[Elecraft] Customer Service...a defining factor in my order

[Matt Zilmer]

>Pretty well said, Matt.  The boys and girls in Aptos did a very unique 
>thing.  A very small company with a very focused customer base, they 
>came up with a radio that blows the socks off the competition, both 
>performance-wise and cost-wise.  Their focused customer base went wild, 
>are totally obsessed, and the very small company is struggling to meet 
>the demand without becoming YaeComWood.  I sure hope they succeed, I 
>have my K2/100 which I love, I waited 3 1/2+ years to come home from SE 
>Asia, I can surely wait until next year for my K3.  BTW:  I have had the 
>opportunity to play with one.  And I think my K2 is beyond belief!
>
>73,
>
>Fred K6DGW

Hi Fred,

Combined response to you, plus a few K3-Waiters asked for a little
more info from people operating the K3 the last few weeks.

--matt

The Elecraft folks came out way beyond my expectations too, and these
were high before the K3.  The problems they had in early production
with shipping to promise dates are *not* unexpected, if you understand
enough about the business they're in.  In this, their size is a major
asset, allowing a great degree of "overlap of sectors of
responsibility".  Everyone has involvement in customer support from
this perspective.  When I used the white blood cell analogy, it was
because at several points in the assembly timeline, I was having
multiple discussions with multiple Elecrafters.  It was overwhelming a
couple times.  But very positive in terms of support - I think no one
does it better.

The K3 is worth the wait.  Most things I've read about performance are
true within my ability to check them out.  The RX is quieter in terms
of internal noise, and I've never had an HF RX that picks out weak
signals as well as the K3 does.  One example of this was during SS
Phone.  I was working stations that no one else was bothering with,
only because I could hear them.  I can't credit many of these with
operating skill, since I'm fairly rusty.  Some yes, most no.

TX audio gets glowing reports too.  I usually don't have to ask;  the
praise for the audio just comes naturally in a QSO along with the
signal report.  And at 12W with a long wire, the only challenge is
being heard.  Not many receivers out there have near the sensitivity
or  selectvitiy of the K3.  And none have the BDR, which makes those
other two specs worth having in the first place.

IMHO, for most, it will be worth it to buy the K3/100 option.  You can
still operate QRP any time with the 100W held in reserve.  The
additional 10dB (1.6 S units) is enough to be heard under most
condtions, even the bottom of the sunspot cycle.  As soon as I can put
together the $, I'm going for the 100W PA along with a couple more
filters.

One thing that Wayne mentioned that *resonates* is the roofing filter
- that is the approach we take as to which to install (and in which
RX).  I'm using only the 2.7 KHz 5-pole filter, and haven't been
disappointed yet.  BDR was *still* much better than anything I'm used
to.  However, I'd recommend either 1.8 or 2.1 KHz SSB filters and 400
Hz CW, for contesting.  That way - let 'em get close to your freq, and
the only thing you have to worry about is being heard over them.

The K2 is still my favorite portable rig (no, not the only one I
have).  You're right - a properly built and aligned K2 probably beats
out most other full-size transceivers in terms of performance.  Where
most of the bigs stumble over themselves from one xcvr generation to
the next, Elecraft has a history only of outdoing themselves.  Having
known Eric for a while, it is an attribute I've come to expect and
respect.

I respectfully suggest that we cut the Aptos gang a few breaks.  They
won't be laying down on the job at all, and will only continue to
produce way-above-excellent results for all of us.  The more overhead
(noisy correspondence) the user base adds to their efforts, the more
it makes it difficult to meet the targets they've set for all of us.

73,
Matt - WA6EGJ
K3 #24


>

>- Northern California Contest Club
>- CU in the 2008 Cal QSO Party  4-5 Oct 08
>- www.cqp.org
>
>Expecting my K3 sometime early next year [ordered in Oct].