[Elecraft] K3 in the marketplace

[Doug Person]

And then there are those of use who are professional usability 
engineers...  Having met and talked at length with both Wayne and Eric 
on several occasions, I suspect that they both know what they're doing.  
Being "intuitively obvious" is always the goal but rarely achieved in 
practice.  And often what is wonderfully simply on the initial pass 
becomes less desirable as experienced is gained.  That's why, sometimes, 
a Novice and Expert mode for complex devices is often employed.

I for one am happy to wait and willing to reserve judgment.  Two K2's, a 
K1 and a KX1 later, I'm fairly convinced the K3 will be worth every day 
of waiting.  Having spent years working with complex technical projects, 
the holdups to me seem predictable and completely understandable.

My collection of Japanese HF radios will go on ebay as soon as the K3 is 
operational here. My station will consist of a K1, K2 and K3. (and an 
amplifier if they ever actually come to market).  I doubt that I'll 
spend anytime longing for my old Icom.

Doug - K0DXV

N2EY at aol.com wrote:
> I'll say this and then be quiet.
>
> I find phrases like the following to be extremely offensive:
>
> "designers had K2-its"
>
> "human factor... so often ignored by purist engineers..."
>
> "attacks from rabid fans"
>
> "experts (ex-spurts)"
>
> "Real engineers seem to stall out when they try to confront intangible human 
> factors"
>
> "toy sized"
>
> I don't see what the point is in these comments. If you don't like a product 
> - any product - just don't buy it. That's one of the great things about ham 
> radio: we don't have to buy any particular thing, and we have lots of choices.  
> KR2Q stated the choices perfectly, dittoes to what he wrote.
>
> Please - it's enough to say "I prefer A over B". The derogatory comments 
> about engineers, toys, experts, rabid fans, etc. are really, really offensive.  
>
> "The K3 has jumped Elecraft into the arena of the ORION 2, FT-9000 and 
> IC-7800 and great specs are great, but.....This means they can still be beaten in 
> the marketplace when their specs indicate they should be the only hi end rig of 
> choice."
>
> How much do each of those other rigs cost? 
>
> Can you leave out features you don't find essential to lower the price, then 
> add them later if you want to?
>
> For me, a 100 watt K3 kit with ATU and one optional roofing filter would be 
> the starting point. Priced at about *half* of an Orion II with ATU. Put every 
> available option in the K3 and its price will not reach 75% of the price of an 
> Orion II with ATU.  And the Orion II is much lower priced than the FTdx-9000 
> or the IC-7800.
>
> Elecraft's game has always been to produce high performance rigs (not "toys" 
> - RIGS!) that are uniquely different from what's on the market, at a lower 
> price and with much more owner involvement. That their products could even be 
> considered competition to rigs costing so much more simply amazes me. 
>
> Sorry for the rant, thanks for the BW
>
> 73 de Jim, N2EY
>
>
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