Talk me out of a KX2 and Keep my 817

[G8CPZ]

We’ve been here before of course and you may want to review this topic as well …

Advice on a new rig: FT-817 or KX2

I activated a summit this weekend (thanks chasers! report to follow), realized that even short hikes with my big ol’ Alinco radio are not going to happen, and put the radio up for sale. It sold in 5 min. Therefore, I am now in the radio market. I’d been doing some research, but given that SOTA is turning into my #1 AR pursuit, your input is important to me. My chief distinguishing need: good for both ssb and cw. I plan to use cw to activate, but my hiking partner (my wife) digs ssb so we need b…

I’ve had a FT817 for 19 years and a KX2 for 3 years. I use the 817 now only for 2m SSB/CW. My KX2 and 2m/70cm FM/C4FM FT1D weigh about the same as the 817 [and I like the redundancy of having two radios]. I endorse the many excellent points already made by 817/KX2 owners above.

If I had to single out only one feature of the KX2, it’s the excellent [optional] internal ATU which loads up my 40/30/20 EFHW well on 60m, 17m, etc. Yes, I could take my two linked dipoles and spend ages setting them up [and maybe get marginally better Dx], but at my age I value quick deployment in winter [so my fingers aren’t already cold before I need to paddle properly].