Elecraft K2
 

With the review of the latest and greatest from TenTec in the most recent QST,
I couldn't resist pulling the review of the K2, also from an (older) QST, from
the file cabinet and comparing the K2 measured performance specifications
against those of the latest TenTec radio, the Orion. In virtually all cases,
the receiver parameters reported by ARRL for the K2 are at least as good as the
respective parameters of the Orion transeciver, and in some, even better. I
could find only one case where the Orion outmeasured the K2 receiver. The
blocking dynamic range of the Orion at 5 kHz with the preamp on is a little
better than the K2 by 5 or so dB. That's it ! !

I own a K2/100 and I must confess it has none of the digital birdies of the
TenTec Omni VI (10-meters, especially, is particularly bad) which I also own .
In addition, the K2 handles readability of a signal, be it SSB or CW, noticably
better than the Omni VI during noisey band conditions. Oh, and I especially
like the fully settable Jones crystal filter which is standard in the K2. The
designers at Elecraft did one excellent job of design! Even for the money, I
doubt if you could find a significantly better transceiver on the amateur
market today. Spend $1k for the K2 and you won't get much more performance
that counts by spending $5k.

Dave - W0LEV

PS: No, I'm not associated in any way with Elecraft. However, I have high
respect for the designers at Elecraft.
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