[Elecraft] K3 in the marketplace

[Darwin, Keith]

FINALLY, something negative about the K3.  Sounds odd, but I'm glad to
hear it.  My fear is that this rig will be so good and so desirable that
demand will far outstrip supply for some time leading to shortages (I
won't be able to get one) and the possibility of lower quality due to
growing pains and Elecraft and rushed production.

Having never touched one, I'd agree that a 2.5" VFO knob would have been
a better choice than 1.5".  Direct access to bands and modes (and filter
selections) are some very nice things to have as well.  One of the
things I loved about my Omni V was that you had individual buttons for
these things and they had LEDs to show you which one was selected.  

But my K2 has all of these limitations as well.  Despite the fact that
I'd like to have them fixed, they are not enough of an issue for me to
step away from the K2 in favor of any other rig.  The K2 just works to
nicely despite the few human factors issues.

It looks to me like there is room on the K3 for a bit bigger knob on
both VFOs.  Certainly not 1/2" bigger, but maybe 20% bigger.  If K3
sales are high enough, maybe there will be an aftermarket knob for the
rig?

It will be interesting to watch the whole thing unfold!

73!

- Keith N1AS -
- K2 5411.ssb.100 -

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Subich, W4TV [mailto:w4tv at subich.com] 

There two "human factors" items that have been cited several times: 

1) the knobs are perceived to be too small.  The current 1.5" and 1.0"
(approx) are 
   believed to be too small.

2) The lack of a set of "direct access" band and mode select keys.