Topband: Receivers with a Twist

[Earl W Cunningham]

Kevin, K7RX wrote:

"I am totally blind and so the transceiver I run needs to be accessible
to me in terms of frequency, S-meter, and especially menu settings."
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One of the optional accessories for the Icom IC-756Pro2 is the UT-102
voice synthesizer unit.  Intended for blind hams, it announces receive
frequency, mode, S-meter reading and current time.  I assume this option
will work on (at least) the Pro3 also.
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"Would the receiver in the K2 be worth giving up some of the features of
the TS-2000 to get? "
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As a K2 owner, I'd have to give a definite "yes" to that.  However, there
is one major flaw with the K2 on transmit - when using a K2 to drive a
kilowatt amplifier, the strong electromagnetic field from the amp's HV
transformer gets into the PLL circuit of the K2 causing what sounds like
noise on the K2's CW sidebands, extending out at least +/-2 kHz. 
Physically separating the K2 from my Alpha 76CA amp by six feet is not
enough to eliminate this problem, however separated by about 30 feet did
eliminate the problem - but this answer is unacceptable.  A possible
solution might be to line the K2's cabinet with mu-metal.

73, de Earl, K6SE