I think I get Gary, too, on some points.
I almost gave up ham radio 8-10 years ago. The operating had become
routine and boring. DXing was indistinguishable from post card or stamp
collecting to me.
What changed it was a club member bringing a bunch of QRP rigs he had
built to a meeting. Among them were a Rockmite and a K1. Next day I
ordered one of each. Since that day, I have been as immersed in ham
radio as any time in the last 57 years I've been licensed. I've since
added two K2's and a KX1. I have no qualms about opening the cases of
any of them and heating up the soldering iron to try something, though
most of my ham activities involve sitting at the bench systematically
working through the homebrewer's bible, EMRFD, and learning to program
PICs in Forth (tired of C...if I stop for lunch I need to be retrained).
But I could never generate the same interest in the KX3 or K3. I've come
close to buying a KX3 based on the absolutely superb specs and
incredible reviews, but something's missing for me. I said the same
about the first luxury Japanese cars when I worked in that industry;
superb engineering and build quality, but they have no soul. The KX3/K3
kit builds are mostly mechanical not electronic. And who really knows
what's going on inside that box beyond the block diagram which is all
that is provided. I don't mean this to be critical. I don't know what
hidden things are going on inside this computer I'm typing on either.
SDR, with its hidden computer circuits, is where RF and ham radio is
going. It's a very natural progression for Elecraft as one of the
leaders in ham radio. Nobody could last long in this high tech age
sticking with thru-hole QRP kits.
But there are people like Gary, and like me, who don't see the same
radio magic in SDR that others see. I work on everything from
boatanchors (Viking Ranger on the bench right now) to homebrew original
design SMT and PIC projects, so I'm not some old f**t longing for the
good ole days. (OK, maybe old f**t, but not the longing part) I love the
new technologies, but I just can't get behind a rig that really isn't
meant to be opened up and tinkered with.
Hats off to the Elecraft team for producing such technological wonders,
but also hats off to them for keeping more classic rigs like the K1 and
K2 in their product line.
Eric
KE6US
On 2/9/2014 10:41 AM, John Kendra wrote:
I get you Gary. I've been a ham for almost 30 years and have gone though a few
radios. For me the K3/P3 is the best radio I've ever had and the most fun
since I first got started.
But being a SDR, it is the most touchy. I didn't have it a couple of days when
I got lost with the software. Not making a software back up I had to have
Elecraft send me a copy. I've also had to use this forum a few times to
correct operator problems.
The Elecraft K3/P3 has all the controls I want, is easy to use (for the most
used functions), and hears great. It is definitely smarter then me, but I can
live with that.
John N4LJS
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