I'm not sure that the K3 is light years ahead of the 897D in all areas, but it certainly outperforms them in several. I used to use an FT857D, which is basically the same as the 897D but with a different case and front panel, extensively for portable work from a leisure batter and initially thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Ignoring the need to use menus more on the smaller transceiver, which is a trade off between size and operator convenience, the "problems" with the FT897D are:
1. The receiver always sounds tiring, I tried reduced gain via the engineering menu but that didn't help. It was "OK" out portable on 6m but in the shack on HF it didn't last more than a few minutes before I had to switch to my K2. The mode/band most often used at home was 80m CW. I haven't compared one to a K3 as I got rid of mine before I bought my K3. 2. Beware that on transmit the early FT857D was prone to outputting spikes at the leading edge of a CW transmission and after a pause on SSB, when running less than full power. This is totally unacceptable behaviour and the main reason for getting rid of mine. Later models may have been improved but it's something to check if you intend to purchase one. For details of my findings and a partial work around see: http://www.astromag.co.uk/ft857d/ 3. There are no proper CW keyer memories, only a "beacon" feature which is peculiar. The 897D may be different, but I bought a code cube to go with my Palm mini paddle as the only solution to the awful internal keyer/memory. I suppose there will always be a certain appeal with a radio that covers 160m to 70cms, but I'd far rather have the K3 which covers 600m to 2m depending on which internal modules you fit. The K3 isn't perfect, but it's way ahead of the 897D. 73 Dave, G4AON K3/100 #80 -------------------- Well here's a dilemma..... do I get an 897D or do I dive in and get a K3 to start with than upgrade it from there. The thing that sticks out is that K3 is light years ahead of the 897D. However I would have to get brand new because the asking used price is such that no one is willing to work with me on. thoughts? 73, Ben ______________________________________________________________ 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
