I have no doubt that contesting and DX-chasing, because of its great popularity, has been foremost in the designer's minds while developing new products since so many enjoy that work, and it's good that they do. The rest of the Hams then get the benefit of having superior rigs available at a decent price.
There are many valid reasons for a non-contest operator to own such a top rated rig. For example, I'm an avid DX-er, but I rarely jump into a pileup. The DX I work are the ones who call me or who I find without pileups and we often engage in rag chews. In that situation I am grateful for the excellent engineering in the rig that gives me a clean signal and superior rig. In the rare instances I do jump into a pileup, I'm sure those nearby are happy not to hear a ton of phase noise or clicks every time I hit the key. On the other hand I'm an avid QRP enthusiast and grateful for the superb Elecraft receivers for stability and weak signal reception, especially when a QRO station fires up nearby. And then there are many of us involved in RACES and ARES, serving our communities and our country constantly training to provide communications in time of disaster where equipment reliability, flexibility and efficiency are paramount because communications often occur under less-than-desirable conditions. A top-rated Elecraft rig is certainly not wasted on them. And there are those involved in advancing the state of the art though new designs or by improving existing designs. I've seen many improvements in Elecraft rigs have come from them in the dozen years since I built my first Elecraft rig. Some of their design improvements became part of the product. Others use the Elecraft rigs as tools for exploring new modes and as a basis for advanced communications work in propagation studies and the like. I could go on, but those are a few examples. 73, Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- The K3 is certainly where it is in the *sales* pecking order because of DXers and contesters. Not much need to pay for the extra performance a K3 offers if all you're going to do is rag chew and check into nets. Dave AB7E ______________________________________________________________ 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
