[Elecraft] K3 First Impressions from a Field Tester

[W3DX at aol.com]

Hi Y'All:
 
It's been a long while since I've posted a message here, but I wanted to  
share my first impressions of the K3.

I’ve had the privilege of field testing all of the Elecraft products  since 
the inception of the company, and have matching serial number 00005 of the  K1, 
K2, KX1 and K3.  (I have a confession to make, though.  Travel to  Japan and 
Europe necessitated my coming into the Field Test with one of the  later rigs, 
but Elecraft saved serial number 00005 for me so that I would have a  matched 
set).  As has been Elecraft’s practice, I learned about the K3  during the 
earliest stages of product planning with the understanding that I  would not 
reveal anything about the radio until it was almost ready to  ship.  I haven’t 
breathed a word…until now.
 
My interests in ham radio are old fashioned DX’ing, contesting and  
expeditioning.  I have all DXCC entities confirmed (with the exception of a  good QSL 
from Yemen having two 7O1 QSL's that don't count) working most  countries on 
the Yaesu FT-1000, and have over 200 countries confirmed QRP on the  K2 and K1.
 
Elecraft’s objectives for the K3 were simple: put a world class,  competition 
class, DX’pedition class, “no-compromises” digital transceiver in a  4-inch 
X 10-inch X 10-inch package weighing 8 pounds and drawing under 1 amp of  
current on receive.  Personally, I thought the guys at Elecraft were off  their 
rockers, but I thought it would be a great idea if they could pull it  off.
 
During the past weeks I’ve been field testing K3 #0005, and I think that  
Elecraft may have actually pulled it off, and be in the process of redefining  
the look of the competition class transceiver.
 
My first impression is how small the radio is.  It looks like the big  
brother of my K2.  It sports a carry handle, and could easily fit into a  Pelican 
case for travel and DX’pedition work.  Comparatively, my (beloved)  FT-1000 is a 
behemoth, weighing in at 65 pounds with the built-in power  supply.  Not only 
wouldn’t I take the FT-1000 on an expedition, it’s had  two minor problems 
for the past ten years, and I haven’t bothered to ship it  back to Yaesu 
because I didn’t want to haul it down to the UPS store.  For  that matter, I’ve 
been reluctant to even move the FT-1000 within my shack.  
 
The K3 is on an entirely different size and scale.  I’m almost 50  years old 
and don’t carry 65 pound packages any more, so this really matters to  me.
 
Aside from the smaller physical package, the world-class features combined  
with the light current drain have major overtones for the power supply  
requirements while the radio is on expeditions (as compared to 3 to 4 amps of  other 
radios in its class).
 
On the Air
 
My first test was to see how the K3 would perform on weak signals.  I  tied 
one hand behind the K3's back, and compared the FT-1000's 250 Hz mechanical  
filter to the K3's 400 Hz filter.  The K3 had better signal to noise ratio  on 
weak signals, and I was able to dig out an Oceania signal much easier.   (I 
could not copy the call sign with the FT-1000.  It was a threshold  signal.)
 
Then, I used the K3 DSP at 250 Hz  and 50 Hz.  That's where the  K3 really 
differentiated itself.  I've never "driven around" the band at 50  Hz, because 
it's just so narrow for scanning the band.  But it's really  great to scan 
around at 400 Hz and tighten up the width of the filter on a weak  signal, or in 
an environment of heavy QRM.  
 
Like the major competition class radios, the K3 has dual tuning knobs for  
VFO A and VFO B, a larger main dial, and a smaller dial for the second VFO and  
sub-receiver.  You also get total control of the VFO’s with every feature  
under the sun including split, A/B, A>B (and even B>A in a menu entry you  can 
assign to a 1-tap programmable function.)  The radio has tons of  flexibility on 
the rate of tuning, and has 100 memories plus four quick memories  per band 
located on the front panel.
 
The DSP controls are front-panel main controls, so the radio gives you  
exquisite control of incoming signals in a control panel that is right in front  of 
you.  This includes filter selection including a selection of your  favorite 
DSP settings saved in memory, along with width, shift and other  parameters.  
Other features are front panel selectable, including Noise  Blanker, notch, 
noise reduction, etc.
 
The RIT/XIT controls are just slick.  You’ll have to try them to see  what I 
mean.  When you push RIT or XIT, a green LED lights up above the RIT  tuning 
knob.  When you turn it, you simultaneously get (i) an LED  indication if you’
re above or below the main frequency, (ii) get another LED  that lights up 
whenever the increment is non-zero, (iii) see the increment on  the VFO B 
indicator and (iv) see the actual frequency on the VFO display.   It’s dazzling and 
very user friendly.
 
Early signal reports suggest the VFB CW and SSB audio quality that you  would 
expect.  The K3 features an equalizer for transmit (microphone) and  receive.
 
The K3 features a RTTY and CW decoder built into the radio, with copy that  
scrolls along the VFO B display.  This gives you the ability to have  digital 
QSO’s without a computer.  Very nice.
 
That eight-pounds includes the optional ATU, which works rapidly and  handles 
a wide range of antennas.
 
In a nutshell, if anything is missing from the K3, I’m not sure what it  
would be or why anyone would actually need it.  The radio is extremely  feature-r
ich, and (like the K2 and all other Elecraft radios) has a very  intuitive user 
interface and menu program for setting up the radio and changing  settings.
 
My greatest disappointment with the K3 is that the user doesn’t have the  
opportunity to build it from scratch.  The circuitry is just too complex,  and 
there is just too much surface mounted hardware to allow this to  happen.  I 
know that some of the traditional Elecraft kit builders will  share my 
disappointment that they won’t have a new mountain to climb.  
 
But the fully wired radio will enable many more people to own an Elecraft,  
previously reserved for those amateurs who could build one.  And the  
experience of building the radio using board level components will be reasonably  
satisfying to many people.  So the K2 retains the title of being the  world’s 
leading component-level kit building experience.
 
As of the writing of these first impressions, I’m awaiting the arrival of  
the sub-receiver board so that I could operate under “dual-watch” and the  
digital voice recorder module, and am of course frustrated by the delays in  being 
able to install and field-test these features.  Like the radio  itself, I’m 
sure they’ll be worth the wait.
 
But, all-in-all, WOW!  I think the K3 has the potential to redefine  the size 
and shape and scope and price of the “world class” transceiver.  I  expect 
to begin seeing these radios winning contests and being taken to exotic  places 
like South Sandwich Island.  (And perhaps somebody will take one to  Yemen 
for The Deserving which includes ME).  
 
In the meantime, I look forward to working some K3 to K3 QSO’s soon.   Drop 
me a note if you have any questions.
 
73 & DX,
 
Rob, W3DX
 
 



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at 
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour