Gary, Since DXing on 80 meters often is similar to DXing on 160 meters, the "testimonial" from W8JI right after he received his K3 may give you some insight - Tom said something similar to: he wished that he would be the only operator with a K3! Yes that was a "backwards" compliment to the K3, but if you are familiar with Tom's posts on the Topband reflector and others, you will know that he is very critical about any radio - not so with the K3.
73, Don W3FPR On 12/26/2010 2:10 PM, Gary K9GS wrote: > Hello all and Happy Holidays! > > I've been reading the K3 reflector for the past couple of weeks. I'm in > the market for a new radio and have my choices narrowed down to a couple > models to replace my TS-850S which has served me very well. > > First my operating interests: > > I primarily spend my time contesting, DX contests in particular, and > most of my time on 80 and 40M. 99% of the time I operate CW. So, in > particular, low band CW performance is important to me. In between > contests I spend my time DXing, again primarily on the low bands. Some > occasional VHF operating on 6 and 2M. > > I'd also like to point out that I do interface my radios to a dedicated > computer using Win XP pro and use N1MM for contesting and Logger 32 for > general operating. Both of these applications are very well supported > and the K3 is well represented among users. > > I've narrowed my choices down to two radios, the FTDX5000 and the K3. > There are several things keeping me from falling in love with the FTDX5000: > > 1) The CW break-in performance is broken in the FTDX5K above ~30 wpm, > resulting in chopped characters, and from what I'm told, really bad > sounding on the air. > 2) The APF filter is also not working correctly. > 3) The contour control does not function on CW, I believe only on SSB. > > Of course, these limitations COULD be fixed by Yaesu in future revisions > but I'm apprehensive that Yaesu is going to fix anything. They > certainly don't participate in the FTDX5000 user forums although > supposedly they do read the posts. Sort of the "we know what we're > doing, there's no problem" attitude with JA radio manufacturers. After > all, how many FT-1000XX radios were built with the key click problem? I > don't think Yaesu ever admitted there was an issue and the fix was > relatively simple to implement in production. > > At $5K plus one would hope these problems are addressed but one never > knows. Certainly Elecraft is much more responsive and is actively > involved in post sale issues and solutions. > > I've never been a fan of ICOM HF radios although the IC-7800 gets good > reviews but at $10K per radio??? I've also used Ten-Tec before and > never been a big fan plus the Orion II suffers from a poor performing > 2nd receiver and I know of several locals that have had there Orions > back for service/updates several times. So what else is there and am I > missing anything else? > > Which brings me to the K3. This radio seems, to me, to be exactly what > I'm looking for. I really can't think of anything holding me back. > > I'm looking at the 100W model with the following accessories: > > a) KAT3 > b) KXV3A > c) 2.8K 8 pole SSB filter > d) 400 hz 8 pole filter > e) 250 hz 8 pole filter > > Future options would be the KRX sub receiver, K144XV-K 2M Module (I do > some VHF operating but presently have a rig for 2M SSB anyway), I'm > not currently using any receive antennas on 80/40M. I'd like an opinion > on this but I don't think I see the advantage to buying the sub receiver > UNTIL I have receive antennas available for diversity reception? What > am I missing here? > > I don't operate any of the digital modes but I would like to do so. Is > the 2.8K filter adequate for digital modes or do I want something different? > > I also like the portability of the K3 as I am planning on some future > DX-pedition use. I can't see lugging a 43 pound FTDX5000 through > airport security either. > > Sorry for the long post but I wanted to have a sanity check with some > experienced K3 users that know the K3 and have similar interests and > requirements. I'm on vacation this week and one thing I do plan on > doing is dropping by a local in or DX club and using his K3 for a couple > of hours. > > Your thoughts and comments are appreciated. > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
