OK, before this thread gets the whack of Eric, my two bits. When I got my K3, I also owned an Icom 756 Pro III. My plan was to keep both — I am the original owner of the Pro III and I had this feeling that every time I sold a radio I regretted the decision.
Right from the start I did a detailed comparison and being mostly interested in CW, my comparison tests were all about CW. Picking out weak signals — absolutely no contest. I could copy a signal Q5 on the K3 that I couldn’t even hear on the Pro III even though both were using the same antenna (switching back and forth). Pulling out a signal amongst QRM and QRN — absolutely no contest. The filters on the K3 made a big difference that could not be matched by the filters on the Pro III. So, I became hooked on the K3. When the P3 came out, since I was a lover of the spectrum display on the Pro III, I bought it right away. Now, the die was cast. The Pro III took up valuable room in the shack and collected worthless dust I didn’t want to clean. This went on for two years of total non-use. Finally, I decided to sell. Turned on the Pro III for the first time in two years to test it out and then sold it within one day via Craigslist for $1850 (two years ago). No, after two years, I have not regretted my decision to sell the Pro III. I am done with Icom unless they come out with something really great and different (despite the fact that Icom HQ (USA) and their main service shop is just five blocks from my home QTH). Note: if you operate SSB only (or, mostly) then the performance differences between the Icom Pro III and the K3 are probably less dramatic although I never did any comparison tests in SSB mode. 73, phil, K7PEH > On Sep 11, 2015, at 9:41 AM, Tom Fitzgerald via Elecraft > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I have both radios..bought both new...I'd advise you to keep your Pro III & > add a K3 or K3s but if that's not an option then I would say keep your Pro > III & wait a bit longer for the inevitable "next incarnation" of the > K3...possibly a K4. I think you will find that you will miss your Pro III > greatly if you let it go and you might not be convinced that you made a good > decision after you get your new K3 in your hands. When/if you do get it in > your hands, your first thought will be why is this K3 so much lighter than my > Pro III???Yeah, it's a bit smaller (mine sets on top of my Pro III) but your > Icom weighs in at over 20 pounds and your K3 might only weigh 7 or 8 > pounds...both use an external PS so that's not the reason??? To many peeps > that's awesome while to others it suggests something (or a lot) might be > missing. I'll tell you right now that the Pro III is FAR easier to use than > the K3 and you will need to purchase Fred Cady's (KE7X) manual to really > learn the K3...IMO. You will also likely sense a certain "cheapness" to the > K3 as compared to your old Icom. Depending on what you do with your radio, > you may not notice any performance advantage at all...again...depends on what > you do with it. I like both radios & don't want to start an argument about > this radio vs that radio yet again...there have been zillions of such debates > already, you can spend hours reading them online. If your Pro III is as > flawless as mine (& one of the last ones produced) and not used that often (I > have 3 radios which reduces wear & tear on any single radio), I would think > very long & hard before parting with it. Hopefully you've sat down in front > of a K3 and operated it so that your not surprised when you open the box, if > you haven't done that...you need to do so. I know some that bought the radio > and sold it soon after buying it because it wasn't what they expected. For > those that tell you that "you won't regret it", maybe they really do regret > parting with their Pro III but just want some company in the dunces corner! > I say that you may very definitely regret it! Mine is staying right where it > is. > > kd0bcf > > > "If the knowledge of a God is the most necessary, why is it not the > most evident and the clearest?” > -Percy Bysshe Shelley, > "The Necessity of Atheism" 1811 > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [email protected]
