[Elecraft] New model (K3?) interest

[Russell Boutell]

Hello all,

First, thanks to all of you trailblazers that have built K2s in the early 
years to prove what a great little rig this is. I am more of a "wait and 
see" type that needs some reassurance before plunging in. I have had a 
chance to use a K2 for a little while at a ham club meeting and loved the 
receive.

I'm wondering if many others would be interested in a new Elecraft rig that 
uses a mostly the same technology, but is packaged from the ground up as a 
100W rig. This could have SSB, auto-tuner, noise blanker, audio filter, 
basically all the goodies in one neat package. I heard about the 1.5" 
enclosure for the tuner to ride underneath, but I wonder if .5" or so could 
be trimmed out of the height if everything was together. The extra front 
panel area could open up some possibilities, too. I'm thinking maybe a real 
meter, or is everyone pretty sold on the bar graph?

I certainly understand the merit of the existing K2 path, where someone can 
set it up as a QRP rig (including battery) for field use and then either 
swap tops and add the tuner enclosure or plug into an EC2 based 
KPA100/KAT100 chassis for home use. However, I sure like the idea of one 
nice/neat package with minimal external spaghetti, running 100W that I can 
easily place in my car or a small area of the desk (with the 25 Amp supply 
hidden away).

Back to reality for a moment, if I did go the K2/KPA100 and KAT100/EC15 
route, will I be making up my own set of short cables to run the 3-4 inches 
between the two units, or would that be supplied? Also, if the I/O port is 
used for the tuner, would that preclude the use of computer control, or is 
there possibly a multi-drop solution? Anyone want to venture a guess at the 
price of a KAT100/EC15? E. or W. ?? :)


Okay, this is a bit long-winded so I'll stop for now.
73 de AH6RO   - Russ


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