The KX1 (and to some extent, the K1) filled a void when they were offered.
Heathkit evaporated in the late 80's and, for over a decade, no HW-9
equivelant was available. Despite the fact that both the KX1 and the K1
appealed to only one segment of hams - QRPers - a ton of them are now on the
air.
Another niche within ham radio are lowband DXers & I've often wondered
whether there would be a market for an *optimized* 40/80/160m transceiver.
Ten Tec began the trend of HF transceivers dedicated strictly to the ham
bands when the other Big 3 where making rigs with general coverage
receivers. Today, three of the most-prized rigs for DXing the low bands are
an old Drake R4C (modified) and Ten Tec's Omni 6+ and now the Orion II.
These rigs all have ham-bands-only receivers rather than a compromised
general coverage receiver. Being "old school" I've always believed something
dedicated to a specific task is better than something that tries to do it
all. But that doesn't necessarily apply to radios within the 1.8-30 MHz
range... or does it? Would an optimized lowband rig be able to offer
performance greater than a general 10-160m rig? If so, would it be
profitable to offer such a kit? Successful lowband DXers typically have the
property available for decent antennas on these wavelengths and dedicate
both money and energy into fine-tuning their stations. I don't count myself
among them, but their stations are the reason for the success of small-gun
stations like mine on the lower bands. Based on the effort put into these
stations, I bet the market is there if the performance was there for such a
rig. Also, such a rig would have a 500w transmitter.
Another kit I'd like to see is a 10-160m portable QRP kit similar to the
KX1. Index Labs' QRP+ was such a rig and used 80's technology to make it
available. What would be possible now? The KX1 morphed overnight from a
2-bander to a tribander and is now a 4 band rig. How about a 9 band rig, 5
watts out, CW & SSB with all the other features of the KX1 in a package size
somewhere between the KX1 and Index' QRP+.
Just thinking out loud here, folks......just thinking out loud....... ;-)
John Harper AE5X
Portable QRP: http://www.ae5x.com
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