Well, you guys are obviously having way too much fun, so I caved in. I recently committed $3K for a 3K, and I suspect Ill not see it for some time. I dont own any Elecraft products, nor have I ever built an Elecraft product. Ive never seen one, held one, or heard one to the best of my knowledge. I also make it a habit of never, ever buying a new transceiver until it has been out for a few years. So why would a reasonably sane and economically conservative person such as myself, do something so out of character? For me, its not all about the product.
Its about the Elecraft team, and how they run their business. It has to do with the passion they exhibit for what they do, the integrity with which they execute their enterprise, and the collaborative quality of their customers experience. I own transceivers from the big three offshore manufacturers Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu. I like what I have, but I might as well have purchased them from a vending machine. Firmware-upgradeable radios (forget about hardware-upgradeable) are fine in theory, as long as the feedback loop from customer experience results in meaningful and measurable product improvements, implemented in a timely manner to the customers satisfaction. I believe that is what Elecraft is accomplishing. As good as the K3 apparently is now, I am pleased that Elecraft is not completely satisfied with the K3 product development yet. That attitude speaks volumes about my future experience with this radio, and was a significant aspect of my buying decision. As an Elecraft customer outsider, I have watched their growth and performance, and have spent quite some time reading reviews of their products, and I especially pay attention to the postings from this reflector, but I must say it is getting quite tiresome of late. It is easy to get caught up in the issues du jour, but is it always wise or beneficial? I suspect there are those who are just not comfortable in the dynamic, collaborative customer experience that Elecraft has generously and openly fitted into their (proprietary) business planning. What a breath of fresh air these guys are! And finally, I apologize for this one-time, non-technical post. I look here only for that which addresses technical or operability aspects of these products, and as such, will refrain from posting anything that strays from that goal in the future. Im looking forward to jumping back in here when my K3 arrives. In the meantime, those K1/K2 kits are looking pretty good. 73 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com