-830S! Any of these "old-rig" options will provide greater performance and versatility than the K1 can provide. 73, Mike / KK5F _______________________________________________ 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
