Chris : Softcases will prevent scratches and provide a bit of moisture protection but most will provide very little protection from drops, hard bumps and serious water.
If you really want to protect your rig I suggest you consider buying a Pelican Case. The "pick-n-pluck foam" allows you to custom fit the case to your rig. I have my K1 in Pelican 1200 Case and I dropped it onto the driveway last summer while carrying it and an armload of other stuff to the car. Absolutely no damage to the rig ! I opened up the rig and did a visual check for anything loose or broken and all was well. I have since used the rig a number of times and nothing was even put out of alignment. I have Pelican cases for most of the other rigs that I take up to the cottage or out to operate portable (sometimes by bicycle) and I never worry about getting the radios wet or damaged, whether they are in a bike panier or in the trunk of the car. My guess is that you would probably need a Pelican 1500 (16.75 " X 11.18" X 6.12 " inside dimensions) to comfortably hold the K3. This can be had for not much more than $US100 if you shop around. A small price to pay to know that your rig is safe no matter what. Michael VE3WMB - KX1 / K1 / K2 owner P.S. My suggestion is also don't worry about trying to cram all of the accessories in the case with the rig. Most accessories such as cables etc are pretty hard to damage and cheap to replace ... you want to focus on protecting the big-ticket item which is the rig so don't compromise the protection of the rig by pulling any more foam from the case than you need to. Having an extra inch of foam around the rig, inside the case, can make the difference between a dead rig and a working rig in the event of a serious drop or bump. >From: Christopher Blake <[email protected]> >Date: March 28, 2011 7:48:28 PM EDT >To: [email protected] >Subject: [Elecraft] K3 carrying case options? >Hello all, >I am a fairly new K3 owner; three months now and I am hooked! >I'd like to take my K3 on several contest expeditions and so I am looking >for a carrying case (prefer a soft case). Any guidance appreciated. > >vy 73, >Chris, NX4N ______________________________________________________________ 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
