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Elecraft

Founders: Wayne Burdick, N6KR, and Eric Swartz, WA6HHQ

Founded in 1998, Elecraft offers full-featured transceivers and accessories both as factory-assembled and easy-to-build kits. The latter makes us unique among major ham manufacturers.

We can trace our company’s roots back to Field Day – the ultimate proving grounds for radio gear as well as hams themselves. Our design philosophy was clear from the beginning: Our radios would offer both high performance and portability. These two goals have spawned eight complete transceiver product lines.

It all began with the K2, a three-pound, all-HF-band, all-mode radio with a traditional desktop form-factor. The K2 achieved wide acclaim from users and testing organizations alike, and is still available today as a full kit.

From there, Elecraft’s transceivers branched in two directions. One emphasized ultra-portability, while the other was optimized for desktop use.

The ultra-portable lineage started in 2001 with the K1 and later the KX1 (both CW only, covering up to four bands). Both enjoyed a loyal following among QRP operators and first-time kit builders, though they are no longer available. Today, the lineup consists of three of the most highly integrated and power-efficient small radios ever offered: the all-band/all-mode KX2 and KX3, and the hand-held, 5-band KH1. We've also created a line of portable whip antennas and accessories to go with these small rigs, namely the AX1, AX2, and AX3. All of these antennas quickly disassemble into two small pieces to fit into our smallest carrying cases (not to mention your pocket).

The KX2 and KX3 are all-mode, “trail-friendly” SDRs (software-defined radios) with controls and display on top, attachable keyer paddle in the front, internal batteries, and an internal wide-range automatic antenna tuner. Both feature a wide range of DSP-based operating features and very low current drain, and are favored by portable operators around the world for SOTA, POTA, HF pack, and lightweight DXpedition use. 

In fact, and lightweight DXpedition use. In fact, many hams use a KX2 or KX3 as their home rig – one that takes up very little space. Our 100-watt amplifier/ATU (KXPA100) is available to transform KX-line radios into more powerful fixed or mobile stations.

You might think that the KX2, a radio weighing only 13 oz. [0.35 kg], would be small enough for just about any activity. But the pedestrian mobile/ultralight hiking enthusiast on our team wanted something half the size, weight, and current drain - rig you could carry all day, with very long battery life and everything built-in.

This was the idea behind our KH1 CW transceiver, which is just 1.4 x 2.4 x 4.4" [3.5 x 6.1 x 11.2 cm]. The 5-watt KH1 covers the 40-15 meter ham bands, and has everything built-

in: a 20/17/15 meter whip matching network, plug-in paddle, logbook tray, and what may be the world's smallest wide-range ATU. Just fold out the log tray, screen, screw in the telescoping ship (which clips to the side), and you're on the air. No table, trees, or masts required.

Meanwhile, Elecraft’s desktop line progressed from the K2, to the K3, and most recently to the K4. Thanks to its superhet receiver’s performance, the K3 quickly became the rig of choice for many contest, DXpedition, and multi-transmitter stations. The K4 builds on the K3’s legacy with a hybrid of traditional controls and a large, full-color LCD. The rig's UI is also highly user-configurable, with a rich set of operational commands that can be assigned directly to over a dozen programmable front panel switches, with another 16 switch functions on our K-Pod. The K4's high-performance SDR architecture can be extended with a dual-superhet front end.