10 W

Output

Frequency	80-10 m (the KX3 sibling adds 160 and 6)
Bands	80m-10m (9 bands: 80/40/30/20/17/15/12/10), RX-only on 160m and SWL bands
TX power	10 W (up to 10 W on 80-15 m, 8 W typical on 12 and 10 - and the maker's FAQ confirms the full 10 W is reachable on the internal battery)
Modes	SSB, CW, DATA
Battery	Li-ion (KXBT2) 2600mAh / 11V
Weight	370 g (13.1 oz)
Connector	BNC

Connectors

mic	3.5mm TRRS (built-in mic, external via TRRS)
key	3.5mm stereo (tip=dit, ring=dah)
acc	ACC 3.5mm jack (RS-232 serial CAT via Elecraft KXUSB cable)
antenna	BNC
phones	3.5mm stereo
dc in	barrel jack 5.5x2.1mm (13.8VDC) or internal battery
power req	9-15VDC external or internal 2.6Ah Li-ion battery (KXBT2) — NOT NiMH

THIRTEEN OUNCES of real transceiver: 80-10 m, SSB/CW/data, 10 watts (8 typical on 12/10 m), in 5.8 x 2.8 x 1.5 inches - the radio that fits a jacket pocket and started the modern POTA era's arms race in smallness The internal-battery trick: the KXBT2 (11.1 V, 2.6 Ah Li-ion) lives INSIDE, yields ~8 hours of typical operating (RX from 135 mA), and - per the maker's own FAQ - still delivers the full 10 watts: the 'station' is the radio, a wire, and daylight The optional internal KXAT2 autotuner completes the integration: radio, battery, and tuner in one pocketable brick - random wires welcome K-line DNA in miniature: the receiver carries the family's ranking-table genetics, with real DSP, real filtering, and the company's firmware-forever culture Built-in mic and optional attached keyer paddle make it operable with literally nothing else in the bag The POTA/SOTA generation's defining radio - activation logs and summit photos made it the genre's visual shorthand Status note: a UK dealer's 'DISCONTINUED' flag is that retailer's stock decision - the maker's own site sells it live, summer-specials banner and all

Strengths

The complete HF station at granola-bar scale: with the internal battery and tuner options, the KX2 plus a wire IS the activation - no boxes, no cables, no excuses - and the receiver embarrasses radios that need a table. Current draw lets a single charge outlast an operator's weather window, and resale value behaves like real estate.

Weaknesses

No 160 or 6 m (the KX3 exists for that), 10 watts is the ceiling and the SSB crowd feels it, the tiny top-deck controls reward small fingers and muscle memory, and demand has chronically outrun supply - waits and used-market premiums are the brand tax. The battery and tuner are options, and the price assembled with both stings.

Verdict

The defining portable HF radio of its generation: if the pack matters and the bands above 80 suffice, nothing else is really the question. Budget for the battery and tuner options - a KX2 without them is a beautiful answer missing its point.

The KX2 is the radio that made 'the whole station fits in a jacket pocket' a literal sentence: thirteen ounces, 5.8 by 2.8 by 1.5 inches, covering 80 through 10 meters at up to 10 watts of SSB, CW, and data (8 typical on 12 and 10) - with the K-line's receiver genetics intact, which is the part that separates it from every small radio before it. The famous options complete the thesis: the KXBT2 lithium pack (11.1 volts, 2.6 amp-hours) lives INSIDE the chassis for roughly eight hours of typical operating (receive draw dips to 135 milliamps) at the full ten watts - the maker's FAQ says so explicitly - and the KXAT2 internal autotuner makes random wires welcome. Radio, battery, tuner: one brick, one wire, one summit.

Its cultural footprint is the measure: the KX2 is the visual shorthand of the POTA and SOTA era - the radio in the activation photos, the assumed hardware of the field-report literature, the box whose chronic demand-over-supply waits became part of the ownership story. The built-in microphone and optional attached paddle mean it operates with literally nothing else in the bag, and the firmware culture kept adding capability for years after purchase in the family tradition. What it omits is deliberate: no 160 or 6 meters (the larger KX3 carries those), no waterfall, and 10 watts as a hard ceiling that CW and FT8 wear better than SSB does.

Its companions in this catalog tell the ecosystem story: the wide-tuner wire antennas built around radios exactly like it, the field batteries it rarely needs, and the pocket-radio idea it inspired at a tenth the price and a fraction of the receiver. The KX2 remains the genre's reference - the radio that turned 'portable HF' from a compromise into a preference.

Elecraft KX2