I wouldn't swap-even my homebrew HF-300 rig for two KW-1s.
I'm with you Don, I wouldn't swap my homebrew tranny for any KW-1.
Bill & Don,
That makes three of us.
KW-1s are impressive, nice looking rigs, that's for sure, but I'll take my homebrew 2x 4-400As by 2x 833As any day as well. I can go in there and do anything I want to my transmitter, with no fear of devaluing it due to ruining it's originality, etc. In my book, at least, nothing in this hobby beats building your own transmitter.
I was offered a mint KW-1 with the right of first refusal for $800.00 in 1985, but I was saving to buy our house at the time, and I passed on the rig. It went instead to George, W2KRM, and he subsequently sold it a number of years ago to some fellow out in California for $18,000, with the proviso that the buyer even had to arrange for moving the rig from the location in George's QTH where it was installed, to the moving truck it was to be shipped in. A sweet deal for George, and the buyer had zero qualms honoring all of his requests.
I had my homebrew single 4-400A by 2x 833As at the time, so I figured what do I need another high-power plate modulated AM rig for? Yeah, that KW-1 would have been a nice rig to own, but I never missed not having it. Insofar as commercially-built, 1000 watt-class HF transmitters go, I like my TMC GPT-750 much more anyway. I think it's a better rig from a mechanical and electrical design standpoint, it's designed to run 24/7 continous commercial service, and I like it's appearance/industrial design better than the KW-1, too. It is usable over the entire 2 to 32 mhz spectrum, and can be easily converted in the field to SSB, RTTY, or plate modulated AM service as well. Just my opinion; I'm sure many would disagree, particularly those that are owners of KW-1s. And of course, the GPT-750 was a rig built to a different set of design criteria and potential applications.
BTW, W2KRM was a talented mechanical engineer, and his impression of the KW-1 from a layout, cooling of the 810 and the 872B deck, and overall mechanical design standpoint, was not favorable. He used to comment that he thought the mechanical design was done by "some kid right out of engineering school, with no real practical experience in these matters". I have no idea, never having had any experience with the transmitter myself, other than seeing a few in other ham shacks, etc.
73,
Bruce
