[Elecraft] K3- pace of development

[R. Kevin Stover]

Don - K2PMC wrote:

> 
> On Page 86 of the February QST Yaesu Has announced performance enhancements
> for their very expensive FTDX9000.  I am sure that the DX9000 owners are
> thrilled to know they are about to receive major mods free of charge.  I
> wonder if Elecraft's rapid response with upgrades and bug fixes had anything
> to do with this?  I'll bet Yaesu owners would love to have the problem you
> describe.

I suspect it has more to do with not wanting third parties coming up 
with "fixes" for design flaws in their flagship HF transceivers anymore, 
ala FT-1000D/MP/MP MkV roofing filters and key click mods. I'll bet 
Inrad has made a mint on the FT-1000 roofing filter kits.

Could also be people who spent $12K on a rig get a little upset when it 
doesn't perform as well as one which cost 1/3 that amount. There's no 
doubt in my mind that Yaesu wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for the 
K3 and Flex5K.

> This is a hobby for us, and a great one, but for Eric and Wayne and all the
> others, it is not only a hobby but a business.  I've been the head of a
> large corporation and the last thing I would do is provide my competition
> with a road map of where I plan to go and when I plan to get there. 

EXACTLY!!
It might make a few on the reflector feel good but would be giving away 
a serious business advantage. When your competitors are bigger, with 
bigger R+D resources, it would be foolish to tell them where you're 
going, how you're going to get there, and when you expect to arrive.

-- 
R. Kevin Stover, ACØH