Elecraft owners joke about the Elecraft mojo. Sometimes it seems as though the radios are imbued with a certain magic and get through when others don’t.
Here’s an example from yesterday night. I fired up the KX-1 and tuned around for a bit, and after about ten minutes, I heard Derek, WB0TUA, calling CQ. He was S9 on the KX-1 S-meter, so I thought I’d give him a call. He replied, giving me a 589 report! Not bad for a radio running only 3W. And, as it turns out, Derek was running a new K3.
It turns out that we had a lot to talk about, and we had a great contact for more than a half hour. First of all, he was a graduate of the University of Michigan. (Ann Arbor, where I live, is the home of U-M).
Second, he’s a member of the Morse Telegraph Club, a group devoted to the practice of American Morse, the type of Morse Code used on landlines across the U.S. I used to belong to that group, and have it on my list to learn American Morse one of these days.
Now, I get to the part where the mojo didn’t come through for me. After our QSO, I heard a bunch of DX stations calling CQ, most notably RA6EE. RA6EE is located in Cherkessk, which is not very far from the Georgian border. QRZ.Com calculates that he’s about 5,600 miles away.
Alas, no matter how many times I tried, he just couldn’t hear me. I guess I’m going to need a better antenna in addition to that Elecraft mojo.
Bob (VE3UK) says
Hey Dan,
I love my Elecraft equipment and the MOJO I get from it… So far I have 2 K3s and I am really thinking about the KX1, looks like a great little rig. I did get my feet wet and appetite whet with a Ten Tec R4030, I love it, but I think I would love a KX1 more. Hope to work you soon!
73
Bob