[Elecraft] W8JI review on eHam

Thu Aug 28 18:13:23 EDT 2008

They don't call it MoJo for nothing.......  ;)

David Wilburn
K4DGW

Bruce McLaughlin wrote:
> I personally know Tom. He used to live within 15 miles from me before he
> moved to Georgia.  He is an extremely knowledge person.  I have NEVER known
> Tom to flat out rave about any radio equipment.  I think his review of the
> K3 really means something because   he always tells it like it is.
> 
> The K3 is relatively small and rather innocuous looking.  But in this case
> appearances are very deceptive.  If your main interest is a large box with
> lots of flashing lights, maybe the K3 is not for you.  I have some of those
> large boxes in the shack.  But if you want superior performance and a
> company which is truly interested in making it the very best it can be, the
> K3 is for you.
> 
> As Tom said, the K3 is amazing.  If I worked for some of the other
> companies, I would be afraid . . . very afraid.  I don't know how Elecraft
> can do all this with only 24 people but I suspect that may be part of the
> reason why it is amazing.  The owners are very close to their customers.
> 
> Bruce - W8FU
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bill Tippett
> Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:12 AM
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [Elecraft] W8JI review on eHam
> 
> http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6673
> 
> Elecraft is amazing!
> 
> (I almost hate to write this review. I'd like to be the only person in
> the world with a K3.)
> 
> I like raw performance. I like working weak DX stations on low bands.
> I like contests. Because I have guest ops that aren't always
> accustomed to the radios I have, the radio has to be easy to use. With
> contacts coming three or four a minute for hours on end, with over a
> dozen antennas to pick, the radio can't be difficult to use or
> distracting.
> 
> It also has to be top notch. This is a demanding situation with large
> antennas in a very quiet location. The location and large antennas
> demand uncompromised receiver and transmitter performance.
> 
> Some top-of-the-line radios selling for three times the price of the
> K3 only lasted a few days here. Some have had serious design problems
> like so-called diversity that does not actually phase lock. Some only
> offer a crummy sub-receiver that isn't even worthy of being called
> second rate. By "sub" they must mean "sub-standard". Some have
> transmitter keying issues or unreasonable transmitter IM on SSB, many
> have receiver close-spaced strong signal handling issues. I purchased
> one brand new top-of-the-line high-dollar radio, assured by the sales
> people it was the best radio ever, and the thing was not as good as my
> 15 year old FT-1000D in several different ways.
> 
> I thought I was destined to spend my life going back to the FT1000 and
> heavily modified solid state mixer and IF section diversity R4C's.
> 
> Enter the K3.
> 
> I measured around -35 to -38 dB SSB transmitter IM3, better than my
> other radios. The transmitter is flawlessly clean on CW also.
> 
> The raw receiver performance on HF is second to none. It is
> significantly better than radios costing three times as much as a
> loaded K3.
> 
> The K3 is an incredibly easy to use radio, and it is very simple to
> upgrade firmware. Just a couple mouse clicks and the new firmware is
> located on their website and loaded into the radio.
> 
> Elecraft is also super fast in updating and improving firmware, their
> response to suggestions is like nothing I have ever experienced.
> 
> I didn't like the way a few controls functioned in diversity mode. The
> knobs required a little more operator attention than I liked. Unlike
> other companies, when I e-mailed Elecraft they listened and agreed.
> Within a week a firmware upgrade corrected the difficulties. Now it is
> smooth as silk.
> 
> Can you imagine any other radio manufacturer in the world responding
> like that? It's unheard of today!
> 
> I'm going to make a prediction. Within a few years all the successful
> serious contesting stations and DX chasers will have K3's. This is the
> first time I've bought a radio and not been disappointed. As a matter
> of fact, I'm ecstatic about the K3 performance and Elecraft's service.
> I've waited almost 20 years for the next major improvement in radios,
> and this is it. Not only is the radio great, the service and support
> exceeds all reasonable expectations.
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft    
> 
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
> Internal Virus Database is out of date.
> Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com 
> Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.6.7/1629 - Release Date: 8/23/2008
> 1:16 PM
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft    
> 
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
> 