[Elecraft] K3 Band button suggestion

[Erik N Basilier]

Don, I used to have band stacking on my old Yaesu, and now on the K3 I have 
programmed the M buttons to select 3 frequencies in each band. You are 
correct w.r.t. the number of button presses: The K3 always needs two, while 
band stacking requires anything from one to three (if limited to a "stack 
depth" of 3), which makes two on the average. On the other hand, if one has 
only one favorite frequency in a band, band stacking requires only one key 
press to go there. The term "stacking" might be justified by observing that 
the last stored frequency within the band is the first "on top of the 
stack", but on the other hand, when one accesses successive levels on the 
stack nothing pops off, but the stack contents just rotate.

The advantage of band stacking IMHO is that you only need to use eye-hand 
coordination to reach one button, and you are guaranteed to end up on the 
desired band regardless of intentional or non-intentional programming. I 
have yet to reach the "touch typing" proficiency stage w.r.t. the K3 
buttons, and have often re-programmed a memory button when my intention was 
to recall a band. At least once I have lost my M button programming when I 
upgraded firmware. That said, I think the BAND and MODE controls are quite 
convenient, and I use them as often as I use the M buttons.

73,
Erik K7TV