If the idea of needing to use CW to make QRP contacts seems
off-putting, you can always use PSK31. It's very popular now, and just
as effective as CW at low power levels. In that respect, the K3 with
its built in PSK31 support (and built-in CW decoder too) might be the
better choice.
--
Julian,
, 2007 4:13 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2/100 or K3/10?
Another way to look at it is that 10 watts is 10 dB (about 1.5 S-units)
below 100 watts.
That's enough to make a difference, but not a huge difference in who you
can work and when, especially on CW. SSB is perhaps
I thought I'd put in my 2 cents on these current topics.
On the K2/100 vs. K3/10: if I could have only one, I think I'd go for
the K3/10. Why? Because the K3 receiver hears so much better. Both the
basic selectivity and anti-noise capabilities of the K3 are superior to
the K2, even with DSP
Quite so! One can think of it in terms of bandwidth too, since the bandwidth
varies in proportion to the data rate. Wider bandwidth signals, such as SSB,
can be thought of as spreading the same RF power over a wider frequency
expanse of noise, so the S/N suffers.
Elecraft designed the K2 with a
I own neither yet, but I have an IC746 that serves me fine for now as a 100W
base rig.
In this situation I am leaning towards the K2/QRP as a next rig, for the
reason of portability. An excellent transceiver with a battery pack, an
antenna tuner and all, ready to take along on travels or put up
I built the K2 with internal battery and all accessories for a compact
stand alone QRP rig and the KPA100/ KAT100 in a separate EC2 enclosure
for QRO base operation.
Enjoyed assembling the kits, lots of toroid winding and soldering.
I find that I use the K2 QRP the most when spending time
Keith:
Not having a K3 in hand, I am just making a best guess, but I would
say, based on your self-description as a cw ragchewer, casual DXer,
and contester-light, I'd say go for the K2/100. This recommendation
takes into account that you want 100 watts. But if you're happy with
the K3/10 power
Keith
My favourite rig since 2001 is my ten Watt K2. There's plenty of DX to
be worked on 10 Watts of CW, even with my simple wire antennas I've
worked dozens of countries out as far as ZL. SSB would be another issue,
ten Watts of SSB is hard work compared to ten Watts of CW.
Given the
Hey Keith,
I'm a new ham, so take this for what its worth. I have K2/100 #5099 and it
is my first transceiver. I did the split of the KPA100 into the EC2 with the
KAT100. This summer I operated almost exclusively outside in my yard with my
basic K2 and a small wire doublet up in a tree. I ran 5
Another way to look at it is that 10 watts is 10 dB (about 1.5 S-units)
below 100 watts.
That's enough to make a difference, but not a huge difference in who you can
work and when, especially on CW. SSB is perhaps a little more of a
challenge, but that might be because I'm a CW op too and only
I would get the K3 for the same reason that Dave gave. If you get the K2 it
won't be long before you are wondering about the K3 and you'll probably end up
with both. If you get the K3 you can save some money. When everyone starts
getting their K3's, you'll be reading about them and that will
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