[Elecraft] K3 , K2, K1 or KX1 (WAS: K2; K2/100: How Long Supported?)

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

The K2 and K2/100 were "world class" radios that needed apologize to no one
for their raw performance the day before the K3 was announced, and that
hasn't changed since the K3 announcement. 

I don't know if the K2 had the best absolute performance specifications in
all categories on the market either before or after the K3 announcement.
Specifications are only a part of what defines an outstanding rig. Anyone
who has followed the auto racing circuits knows that key races often are won
by drivers who were not in the car with the highest top speed or which
excelled the others in any particular specification. Skill and experience
behind the wheel makes a huge difference that obviates the most
sophisticated engineering the state-of-the art allows, and the best
state-of-the-art engineering can't make a winner without the skill to
exploit it. The same is true for the skill and experience of the person
turning the knobs of a K2, K2/100, K3 or any other rig. 

The K3 has lots of bells and whistles that many operators wanted, but will
it work stations someone with a K2 can't? Not necessarily. Not in the real
world. 

The difference between the K2 and the K3 is that they offer different
resources (that's a better word than "bells and whistles" when convincing
your spouse or significant other that the price is worth it). Those
resources will be valuable under certain conditions to certain operators,
but that doesn't make the K2 a "lesser radio". It's only a "different"
radio. 

The K2 does not need to apologize to anyone, especially not a K3, for
lacking anything important when it comes to the raw enjoyment of snagging
rare DX or having an enjoyable rag chew, just as the KX1 need not apologize
for its performance as a world class trail-ready rig or the K1 for its role
as a mid sized QRP CW rig. Each rig has a role to play. 

Each rig has its fans, as it should, because each rig is "world-class" in
its own right. 

Ron AC7AC