[Elecraft] loaded K2 vs K3

[Jessie Oberreuter]

On Sun, 13 May 2007, James Duffey wrote:

> The conclusion one can draw is that there won't be many K2s sold for 
> exclusively home (base) use. The more options one puts on a K2, the less 
> value it presents. The market for those who want a low power consumption rig 
> must be close to saturated, or at least will be if lots of K2s hit the market 
> in anticipation of their owners moving up to a K3.

      I expect that most of the K2s sold for base use go to people who are 
interested in building and maintaining their own base rigs. Whether they 
go for 10w or 100w is then simply a matter of operating style and 
time/budget.  I agree that the K3 will eat into K2/100 sales in this 
market, but I don't think it'll destroy it.  With all respect to the K3, 
it's a computer, and swapping boards isn't this community's idea of 
building and maintaining.  I also don't think you'll see many of these K2 
owners selling.  We put a lot of love into building them.

      The QRP builders' market has always been niche, but it is full of 
active, vocal enthusiasts.  This market can be saturated by any given 
product, but I doubt it ever actually saturates.  I don't even want to 
count the number of rigs I have in this category.  These folks will 
probably buy a lot of K3s -- when they would never buy a similarly classed 
or priced YaeComWood -- simply because of the brand loyalty.  At the same 
time, I don't see them dumping their K2s, and I see continued K2 sales to 
this group as builders work up to bigger and more complex kits.

      The K2/100 as a dedicated contesting rig is an interesting emergent 
market.  Most people who are serious about their contesting have a "big 
rig" at home, and take one of the mid-sized high end commercial boxes to 
the field.  The K2's entry into this market has been fascinating and mostly 
driven by the quest for performance.  This is where I think we'll see the 
most turn-over, and that's nothing new.  These folks have been buying the 
latest and selling what they aren't using ever since the hobby began.