What would you do if you ran across a really poor operator on the air...and you knew him? When I say "poor operator", what I mean is, someone who is probably not intentionally causing QRM but maybe they don't know any better and the QRM is a side-effect?
Would you tell him or her? Would you just let it go? I know if someone posed those questions to me, I'd probably say that it depends on the circumstances.
Well, I find myself in that predicament and I don't know what to do.
Here's the details - a nearby ham - and by "nearby" I mean that he lives within 5 miles of me - has been active on 20 meters lately. I don't know him well, but I have made his acquaintance. In recent days, he's been trying to work some DX stations on SSB and he's not having much success. Either they're not hearing him, he's not in the right place at the right time, or they're ignoring him because of his behavior.
He's incessantly calling out of turn, calling when the DX stations are calling for specific stations (not him), tromping over ongoing QSO's, and calling before the DX stations have ended their contacts . And it's not a random, isolated thing - it's an on-going, long term approach. And I've encountered it at least 4 times this week. In fact, each time that I've stumbled across him, he's committed some sort of screwball action.
To top it off, instead of using standard phonetics, he's using ridiculous words that a foreign speaking ham is unlikely to understand. This isn't his call, but let's say it ends in "LHU". Instead of saying Lima - Hotel - Uniform, or even London - Honolulu - United, he might say something like Long - Handle - Underwear. I know that's not a crime, but c'mon, he's not doing himself any favors and he's probably angering or confusing the DX.
There have been some, not many, on the air comments directed towards him by other hams trying to work the DX, but he seems oblivious or undeterred. Maybe he's not hearing them? I would think he has to be, since I'm hearing them. I don't agree with their approach to call him names, but I can understand their frustration. He's kind of spoiling the fun, you know?
Now, here's the kicker, the fellow has been a ham for a long time (extra class), licensed since the mid-30's, in fact. So, I'm sorta torn between the following:
1. Cut him some slack, maybe his hearing isn't that good.
2. Leave it be, maybe his station is marginal and he really doesn't know if the DX is coming back to him or not (ok, probably not true, if he heard them to begin with...unless he's relying on spots only).
Or,
3. Tell him because he ought to know better no matter how long he's been a ham.
I know if I were doing something boneheaded and didn't realize it, I'd want someone to tell me. How would I react? Hard to say, depends on what I've done. But my dilemma is, does he know what he's doing and just not care? If that's the case, then, indeed, it's wrong. I feel that I have an obligation to point it out to him, but at the same time, will I just make a bigger mess of things and should I just leave it alone and tune away?
What would you do?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Mandatory vacation and ham radio
For the past couple of years the company I work for has shutdown the week of July 4th. They've always "encouraged" that employees take vacation during this stretch, but didn't require it until recently. I don't really enjoy having to burn vacation like this because I certainly wouldn't pick the busiest and most expensive time of the summer to go somewhere. But since a number of our customers also close during this week, I guess it makes sense from a company standpoint.
This year, however, they waited until last Friday to make the official announcement. That was unbelievable. "Oh, and by the way, everyone needs to take vacation next week, we'll be closed." Not that several of us hadn't suspected as much, and a few of us had some inside info that indicated a strong possibility of it happening, but that's a really sorry way of handling the matter if you ask me. My wife had no chance of taking vacation where she works on such short notice, so we're basically hosed. That's the case with everyone I've spoken with.
But what will be, will be. So, trying to make the best of a crappy situation I decided to take a trip to Atlanta and visit Ham Radio Outlet. Last year, while working near Cleveland, I visited AES, so this was a good opportunity to compare. While the HRO store in Atlanta is a good bit smaller than AES in Cleveland, it was stocked to the gills. I don't recall really seeing anything at one and not the other. The Cleveland store probably had more stock in the back, just guessing.
The one aspect where I'll give the store in Atlanta a leg up is their radio demonstration setup. AES more or less had a half dozen radios set up in the corner, while HRO had an entire wall configured with all the major brand offerings. Very impressive. Two radios really caught my eye, the new ICOM IC-7600 and the Yaesu FT-2000. I spent a good bit of time toying with both. Having an FT-1000MP myself, I had a good level of familiarity with the 2000. I had no familiarity with the 7600. Given the time of day that I was there, about the only thing that I could listen to was 20 meters and I concentrated mostly in the CW portion of the band.
From an ergonomic standpoint, I felt far more at home with the 2000. I'm sure a lot of that was because of my experience with the 1000, but the ICOM felt, well, rather flimsy by comparison. First of all, it was quite a bit smaller than I expected. The Yaesu dwarfed it. The main tuning knob on the ICOM - a lot of positive comments have appeared on eham - was awful, in my opinion. Small and rather clumsy. The finger dimple was teeny-tiny and I had trouble spinning the dial. It didn't spin smoothly. If there's one thing that I'm kind of picky about, I love having a good feel to the main tuning knob.
Clearly the 2000 is a radio that you can look at and figure out rudimentary functions the first time you sit down with it. Knobs are everywhere. Forget doing that with the ICOM. The knobs are very small and a lot of the features are menu-driven. And I don't know the menu structure, so I was at a disadvantage and you'd have to discredit my comparison to the Yaesu accordingly.
Maybe it was that the 2000 reminded me so much of the 1000 - sure, steady, solid, BIG feel. It was also noticeably larger than the FT-950, which I hadn't realized.
From a performance standpoint, truthfully, I couldn't tell that much difference in the limited time that I had and the manner that I tested them. Signals sounded the same on one as they did the other, same levels, same sound, same, same, same. The display on the 7600 was very cool. The bandscope was very neat and I can see how that would be a really nice thing to have. Interestingly, they had the 2000 hooked up to a monitor, so the same thing was available for it too. But, clearly adding that capability would be extra cost for the 2000 and not the 7600.
But, again, given the time of day and the lack of signals, I didn't really get much opportunity to fiddle with the DSP capabilities, plus, customers were in and out, some looking over my shoulder - lots of extraneous noise around. Very informal test.
The 7600 was priced at roughly $3300 and the 2000 around $2300, I think. I don't know if the ICOM needs an external power supply - I think it does - and I believe that the model of 2000 that I was looking at has a 120 VAC supply built-in, like the 100-watt version of the 1000 does.
Not a bad way to spend a mandatory vacation :)
This year, however, they waited until last Friday to make the official announcement. That was unbelievable. "Oh, and by the way, everyone needs to take vacation next week, we'll be closed." Not that several of us hadn't suspected as much, and a few of us had some inside info that indicated a strong possibility of it happening, but that's a really sorry way of handling the matter if you ask me. My wife had no chance of taking vacation where she works on such short notice, so we're basically hosed. That's the case with everyone I've spoken with.
But what will be, will be. So, trying to make the best of a crappy situation I decided to take a trip to Atlanta and visit Ham Radio Outlet. Last year, while working near Cleveland, I visited AES, so this was a good opportunity to compare. While the HRO store in Atlanta is a good bit smaller than AES in Cleveland, it was stocked to the gills. I don't recall really seeing anything at one and not the other. The Cleveland store probably had more stock in the back, just guessing.
The one aspect where I'll give the store in Atlanta a leg up is their radio demonstration setup. AES more or less had a half dozen radios set up in the corner, while HRO had an entire wall configured with all the major brand offerings. Very impressive. Two radios really caught my eye, the new ICOM IC-7600 and the Yaesu FT-2000. I spent a good bit of time toying with both. Having an FT-1000MP myself, I had a good level of familiarity with the 2000. I had no familiarity with the 7600. Given the time of day that I was there, about the only thing that I could listen to was 20 meters and I concentrated mostly in the CW portion of the band.
From an ergonomic standpoint, I felt far more at home with the 2000. I'm sure a lot of that was because of my experience with the 1000, but the ICOM felt, well, rather flimsy by comparison. First of all, it was quite a bit smaller than I expected. The Yaesu dwarfed it. The main tuning knob on the ICOM - a lot of positive comments have appeared on eham - was awful, in my opinion. Small and rather clumsy. The finger dimple was teeny-tiny and I had trouble spinning the dial. It didn't spin smoothly. If there's one thing that I'm kind of picky about, I love having a good feel to the main tuning knob.
Clearly the 2000 is a radio that you can look at and figure out rudimentary functions the first time you sit down with it. Knobs are everywhere. Forget doing that with the ICOM. The knobs are very small and a lot of the features are menu-driven. And I don't know the menu structure, so I was at a disadvantage and you'd have to discredit my comparison to the Yaesu accordingly.
Maybe it was that the 2000 reminded me so much of the 1000 - sure, steady, solid, BIG feel. It was also noticeably larger than the FT-950, which I hadn't realized.
From a performance standpoint, truthfully, I couldn't tell that much difference in the limited time that I had and the manner that I tested them. Signals sounded the same on one as they did the other, same levels, same sound, same, same, same. The display on the 7600 was very cool. The bandscope was very neat and I can see how that would be a really nice thing to have. Interestingly, they had the 2000 hooked up to a monitor, so the same thing was available for it too. But, clearly adding that capability would be extra cost for the 2000 and not the 7600.
But, again, given the time of day and the lack of signals, I didn't really get much opportunity to fiddle with the DSP capabilities, plus, customers were in and out, some looking over my shoulder - lots of extraneous noise around. Very informal test.
The 7600 was priced at roughly $3300 and the 2000 around $2300, I think. I don't know if the ICOM needs an external power supply - I think it does - and I believe that the model of 2000 that I was looking at has a 120 VAC supply built-in, like the 100-watt version of the 1000 does.
Not a bad way to spend a mandatory vacation :)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Zero-Five - all good things must come to an end
The Zero-Five streak is history!
What the devil am I talking about? I'm talking about the run of 68 consecutive perfect ratings of "5" reviews at eham.net for their 43' multiband vertical antenna. Review #69 was the review to change the course of history...it was a 3 out of 5. A three! Not even a 4, a darned 3! No more 5.
Well, in case you're really intrigued now, it appears that the bottom has fallen out completely...two reviews later, someone gave it a two! 2 out of 5! So not only is the streak dead, but the naysayers are coming out of the woodwork. Someone must've had sour grapes.
The Zero-Five was my primary antenna for all bands before I installed the hex beam. I only switch to the G5RV for those times where the noise level is so high that the signals on the vertical and the hex are nearly obliterated. Often the wire antenna often seems to help. Not always. When I was shopping for a replacement to my Hustler 4BTV, I took a long hard look at the Zero-Five before plunking down the rather sizeable chunk of cash it costs. In fact, one of the very things that made me the most uneasy was the 60-something absolutely perfect "5" reviews at eham.net. Seemed too good to be true. Like maybe the deck was being stacked, or a couple of ringers thrown in? But 60 ringers? In the end, unless you're writing all of those yourself, that's a lot of people to pursuade. There had to be some truth to it. And a little deception too.
I mentioned that to the builder/designer, Tom, N9ZV, and he said he understood my apprehension. He didn't really give me a reason why it was the case, but in the end I felt pretty at ease with his approach and I bought it.
Let me say this. On 20 and above, the hex is almost always a better antenna. Sometimes a far better antenna. At times there's really no comparison. There are times where I can hear and easily copy a station on the hex that I cannot hear AT ALL on the vertical. But this doesn't really surprise me. After spending the dough for the hex, I'm happy that's the case, in fact. My vertical is mounted in the clear with roughly 60-70 random length radials. I don't buy into the notion that you need to cut the radials a certain length. Most of mine are at least 35 feet or more. Some have been shortened by an errant lawn mower :) I feed it with LMR400, to minimize my losses. Does it really make that much difference? I don't know, but it makes me feel good.
Anyway, on 30 and 40 meters, the thing is absolutely killer. Those comments about being able to bust pileups with 100 watts - yeah, you can believe 'em. It's true. If I can hear 'em, it doesn't take very long. And I'm not kidding either. On 80, it drops off significantly and on 160, it isn't worth much at all.
So, for me, there's two questions. One, do I feel that I got my money's worth to be incredibly effective on TWO bands (40 and 30), so-so on another two (20 and 17), and lousy on four (10, 15, 80, and 160)? Well, since I'm going to use the hex on 20-10 almost always, and I don't hang out on 80 or 160 unless there's a contest going on...gosh, I don't know. 30 and 40 meters are pretty important to me and I LOVE being effective on those bands, soooooooo, I'm leaning towards saying, "yeah" - I think I got my money's worth. And once the sunspots start pouring in (heh-heh), I may even feel different about 15 and 10.
The second question, would I give it a 5 in an eham review? Well...no. I'd give it a 4. Actually, I'd give it a 4.5, but since that's not a possibility, I'd have to say "4".
I'm just glad I wasn't the first one to post and break the streak!
On a sidenote, in the past couple of days, I've noticed that the website for WI4USA no longer exists - there's a page that says "Coming Soon". I'm not sure what's up with that, maybe Thom has changed hosting companies or experienced trouble or maybe he's redoing his webpage?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Random thoughts
I have read several blog entries and reflector postings recently about "Xtreme" contesting. You can read more about it here: http://cqww.com/CQ_WW_Xtreme_Rules.pdf. There's a lot of good discussion about this on the CQ Contesting reflector. Along with this are several ongoing discussions about modifying or adding categories to various contests to award or recognize operators who are unable to compete the entire contest. For instance, an op might take his best hour or his best 6 hours and enter his results in a special category. Also, many suggestions have been made to increase the awards for low power entries. Seems that there's a push to encourage semi-serious contestors, who, undeniably, play a large role in helping Big Gun stations achieve their totals.
Being more of a purist, I'm kind of wishy-washy on what I've read regarding Xtreme contesting. But I recognize that if we, collectively, are going to advance ham radio through available and new technology we're going to have to try new things. Doesn't mean all of them will work out, but why not try? As many have pointed out, things that seemed outlandish just a few years ago are perfectly acceptable and considered 'standard' nowadays. Plus, it's not going to change how I participate. At least not right now.
I have stronger feelings about increasing the number of awards and creating special categories for competitors who can't go the full distance in a contest.
When I participate in a contest, I know beforehand that I stand a snowball's chance in hell of winning or receiving an award. There's no way. I'm not good enough. But does that stop me? Heck no. I still have fun. Would I love to be recognized for some accomplishment? Sure, who doesn't enjoy some recognition? But I don't want to be recognized for something "less than" what the contest is supposed to be about. And I don't want a special category created so that I might stand a better chance. It's like not keeping score in a kid's soccer game. What's the first thing out of the kid's mouth? "Who won?" And tell me this, does the answer, "You're all winners", ever work? Not a chance. Tell that to a kid who tried their hardest. Even 5 year olds want to know, who won?
The other night I went to my daughter's band concert. Afterwards, every kid got an award. Every kid. I suppose that creates a 'feel-good' moment (and a photo op for the parents) but afterwards, while driving a van load of kids home all I heard was how unfair it was that EVERY kid got an award, especially those who didn't try hard or contribute. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned?
Now, of course, no one is talking about everyone getting an award or a 'thanks for participating' plaque from ham radio contests. So I've taken this to an extreme. And I'm not saying that the present categories are perfect, but if something prevents you from operating the full time of the contest, then so be it. Better luck next time. If you go all out for an hour and rack up some incredible amount of contacts, is that worthy of an award if you shut it down after an hour while everyone else puts in 12 hours or the full amount? Now that may seem harsh and, yes, it means that us low power semi-contesters won't be getting any awards, but I'm ok with that. I know some may feel strongly the other way and I respect that.
Interesting stuff.
Being more of a purist, I'm kind of wishy-washy on what I've read regarding Xtreme contesting. But I recognize that if we, collectively, are going to advance ham radio through available and new technology we're going to have to try new things. Doesn't mean all of them will work out, but why not try? As many have pointed out, things that seemed outlandish just a few years ago are perfectly acceptable and considered 'standard' nowadays. Plus, it's not going to change how I participate. At least not right now.
I have stronger feelings about increasing the number of awards and creating special categories for competitors who can't go the full distance in a contest.
When I participate in a contest, I know beforehand that I stand a snowball's chance in hell of winning or receiving an award. There's no way. I'm not good enough. But does that stop me? Heck no. I still have fun. Would I love to be recognized for some accomplishment? Sure, who doesn't enjoy some recognition? But I don't want to be recognized for something "less than" what the contest is supposed to be about. And I don't want a special category created so that I might stand a better chance. It's like not keeping score in a kid's soccer game. What's the first thing out of the kid's mouth? "Who won?" And tell me this, does the answer, "You're all winners", ever work? Not a chance. Tell that to a kid who tried their hardest. Even 5 year olds want to know, who won?
The other night I went to my daughter's band concert. Afterwards, every kid got an award. Every kid. I suppose that creates a 'feel-good' moment (and a photo op for the parents) but afterwards, while driving a van load of kids home all I heard was how unfair it was that EVERY kid got an award, especially those who didn't try hard or contribute. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned?
Now, of course, no one is talking about everyone getting an award or a 'thanks for participating' plaque from ham radio contests. So I've taken this to an extreme. And I'm not saying that the present categories are perfect, but if something prevents you from operating the full time of the contest, then so be it. Better luck next time. If you go all out for an hour and rack up some incredible amount of contacts, is that worthy of an award if you shut it down after an hour while everyone else puts in 12 hours or the full amount? Now that may seem harsh and, yes, it means that us low power semi-contesters won't be getting any awards, but I'm ok with that. I know some may feel strongly the other way and I respect that.
Interesting stuff.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Search and Pounce update
Back in the middle of April I wrote an entry about how effective Search and Pounce really is for a low power (little pistol) part-time contest station. What kind of scores are really possible with that kind of setup and approach? I had some good responses and comments and I thought I'd revisit that briefly, since there was a similar thread not long ago on the CQ-Contest reflector.
In CQ WPX CW I managed just over 500 QSO's - all S&P. That's NOT 24 hours of operating, probably closer to 12 actual operating hours, with several breaks and such. I have no idea what my rates were (I need to look), but that averages out to just over 40 QSO's per hour. Certainly nothing to set the world on fire, but considering that the bulk of those QSO's took place in the first 6 or 7 hours, along with a rush at the end, I probably had a few hours of decent rates.
Again, if I could ever manage to work an entire contest, then my figures might be more valid or comparable.
And I should add, I don't think I busted very many callsigns, but I KNOW that I busted some numbers. So that total will come down. For sake of comparison, some of the claimed numbers by an assortment of world-class contest operators ranged from a low of 90 to a high of 240. So, let's think about that for a minute. At their 'worst', provided their numbers are accurate, they're doubling what I'm doing. At their best, their rates are 7 to 8 times what I'm doing! Add to that the fact that many are probably using another radio to run, and it becomes even more impressive.
Talk about humbling. But I have to keep it in perspective. I'm not much of a contest op. I'm getting better, but until I join a club or decide to really get serious about it, I'm going to make marginal improvements. I haven't decided what to do yet. Also, when those fellows are talking about rates above 100, well above 100, then they're also talking about using the legal limit with antenna arrays that would make me drool. Not all, but most. I wonder what they would do with 100 watts and a vertical? Run circles around me still, I'm sure :)
In CQ WPX CW I managed just over 500 QSO's - all S&P. That's NOT 24 hours of operating, probably closer to 12 actual operating hours, with several breaks and such. I have no idea what my rates were (I need to look), but that averages out to just over 40 QSO's per hour. Certainly nothing to set the world on fire, but considering that the bulk of those QSO's took place in the first 6 or 7 hours, along with a rush at the end, I probably had a few hours of decent rates.
Again, if I could ever manage to work an entire contest, then my figures might be more valid or comparable.
And I should add, I don't think I busted very many callsigns, but I KNOW that I busted some numbers. So that total will come down. For sake of comparison, some of the claimed numbers by an assortment of world-class contest operators ranged from a low of 90 to a high of 240. So, let's think about that for a minute. At their 'worst', provided their numbers are accurate, they're doubling what I'm doing. At their best, their rates are 7 to 8 times what I'm doing! Add to that the fact that many are probably using another radio to run, and it becomes even more impressive.
Talk about humbling. But I have to keep it in perspective. I'm not much of a contest op. I'm getting better, but until I join a club or decide to really get serious about it, I'm going to make marginal improvements. I haven't decided what to do yet. Also, when those fellows are talking about rates above 100, well above 100, then they're also talking about using the legal limit with antenna arrays that would make me drool. Not all, but most. I wonder what they would do with 100 watts and a vertical? Run circles around me still, I'm sure :)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
CQ WPX CW
I did a bit of operating over the weekend in the CQ WPX CW contest. I enjoy this contest because everyone is fair game and since my station is far more suited to CW, I have more fun. I was especially pleased with the conditions, 20 meters was exceptionally good late into the evening and even both afternoons, I thought. Since Friday was my wife's birthday, I only managed about 50 QSO's in between dinner, cake, and all the hoopla. Between Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon I set a goal of 500 QSO's and barely made it. I was thinking that I'd operated in this contest last year but apparently not. They tend to run together.
The hex did outstanding on 20, I was quite pleased with the low noise level both days and I even managed some contacts on 15 and a handful on 10. 40 was also pretty good Saturday night but a bit noisier than I'd hoped. I didn't stay on too late Saturday, though, so it might've improved some after I signed off?
For the first time since early in the year I was able to work some JA's and even nabbed a station in Mongolia that I've heard many times and never managed to work before. Didn't hear anything else from Asia though. Worked a few ZL's. Most of the DX I worked on 20 and 40 was from Europe and Africa, and South America to a lesser extent.
Lot's of fun.
I went to the Durham hamfest a couple of weekends ago, DurHAMfest. Spoke to some nice people but the turnout and the offerings on Saturday morning were kind of sparse. It's really tough to be critical of ANY hamfest, I realize the effort to coordinate and organize is monumental and people are mostly volunteering their time to help out. But there was only a couple of regional vendors were set up inside, ones that you see at every area hamfest, and about 7 or 8 other tables with folks selling stuff. The outdoor offerings were not very large either, I wonder if the Memorial Day weekend cut into attendance? Or perhaps most of the area hams prefer to go to the Raleigh hamfest? I bought a book and some odds and ends.
But, like I said, being able to go to any hamfest is better than not being able to go to one at all :)
The hex did outstanding on 20, I was quite pleased with the low noise level both days and I even managed some contacts on 15 and a handful on 10. 40 was also pretty good Saturday night but a bit noisier than I'd hoped. I didn't stay on too late Saturday, though, so it might've improved some after I signed off?
For the first time since early in the year I was able to work some JA's and even nabbed a station in Mongolia that I've heard many times and never managed to work before. Didn't hear anything else from Asia though. Worked a few ZL's. Most of the DX I worked on 20 and 40 was from Europe and Africa, and South America to a lesser extent.
Lot's of fun.
I went to the Durham hamfest a couple of weekends ago, DurHAMfest. Spoke to some nice people but the turnout and the offerings on Saturday morning were kind of sparse. It's really tough to be critical of ANY hamfest, I realize the effort to coordinate and organize is monumental and people are mostly volunteering their time to help out. But there was only a couple of regional vendors were set up inside, ones that you see at every area hamfest, and about 7 or 8 other tables with folks selling stuff. The outdoor offerings were not very large either, I wonder if the Memorial Day weekend cut into attendance? Or perhaps most of the area hams prefer to go to the Raleigh hamfest? I bought a book and some odds and ends.
But, like I said, being able to go to any hamfest is better than not being able to go to one at all :)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Where's all the K2's?
Best I can tell, the Elecraft K3 was offered for sale back in April of 2007. That seems about right. I know that they had a deal where you placed an order then waited (and waited) for your radio to arrive. I saw recently on their site where they've caught up to the backlog and if you order now they can ship your radio right away.
Judging from the comments I've read and heard, it's a terrific radio that continues to just get better and better. Sure, I've heard some gripes, but I've not heard anyone say that they've been disappointed and want their money back. But this isn't about how great the K3 is, it's about the K2.
Now that the K3 is starting to become plentiful, where are all the K2's for sale? I figured that many hams would be selling their K2's in order to finance their new, shiny K3's. Or maybe they'd decide to go in another direction and buy one of the other spiffy new offerings from other manufacturers. So I figured we'd start to see a bunch of K2's for sale.
So where are they? I'm not an ebay junkie, but I regularly check for various radios, especially the K2, and over the past year I don't think I've ever seen more than 2 for sale at any one time. And those commanded a pretty darn good price, I might add. In fact, right now there's none for sale. At least I couldn't find any. If you look for any other radios, even some oddball ones, they generally show up. So what's up with the K2?
Well, I thought about that and here's what I've come up with. Owning one myself, I think that most folks consider it to be an excellent radio. I know I certainly do. That alone makes it hard to part with.
Next, I think people are reluctant to part with them because they built the radio themselves. After putting in all that effort, soldering parts, winding torroids, pouring through the thick manual, troubleshooting, calibrating - you get the picture - it's hard to sell something that you actually put together. Why it'd be like selling your first born.
Also, I think the folks who did buy the K3 or any other radio find that the K2 is a great second rig. Or its just perfect for field day or a trek to the beach or mountains. Or maybe it took back the number one position when the new radio wasn't up to snuff? Or in the end, the new radio wasn't any better after all?
Maybe they just can't part with the mojo?
Whatever the reason, I think it's curious and a real testimony to what a great radio it is.
On a completely unrelated note, as anyone who reads this knows, I travel a great deal for my job. I end up staying in a variety of places, some remote, some in the middle of good-sized cities. I am constantly amazed at how poor the wireless internet coverage is in most hotels. I find myself ecstatic when I check into somewhere and discover that they have wired access available. In writing this short enty, I've struggled to maintain a signal, despite being able to see the wireless access point from my room.
Judging from the comments I've read and heard, it's a terrific radio that continues to just get better and better. Sure, I've heard some gripes, but I've not heard anyone say that they've been disappointed and want their money back. But this isn't about how great the K3 is, it's about the K2.
Now that the K3 is starting to become plentiful, where are all the K2's for sale? I figured that many hams would be selling their K2's in order to finance their new, shiny K3's. Or maybe they'd decide to go in another direction and buy one of the other spiffy new offerings from other manufacturers. So I figured we'd start to see a bunch of K2's for sale.
So where are they? I'm not an ebay junkie, but I regularly check for various radios, especially the K2, and over the past year I don't think I've ever seen more than 2 for sale at any one time. And those commanded a pretty darn good price, I might add. In fact, right now there's none for sale. At least I couldn't find any. If you look for any other radios, even some oddball ones, they generally show up. So what's up with the K2?
Well, I thought about that and here's what I've come up with. Owning one myself, I think that most folks consider it to be an excellent radio. I know I certainly do. That alone makes it hard to part with.
Next, I think people are reluctant to part with them because they built the radio themselves. After putting in all that effort, soldering parts, winding torroids, pouring through the thick manual, troubleshooting, calibrating - you get the picture - it's hard to sell something that you actually put together. Why it'd be like selling your first born.
Also, I think the folks who did buy the K3 or any other radio find that the K2 is a great second rig. Or its just perfect for field day or a trek to the beach or mountains. Or maybe it took back the number one position when the new radio wasn't up to snuff? Or in the end, the new radio wasn't any better after all?
Maybe they just can't part with the mojo?
Whatever the reason, I think it's curious and a real testimony to what a great radio it is.
On a completely unrelated note, as anyone who reads this knows, I travel a great deal for my job. I end up staying in a variety of places, some remote, some in the middle of good-sized cities. I am constantly amazed at how poor the wireless internet coverage is in most hotels. I find myself ecstatic when I check into somewhere and discover that they have wired access available. In writing this short enty, I've struggled to maintain a signal, despite being able to see the wireless access point from my room.
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