Jeff, I am now officially embarrassed :-)
Eric, can I get a pay rise soon? My reasoning was pretty simple and non-technical. I needed a radio that was compact but with as many features as I could dream up. I agonised over a brand name I had never heard of. I had never worked a station using an Elecraft radio that I could recall. I bit the bullet 3 years ago and it has been a heck of a ride. Wayne, Eric and the team are amazing eh?....The support is not great, it is absolutely outstanding, period! My K3 is almost ready to make some offspring, BUT, the folks at Elecraft keep bringing out more toys that seem to have my name on'em..why is that? Oh well, Elecraft have just about got signature rights on my bank account so I may as well capitulate and order some new 'stuff'.... :-) Well done to ALL the folks at the factory, simply amazing, now back to pounding the bands. Their latest creation is superb too....but then you expect that right? 73's and best wishes to all, Gary On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 4:35 PM, David Herring <d...@ah6td.com> wrote: > There were three things that pushed me over the top to buy a K3: > > 1) The receiver. Everything out here in Hawaii is more or less DX, and I > knew I would be dealing with "compromise" antennas, so a good receiver was > important to me. > > 2) The price of admission. I liked the fact that it was a kit so I would be > familiar with how it worked, and modular so that I could start affordable and > upgrade as funds and interest permit. > > 3) Life span. Other rigs can become obsolete way too fast -- I've owned a > few. With simple firmware upgrades and the rare hardware upgrade, the K3 I > bought a couple of years ago is still bleeding edge with all the newest and > latest upgrades. This is a rig I won't have to or want to replace for many, > many years. > > Ok, ok, I know I said there were three reasons, but I just thought of another > one: > > 4) No offense to our Japanese brothers & sisters, but after watching them > out-do the US on so many things for so many years, it tickles me just a > little bit that a US company in this day and age was able to "open up a > serious can of whoop-a$$" on them and design and engineer such a remarkable > rig. > > Nicely done. > > > > David, AH6TD > > > On Feb 21, 2011, at 1:51 PM, Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF wrote: > >> Hi Wayne, Eric & everyone on the list, >> I thought that perhaps it was time to ask one of the most important >> questions ever for this mailing list, >> That is: What made you decide on purchasing an Elecraft transceiver? >> >> For me it was participating in the local (all VK) 'Shires' HF contest with >> my good friend Gary - VK4FD and his K3 #679. >> I was using my Yaesu FT847 during that contest sitting next to Gary and I >> could not help but notice that whilst my FT847 was handling the 2 lower >> bands (80 & 40M) fairly well it was still being desensed by Gary whenever he >> transmitted on 20M and up. >> >> Whilst it was bareable for me I also noticed that Gary did not have any such >> issues with his K3, he simply got on with the job at hand. >> (In fact he could listen on the same band I was on and have no issues at >> all, it was a real eye opener for me!) >> >> Now, I know that the FT847 is not a contesters radio on HF at all but it >> didn't do such a bad job, after all we got second place in the rover >> category that year with quite a large amount of the points scored being done >> by me and the FT847 but when I saw the performance of the K3 in comparison >> to the FT847 I thought, "maybe it is time for a change of radio". >> >> So, the seeds of change were now sown, the sticking point at the time was >> that I would lose the capability of operation on two bands that I was active >> on (2M and 70cm). >> (The 2M transverter wasn't available when I first started to entertain the >> idea of a K3 in my shack) >> The clincher for me was the announcment of the K144XV internal 2M >> transverter with it's impressive spec, I now HAD to have me one of those K3 >> radio's! >> I was willing to forego the 70cm band as it get's very little use in Nth >> Queensland except for contests but 2M was a must have. >> >> I knew that had to sell my beloved FT847 as well as my 2 other radios >> (Kenwood TS480SAT, Yaesu FT897D) to afford the K3 as the other half had said >> "No extra cost to the family, you pay for it with the proceeds of the sale >> of your other radio gear". (I miss the FT847 and the TS480SAT but not the >> FT897D, it was a pile of junk!) >> >> I pored over the options list and asked for Gary's advice on filters and >> options as well as looking at my own operating habits before settling on the >> radio's current configuration. (K3 #4257, DVR, ATU, 100W, KXV3A, TCXO, >> KBPF3, 13KHz, 6KHz, 2.8KHz, 2.1KHz, 400Hz, PR6, K144XV) >> >> Now that I have had my K3 for awhile I can say that I am very happy with my >> choice of not only the radio but the options that I had fitted. >> It has performed pretty much faultlessly since I got it with the exception >> of a faulty microphone and the original K144XV failing. >> (Both of which were replaced ASAP by Elecraft) >> >> If I had a choice, wouuld I change anything? >> The answer is: >> A resounding NO!, I would not change anything with the K3, Though I would >> encourage Elecraft to fit the PR6 internally in the K3, the external PR6 is >> a right royal PITA because it hangs out too far behind the radio! >> (I'd also like so firmware changes to be made to accomodate the saving of >> modes etc into the VFO memories for 2M FM Repeater operations but that >> apparently needs a complete firmware code rewrite) >> >> What's next on my list of things to have? >> I have tried out the P3 at Gary's (VK4FD) place and whilst it is a nice >> addition, I cannot see a real use for it here with my style of operating but >> I can see a real use for a KPA500 so I think that i will next set my sights >> on sidling one of those up beside my K3. >> (Added to the fact that I am losing my vision, which makes it kinda >> pointless to have a visual aid to help operate the radio) :-) >> >> So, there you have it, my reasons for owning one of the finest Amateur Radio >> transceivers on the market today, such as they are. >> >> PS: Wayne and Eric, You'll get no finer Australian ambassador for Elecraft >> than Gary VK4FD, he's singularly resposible for getting most the Aussie K3's >> owners to be, well........K3 owners! >> Cut him a good deal on his KPA500 (and mine too please!) :-) >> >> Thanks for taking the time to read my drivel...... >> >> Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF >> Innisfail, QLD, Australia >> Elecraft K3# 4257 + PR6 - K144XV = multiband goodness! >> ______________________________________________________________ >> Elecraft mailing list >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > -- VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile http://www.qsl.net/vk4fd/ K3 #679 Dare to be different!!! ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
