[Elecraft] K3 - Another one on order

[Walter Gilles]

Well, you guys are obviously having way too much fun,
so I caved in.

I recently committed $3K for a 3K, and I suspect I’ll
not see it for some time.  I don’t own any Elecraft
products, nor have I ever built an Elecraft product. 
I’ve never seen one, held one, or heard one to the
best of my knowledge.  I also make it a habit of
never, ever buying a new transceiver until it has been
out for a few years.  So why would a reasonably sane
and economically conservative person such as myself,
do something so out of character?  For me, it’s not
all about the product.

It’s about the Elecraft team, and how they run their
business.  It has to do with the passion they exhibit
for what they do, the integrity with which they
execute their enterprise, and the collaborative
quality of their customers’ experience.

I own transceivers from the big three offshore
manufacturers – Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu.  I like what
I have, but I might as well have purchased them from a
vending machine.  Firmware-upgradeable radios (forget
about hardware-upgradeable) are fine in theory, as
long as the feedback loop from customer experience
results in meaningful and measurable product
improvements, implemented in a timely manner to the
customers’ satisfaction.  I believe that is what
Elecraft is accomplishing.  As good as the K3
apparently is now, I am pleased that Elecraft is not
completely satisfied with the K3 product development
yet.  That attitude speaks volumes about my future
experience with this radio, and was a significant
aspect of my buying decision.

As an Elecraft customer “outsider”, I have watched
their growth and performance, and have spent quite
some time reading reviews of their products, and I
especially pay attention to the postings from this
reflector, but I must say it is getting quite tiresome
of late.  It is easy to get caught up in the issues du
jour, but is it always wise or beneficial?  I suspect
there are those who are just not comfortable in the
dynamic, collaborative customer experience that
Elecraft has generously and openly fitted into their
(proprietary) business planning.  What a breath of
fresh air these guys are!  

And finally, I apologize for this one-time,
non-technical post.  I look here only for that which
addresses technical or operability aspects of these
products, and as such, will refrain from posting
anything that strays from that goal in the future. 
I’m looking forward to jumping back in here when my K3
arrives.  In the meantime, those K1/K2 kits are
looking pretty good.  73



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