[Elecraft] QST Review: Minor Quibble

[Dave Yarnes]

Buck And All,

I didn't have quite the reaction Buck did when I first saw the K3 at Dayton. 
However, I can certainly appreciate his reservations, and I also thought 
about the Orion II that I had back at home on my bench.  My thoughts, 
however, were more about how great this rig was going to be for traveling, 
Field Day, etc.  And the knobs didn't seem nearly as small or crowded as 
many are on a Mark V I also have.  If I questioned anything, it was how 
could they get all those promised features in that little package!

The K3 is a great size and weight in my view.  And I love it's portability. 
But I have found a downside!  This summer, when we were at the Oregon coast, 
I had my K3 set up on afternoon, outside our motorhome, on a picnic table. 
I love to operate out-of-doors, and even at home about 80% of my operating 
with the K3 is from my back patio.  I had an inverted vee set up, fed with 
300 ohm line.  The feedline was probably a bit shorter than it should 
be--only a few feet extra.  Anyone familiar with the Oregon coast knows the 
wind can blow pretty darn hard, with really strong gusts.  In fact, it 
seemed last summer that just about all we had were windy days--a lot 
different than the year before.  Anyway, I suddenly realized that the wind 
was whipping my antenna around a bunch, and the feedline was moving with it 
of course.  My outboard balanced line tuner was off the table before I knew 
it, and so would have been the K3 if I hadn't grabbed it!  Lesson learned! 
Pretty dumb on my part though, and I should have thought about it ahead of 
time.  The K3 is so light it gives almost no resistance to tugs and pulls, 
so make sure you have things well stabilized ahead of the rig and tuner. 
Besides, you don't want even small movements to stress your connectors.  For 
any outside activity, this needs to be on your checklist in big red letters!

Dave W7AQK


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <K4IA at aol.com>
To: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:32 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QST Review: Minor Quibble


> When I first saw the K3 at Dayton I made fun of  the small second VFO 
> knob.
> In fact, I was obnoxious about it.  Wayne  and Eric were good natured (as
> always) but I could tell they were a bit  defensive.  I was also worried 
> about the
> multi-function knobs and how small  the face looked.  I was used to the
> Orion.  You could fit a K3 in the  empty space inside an Orion.  I would 
> expect
> most hams - used to big rigs -  would have the same worries.
>
> Man, was I wrong.  I have had K3 #101  for one-year now and absolutely 
> love
> it.  Once I got used to how it was  laid out, everything fit together and 
> I
> found nothing to complain about.   The K3 is the perfect size - all it 
> needs to
> be and not a bit more or  less.
>
> Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
>
> Buck
> k4ia
> Fredericksburg,  VA
>
>
>
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