For those new to Elecraft -- welcome! Some of you may not know the extent
to which our transceivers (the K-series) were forged in, and inspired by,
ARRL Field Day (FD).
It's 111 days until this year's event, on June 28th.
For many of us FD is the #1 annual gear- and operator-challenging activity,
a fusion of emergency preparedness, comradeship, food, libations, and
on-air fun. Some ops and club groups prepare for months in advance.
Here's a brief guide to all of our Kn (K, KX, KH) rigs, in chronological
order of introduction, including their basic characteristics and -- where
applicable -- a bit of historical perspective. A few have been retired,
while the rest are currently shipping, ready to take on everything from
Field Day to home operation to adventure travel.
And that's really the point: from our smallest hand-held HF rig to our
largest, highest-performance desktop radio, we've always kept the demanding
requirements of Field Day in mind.
*K2: The original Elecraft all-band, 100% kit transceiver (in production)*
Elecraft itself was formed in response to the need for a more
versatile, compact Field Day radio -- one covering CW and SSB modes on
160-10 meters, with the ATU, battery, dual antenna switch, SWR bridge, and
keyer built in. Prior to the K2, Eric (WA6HHQ) and I had a table full of
gear and cables that barely left room for a log and mug. We took a break
from the action to dream up this superhet, high-performance radio, and you
can still build one today. It features low current drain, fast QSK, and a
variety of options to tailor it to your needs.
*K1: First of our compact QRP rigs (retired)*
The K1 was our original multi-band, CW-only QRP rig, built for
extended camping trips. Like the K2, it had everything built-in. Its
ultra-low RX current drain made the most of an internal 8-AA cell battery
pack.
*KX1: Our original hand-held rig for eXtreme operating situations (retired)*
The KX1 was the first of our KX line, intended to be small enough to
take anywhere, with little setup time. It was also the first to have an
attached keyer paddle, making it possible to operate in any situation. A
highlight for me was making QSOs while sitting on a branch inside the
canopy of a huge oak tree. The built-in ATU made quick work of my "inverted
vertical" -- a weighted wire dangling from the radio. The K1 popularized
the emerging "trail-friendly radio" (TFR) concept, with the display
oriented upward and paddle attached at the front.
*K3: High-performance all-band, all-mode desktop (retired)*
Eric and I had always wanted to design an SDR/superhet hybrid,
all-band, 100 W radio for contesting and DXing. The K3 was our answer, and
for quite awhile it sat atop lists of the best-performing radios on the
market. It included many features that became a staple of our future rigs,
including a very wide-range ATU, dedicated message record/play buttons,
dedicated controls for the second receiver, versatile digital voice
recorder, and built-in text decode/display for CW and selected data modes.
Thanks to these attributes, not to mention the K3's high dynamic range,
you'll still find them at many Field Day gatherings -- as well as at
DXpeditions world-wide.
*KX3: 160-2 m, all-mode, 15 W, 1.5 pound, trail-friendly radio (in
production)*
Merging features of the K3 and KX1, the KX3 covers 160-6 meters (plus
2 meters with transverter option). Yet it's also small and lightweight,
ideal for compact home stations as well as field operation. It has a full
complement of easy to use controls more reminiscent of the K3, including a
weighted VFO knob and the same large transflective display. For base
station use, the KX3 can be paired with its companion PX3 panadapter and
KXPA100 100 watt amp/ATU unit.
*KX2: 80-10 m, all-mode, 10 W+, 13 oz. rig optimized for SOTA (in
production)*
The KX2 answered an outlandish question: "Can we shrink the KX3 by a
factor of 2?" We had our affirmative answer after a year of intense
development. Covering all HF bands (80-10 m), the KX2 has the same DSP
features as the K3 and KX3 -- dual receive with stereo audio, a wide range
of filter selections, Audio Peaking Filter, NR, NB, DVR, text decode, AM,
FM, repeater controls, etc. Its small size, full 10 W of power output from
internal battery, and unmatched system integration have made it the #1
choice for SOTA operation. You'll also find it at the heart of many
ultralight FD efforts, with the entire station fitting in our smallest
carrying cases. Some ops use the KX2 hand-held, aided by its attached keyer
paddle, built-in mic, and our AX-line whip antennas.
*K4: High-performance all-band, all-mode, 100 W SDR with built-in remote
capability **(in production)*
For many ops, the K4 is their dream radio -- but at just 10 pounds,
it's down to earth enough to make an agile FD, camping, and RV station. It
extends the intuitive UI of the K3 transceiver and P3 panadapter into a
compact, direct-sampling SDR with more frequency coverage and up to 13
programmable switch functions. (It also takes up 3.5 inches *less* desktop
width than the K3+P3, thanks to a carefully curated set of traditional and
touch-screen controls.) The K4 also has fast, easy-to-use, peer-to-peer
remote control -- any K4 can be controlled by another K4 or by our new K4/0
remote control unit, from anywhere in the world. With its modular
architecture and extensive internal computing resources, the K4 will
continue to evolve with operators' needs.
*KH1: Hand-held, 6-ounce, 5-band, 5 W transceiver with integrated log
tray, whip antenna, and keyer paddle (in production)*
The KH1 is an ultralight CW rig that fits into a small pocket,
covering 40, 30, 20, 17, and 15 meters. It's our most integrated radio
ever, featuring a new folding logbook tray, whip matching network, and
attached whip antenna. It's fully self-contained, having the same 2.5 Ah
lithium-ion battery pack as the KX2, built-in battery charger, speaker, and
attached keyer paddle. A favorite of SOTA operators, you'll find the KH1 on
mountain tops worldwide, not to mention at local parks. And, of course, at
Field Day. (Last year I operated all of FD while walking trails, using the
built-in whip, paper log, and built-in electronic contact logging. I
probably walked between 5 and 10 miles, but I was too busy making FD
contacts to keep track :)
* * * * *
If you have any further questions about Field Day operation with Elecraft
gear, feel free to contact us.
73,
Wayne
N6KR
--
Elecraft, Inc.
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