Re: To those about to rock, we salute you (K3 v. K2)

[eric norris]

I agree with you, Dick.

The K2 and K3 are very different radios and I LOVE THEM BOTH.  The K3 is a Ferrari Enzo, and the K2 is a Porsche 911 GT2..  Why not drive them both?  

My biggest regret as a ham is selling the Heathkit HW-16 and HW-101 I built in my youth--to buy a used TS-520.  It makes me sick thinking about it.

You can have my KX1, K1, K2, and K3 when you pry them from my cold, dead, QRS hands.

73, Eric WD6DBM

Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:15:20 -0800 (PST)
From: PA3CW <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] To those that have the K2 and K3
To: [hidden email]
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii


I have both K2 and K3. Although the K3 is my main station i am not
considering to sell my K2 at all. Like Julian said, it is a home build rig
and I am proud to have it.  I once had a HW8 and sold it. Now feel sorry for
doing so.  I think when i should sell my K2 i will regret it in the near
future. So...I keep both.
Dick PA3CW
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[Alan Bloom]

On Wed, 2009-11-04 at 16:56 -0800, eric norris wrote:

> My biggest regret as a ham is selling the Heathkit HW-16 and HW-101 I built in my youth--to buy a used TS-520.  It makes me sick thinking about it.

My biggest regret is that I no longer have my first homebrew project, a
one-tube (6U8A) regenerative short wave receiver built from an article
in Popular Electronics magazine back when I was in high school in 1967.
It worked great until I cannibalized it for parts.  :=(

Al N1AL


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[Don Wilhelm-4]

Al,

I have similar regrets about my first transmitter - the 5763/6146
transmitter that was in the ARRL Hnadbook for 1955 and 1956.  It too was
cannibalized for parts at a later time, and I have often considered
building another from scratch, but now cannot find all the required
parts at a price I am willing to pay.

And too, I sometimes think about the current value of all those ARC-5
radios that I was able to buy for $5 to $10 back then - they were great
parts resources at that time - if I had left them intact, I could have a
nice fortune now.

Nostalgia is 'catchy', and hindsight is always 20-20 vision.

73,
Don W3FPR

Alan Bloom wrote:

> On Wed, 2009-11-04 at 16:56 -0800, eric norris wrote:
>
>  
>> My biggest regret as a ham is selling the Heathkit HW-16 and HW-101 I built in my youth--to buy a used TS-520.  It makes me sick thinking about it.
>>    
>
> My biggest regret is that I no longer have my first homebrew project, a
> one-tube (6U8A) regenerative short wave receiver built from an article
> in Popular Electronics magazine back when I was in high school in 1967.
> It worked great until I cannibalized it for parts.  :=(
>
> Al N1AL
>  
>

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[Matt Zilmer]

Everyone that homebrews has these stories.  Each one is a
heart-breaker.  Mine was a Heathkit DX-20 with my own custom screen
modulator for AM, built in 1971 and mod'ed in 1973.  I reused the
tubes in another TX and tossed everything else.  Argh.

Ah... history.  Still have the DX-60 that came after though.  It still
works too.

But all in all, I'm very pleased that we have the K3 now, and we're in
an age where magic is stil possible.  Seems like at least 3000+ others
agree...

73,
matt W6NIA


On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:33:16 -0800, you wrote:

>On Wed, 2009-11-04 at 16:56 -0800, eric norris wrote:
>
>> My biggest regret as a ham is selling the Heathkit HW-16 and HW-101 I built in my youth--to buy a used TS-520.  It makes me sick thinking about it.
>
>My biggest regret is that I no longer have my first homebrew project, a
>one-tube (6U8A) regenerative short wave receiver built from an article
>in Popular Electronics magazine back when I was in high school in 1967.
>It worked great until I cannibalized it for parts.  :=(
>
>Al N1AL
>
>
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[Lee Buller]

I did the same thing and got rid of the HW-101 and some other stuff to buy a TS-520 then on to the TS-820. I never looked back.  I never had anymore Heathkit Green in the shack (except for the Sb-220 which I did dump too)  I did not miss the Hw-101.  The darn thing had paper coil slugs and the change of temperature and humidity.   I never had the darn cover on it for long.  The screws were always out.

I never looked back....

Different strokes for different folks.

Lee - K0WA


In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense.  Is Common Sense divine?

Common Sense is the image of the Creator expressing revealed truth in my mind. -  J. Wolf


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[Milt Jensen, N5IA]

Al and Don,

I echo you sentiments.

Since we are all confessing our "mistakes" of the past in which we had no
thought of the future, let me tell my "I wish I hadn't done it".

In 1965 as a poor college kid I desparately wanted to get on SSB.

So, I traded my kit built Eico 720, my kit built companion plate modulator
Eico 730, my kit built Heath VFO, my National NC-60 with a home brew
Q-Multiplier and 6 months of payments from my summer job on the farm; all
for a used Swan 350.

I truly wish I had that first station in my possession today.

Milt, N5IA

> Al,
>
> I have similar regrets about my first transmitter - the 5763/6146
> transmitter that was in the ARRL Hnadbook for 1955 and 1956.  It too was
> cannibalized for parts at a later time, and I have often considered
> building another from scratch, but now cannot find all the required
> parts at a price I am willing to pay.
>
> And too, I sometimes think about the current value of all those ARC-5
> radios that I was able to buy for $5 to $10 back then - they were great
> parts resources at that time - if I had left them intact, I could have a
> nice fortune now.
>
> Nostalgia is 'catchy', and hindsight is always 20-20 vision.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> Alan Bloom wrote:
>> On Wed, 2009-11-04 at 16:56 -0800, eric norris wrote:
>>
>>> My biggest regret as a ham is selling the Heathkit HW-16 and HW-101 I
>>> built in my youth--to buy a used TS-520.  It makes me sick thinking
>>> about it.
>>>
>> My biggest regret is that I no longer have my first homebrew project, a
>> one-tube (6U8A) regenerative short wave receiver built from an article
>> in Popular Electronics magazine back when I was in high school in 1967.
>> It worked great until I cannibalized it for parts.  :=(
>>
>> Al N1AL

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[Bob Nielsen-2]

I should have known better and could still kick myself, but when I  
moved from L.A. to Tucson in 1984, I had one day to pack up  
everything and what was left over went into the dumpster, including:

Eico 720 with ARC-5 VFO
Collins 75A2 (modified to add a product detector which never worked  
correctly)
Two Model 15 Teletypes plus a couple of terminal units
plus a bunch of parts, tubes, etc.

When I moved to WA in 2000, I brought everything (including several  
boxes of essentially-worthless equipment I still haven't unpacked).  
I even still have my J-38 key from 1951.

Bob, N7XY

On Nov 4, 2009, at 7:50 PM, Milt, N5IA wrote:

> Al and Don,
>
> I echo you sentiments.
>
> Since we are all confessing our "mistakes" of the past in which we  
> had no
> thought of the future, let me tell my "I wish I hadn't done it".
>
> In 1965 as a poor college kid I desparately wanted to get on SSB.
>
> So, I traded my kit built Eico 720, my kit built companion plate  
> modulator
> Eico 730, my kit built Heath VFO, my National NC-60 with a home brew
> Q-Multiplier and 6 months of payments from my summer job on the  
> farm; all
> for a used Swan 350.
>
> I truly wish I had that first station in my possession today.
>
> Milt, N5IA
>
>
>
>> Al,
>>
>> I have similar regrets about my first transmitter - the 5763/6146
>> transmitter that was in the ARRL Hnadbook for 1955 and 1956.  It  
>> too was
>> cannibalized for parts at a later time, and I have often considered
>> building another from scratch, but now cannot find all the required
>> parts at a price I am willing to pay.
>>
>> And too, I sometimes think about the current value of all those ARC-5
>> radios that I was able to buy for $5 to $10 back then - they were  
>> great
>> parts resources at that time - if I had left them intact, I could  
>> have a
>> nice fortune now.
>>
>> Nostalgia is 'catchy', and hindsight is always 20-20 vision.
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>>
>> Alan Bloom wrote:
>>> On Wed, 2009-11-04 at 16:56 -0800, eric norris wrote:
>>>
>>>> My biggest regret as a ham is selling the Heathkit HW-16 and  
>>>> HW-101 I
>>>> built in my youth--to buy a used TS-520.  It makes me sick thinking
>>>> about it.
>>>>
>>> My biggest regret is that I no longer have my first homebrew  
>>> project, a
>>> one-tube (6U8A) regenerative short wave receiver built from an  
>>> article
>>> in Popular Electronics magazine back when I was in high school in  
>>> 1967.
>>> It worked great until I cannibalized it for parts.  :=(
>>>
>>> Al N1AL
>
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
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[wayne burdick]

In 1971, at age 14, I had a Heath DX20 (from a swap meet) and a  
Hallicrafters SX111 (from an SK). I wonder which of the controls on a  
K3 I would have been able to figure out back then?  :)

That's about the time I first dreamed about designing my own kits. I  
even tried one: a digital tach. But those SN7490s were just too  
expensive....

73,
Wayne
N6KR

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[Byron Servies-2]

All these stories about first hand-built radios ... this is exactly  
the kind of experience I hope to have building the K1 that is on my  
bench.  Hopefully, after some time getting used to CW and the  
electronics, I will move on to the K2 and beyond.

A shame I am not 14 or 24, or even 34.  Still, I can't wait!

Byron
KI6NUL
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[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Good for you Byron. Remember, we're all kids trapped in bodies that, when we
look in the mirror, we wonder what the heck happened! It's been a number of
years since that unforgettable morning I washed my face and looked up at my
reflection in the mirror and said, "Oh my G--. Dad! What are YOU doing
here?"

My original regenerative receiver (Meissner kit, three type 76 triodes) and
my first Novice transmitter, a one tube 6L6 xtal oscillator built from old
junk parts, are long gone and fondly remembered.

I could get maudlin reminiscing about them but I long ago learned that the
way to grow old fast is to look backwards instead of forwards...

Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Byron Servies
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 8:27 PM
To: Elecraft Reflector
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [OT] Stories


All these stories about first hand-built radios ... this is exactly  
the kind of experience I hope to have building the K1 that is on my  
bench.  Hopefully, after some time getting used to CW and the  
electronics, I will move on to the K2 and beyond.

A shame I am not 14 or 24, or even 34.  Still, I can't wait!

Byron
KI6NUL

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[Gary Hinson]

> I could get maudlin reminiscing about them but I long ago
> learned that the
> way to grow old fast is to look backwards instead of forwards...

Absolutely!

Like my first ever single-transistor Xtal transmitter, my first ever
computer lives on.  Ok, so maybe I have changed the case, the system
board, the memory, the peripherals, the power supply, the operating
system, the hard drives and even the screws several times each, but
it's all been incremental "improvement" (for various values of
betterment).  

The homebrew mojo lives on.  

Even my K3 is not the same radio I built just a few months ago.

By the way, do you keep a radio journal or notebook?  I've kept one
for decades and now that my memory is fading, it's a great way to
remember my previous triumphs and mistakes, stories behind some of the
more bizarre QSOs in my logbooks, scraps of circuits and antenna
designs, field day photos, contest scores and more - not to reminisce
so much as to avoid making the same mistakes too many times.

73
Gary  ZL2iFB


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[Bob Garrett]

Wayne et al,

At age 13 in 1965, like you, my first rig was a DX20 and a BC348 mil surplus
receiver.  My first antenna was a 40 meter Inv. vee at 30 feet at my parents
row house in Philadelphia.  Passed the general exactly one year later and I
still remember working KH6 on 40 CW running 20 watts out.  I thought I was
pretty special when I got the Globe 755 VFO that next Christmas.  Oh yes, I
had two xtals - 7.190 and 7.168.  and now thousands of dollars later, it is
still fun.

73,  Bob K3UL

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[David Y.]

I got my license in 1955, at age 13.  My "elmers", W7UFR and W7GNJ took pity
on me, and gave me all the parts I needed for a transmitter.  W7GNJ had
already purchased a BC-348 receiver for me, then sold it to me for the same
price at $5/month from my paper route money.  Most of the building took
place at Carl's bicycle shop (W7GNJ).  Carl was wheelchair bound, and had
horribly deformed hands and feet from rheumatoid arthritis, but could do
wonders nevertheless.  He sketched out the circuit diagram on the spot, and
we started building--from the ground up!  We made the chassis from sheet
aluminum, wound all the transformers using a converted old singer sewing
maching, even the small coils, etc.  Everything came from the junkbox Carl
had.  The transmitter was 80 meter CW only, but VFO controlled, and rock
solid.  It used an 807 in the final, and put out about 60 watts--well,
actually that was "input".  Admittedly, Carl did much of the building, but
let me participate at each step so that I had my hand in it.  The "deal" was
that I had to get 150 QSL cards on CW before I could actually consider the
transmitter to be mine.  Those guys were smart!  I've been a CW enthusiast
ever since.  I didn't even venture up to the "AM" portion of the band for
about a year, when I added a plate modulator--which was bigger than the
transmitter--made by Eldico, and cost me $10!

Alas, this transmitter "disappeared" while I was in the Army, and my dad got
transferred to another city.  I guess he thought it was junk, since it
wasn't fully enclosed in a cabinet!

Dave W7AQK
Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Burdick" <[hidden email]>
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 9:17 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] [OT] Jurrasic Radio vs. K3

> In 1971, at age 14, I had a Heath DX20 (from a swap meet) and a
> Hallicrafters SX111 (from an SK). I wonder which of the controls on a
> K3 I would have been able to figure out back then?  :)
>
> That's about the time I first dreamed about designing my own kits. I
> even tried one: a digital tach. But those SN7490s were just too
> expensive....
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
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[Lee Buller]

Fun thread....

This year at Dayton, I got a Hammarlund HQ-110 for a pretty good price.  I got it home and fired it up and works fine.  But, I have a new appreciation for the K2 and K3.  The 110 took 30 minutes to stabilize and I had forgotten the bandpass on these old rigs.  The BP is so wide that I had to kick in the filters between the ears.  Hi.  I appreciate the filters and DSP of today's rigs...light years ahead of where we were.  Then, I remember that back in the day we always worked split...because I had one Xtal and would work people sometimes 50 Khz away.

I got a Drake 2B coming in the mail next week off of Ebay and I am excited about that receiver.  Couple with my T-50, I am gonna rock!  HI.

Who would ever thought I would have three operating stations...which includes the above and a K2 and a K3.  Ham Radio is FUN!

And talking about equipment...I had an Ocean Hopper.  I tore it up and built a transmitter out of it.  Dumb move.

Lee - K0WA


In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense.  Is Common Sense divine?

Common Sense is the image of the Creator expressing revealed truth in my mind. -  J. Wolf



--- On Wed, 11/4/09, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:

From: Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] [OT] Jurrasic Radio vs. K3
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 10:17 PM

In 1971, at age 14, I had a Heath DX20 (from a swap meet) and a 
Hallicrafters SX111 (from an SK). I wonder which of the controls on a 
K3 I would have been able to figure out back then?  :)

That's about the time I first dreamed about designing my own kits. I 
even tried one: a digital tach. But those SN7490s were just too 
expensive....

73,
Wayne
N6KR

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[Nick-WA5BDU]

Warning:  Graphic depictions of awful rigs:

http://pages.suddenlink.net/wa5bdu/wa5bdu_history.htm

73-Nick, WA5BDU

Wayne Burdick wrote:
> In 1971, at age 14, I had a Heath DX20 (from a swap meet) and a  
> Hallicrafters SX111 (from an SK). I wonder which of the controls on a  
> K3 I would have been able to figure out back then?  :)
>
>
>  

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[Julius Fazekas n2wn]

*chuckles*

At the same age, my first transmitter too was a DX20, borrowed and an old Navy Boat Anchor (literally weighed like 75 pounds) my uncle got from the Coast Guard. Borrowed a DX40 for a while too.

Finally put together $50 and bought a Johnson Viking Ranger from W1BBJ (SK). Loved the look and feel of that radio even though it drifted all over the place.

When I was "serious" about a contest, I was able to borrow a HW-16 from Durland Scout Center, W2NVB, for the better receiver. I envied the guys with Drakes ;o) At Durland, we had a pile in the basement with more ARC-5 radios than maybe the entire 8th Air Force, had we and others not used them for so many projects, they'd still be $5 to $10 each. Here in Oak Ridge, even in recent years, some of them show up brand spanking new in original packaging. Says something about the expected survival rate of the aircraft that used them.

My very first transceiver was an Ftdx560, which I modified to get it on 160. Remember actually melting the sweep tube finals during a CQWWDX contest. Wish I still had those...

Fond memories of my first yagi too, a Gotham, which promptly disintegrated in the first ice storm it met.

The only things I wish I still had are my original logs and those of 9X5KE, who I managed for a brief period, but they were destroyed in a flood.

The soldering iron was always hot and I am still amazed we didn't kill ourselves with all the exposed HV and RF, but it sure was fun.

My K2s gave me the kit building fun that I didn't get to enjoy as much when I was younger. I do miss the glow of the tubes and the aroma of that equipment. But I have no regrets leaving that equipment behind, when it comes to performance compared to what I have now...

If someone really wants a trip down memory lane, I have a nice Eldico SSB100F begging to be restored ;o)

wayne burdick wrote:

In 1971, at age 14, I had a Heath DX20 (from a swap meet) and a  
Hallicrafters SX111 (from an SK). I wonder which of the controls on a  
K3 I would have been able to figure out back then?  :)

That's about the time I first dreamed about designing my own kits. I  
even tried one: a digital tach. But those SN7490s were just too  
expensive....

73,
Wayne
N6KR

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[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Seeing photos of neat old rigs (tnx Nick!) and the little wallet-size Ham
licenses the FCC issued back then, I'm reminded that those of us who had
commercial licenses - radiotelephone or radiotelegraph - often grumbled that
the Ham licenses were rather a disappointment compared to the fancy 8.5" X
11" engraved certificates we got for our commercial licenses. Many thought
they should all be the same, after all!

Well, they got their wish. Now in the USA both the Ham licenses and the
Commercial licenses are the same little computer generated printouts.
(Although the Radiotelegraph licenses still have our signed photo attached
to the front.)

Sigh!  

Ron AC7AC


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[paulb]

good morning folks

great thread !
 
similar story here, young teenage years using a Heathkit HR-10 reciever, and DX-40U both
purchased second hand.
The HR-10 was less than stellar for sideband, it had more drift than a Japanese fishing fleet !

Very early on I was given a battery tube AM / CW transciever, which was used on the South Pole
expedition in 1957 (?) with Sir Edmund Hillary. It had huge coloured knobs for use with gloved hands, and
a complete set of 1.5volt batt valve spares in the cover.  A bit of radio history which sat in a
farm shed for years...but being a young keen ham I wrecked it for the variable caps and whatever I could find. A shameful thing to do but probably typical of the era !

cheers from downunder

Paul b
zl1ajy