[Elecraft] K3 eHam review after 2+ years

[HowardZ]

Well Dave,

I am not certain that a better radio will help me hear through the noise.  A
few weeks ago we had no noise at all for a few days - someone mentioned how
quiet it was on one of the nets, but then a few days later the noise was
back.  Move 20Khz in either direction and the noise is gone, but we "stay on
target" as they said near the end of Star Wars.  It is rare for Mars to
change freqs or switch to a digital mode.  They presevere.

The MFJ 1026 takes two antennas - gain needs to be adjusted so that both
antennas have the same S-units of signal strength.  Then one rotates the
phase 0 to 360 to try to eliminate the noise.  Supposedly this works well on
noise coming from your home, your neighborhood, or even DX noise.  I do not
think this is what people call "diversity receive".  It is some kind of
phase rotation to eliminate noise, though it does use two antennas.  I don't
know if the K3 or Flex has this function.  The MFJ 1026 might be the lowest
cost method for me to deal with the noise on this heavily used Mars
frequency.  Maybe I'll buy one soon?

Then there is the Icom 7600 - it supposedly represents a large improvement
over my existing Icom.  Interfaces are identical to my existing Icom.  Don't
need to rewire my pactor 3 TNC for example.  It has downloadable firmware I
think.  But its too new.  There might be important hardware revisions in its
first year if the radios fail with the initial design.  This has happened
with other Icom radios in the past.  It's also not considered in the
Perseus, Flex, Elecraft class of performance.

I could get a Perseus, or some other receivers and use an Eldad T/R switch. 
This is lower cost than a new tranceiver since it's just a receiver - no
transmitter.  People rave about these and the Perseus is near the top of
Sherwood's test list.  I could rationalize that the K3's transmitter is no
better than my existing transmitter, so why pay for a tranceiver?  However
this approach complicates interfaces to TNCs and sound card interfaces.  But
this choice does have merit.
  
I could get a loaded Flex 5000 - it costs less than the K3 loaded since the
Flex doesn't use  all those roofing filters.  People who own the Flex them
love them and they are rated well.

I have not used nor even seen in person any of these radios.  However I
prefer the K3 design approach over the Flex or Perseus.  I don't want to
ever have to say "Sorry for the silence, I had to reboot windows -
everything locked up - or I got that blue screen"  - I prefer a radio that
has an embedded processor rather than a windows system.  Turn it on - and it
works - plain and simple.  Yes, I'll hook a windows PC to the radio for
digital modes, but at least voice works without a PC.  And how many PCs can
you hook up to a 12 volt battery during a power outage?  Yes, there are ways
to do it, but it isn't that simple.

Then there are those wonderful dynamic range figures.  Supposedly the
Perseus, Flex, and similar designs have the same dynamic range no matter how
far away the strong signal is.  So, when the strong signal is 2khz away -
they are all similar in performance.  (K3 has the top spec, but with it is
something called "phase noise limited" which doesn't sound so great - though
I don't know exactly what it is.)  But what happens when the strong signal
is 50KHz away?  Well, I think the K3 will have much higher performance the
further away the strong signal is.  But the Flex, Perseus, and others will
have the exact same performance.  I think that also applies if the signal is
1Mhz away, 10 Mhz away, 100Mhz away - you get the idea.  I suspect they need
a low pass filter to protect from a strong VHF or UHF signal.  Anyway, I may
be wrong with this logic, but I suspect the K3 is better in this regard.

However, a strong nearby signal is not my current problem.
A better NR, NB, or something to quiet down the noise is what I need.

I currently have other options to try to solve the problem.  The MFJ 1026
costs under $200.  Maybe a beverage RX only antenna.  I hear that an "on the
ground" beverage antenna is very quiet.  All it costs is 500 ft of wire to
give it a try.  Unfortunately I'll need to bend it to be a U shape as I
don't have enough land to go 500 ft straight in one line.  A better radio
should also help - I think - not sure. 

Anyway - to get to your question.  I think (but not sure) the Perseus and
the Flex are finished modding their hardware - just the software keeps
changing.  If I really needed to take the plunge right now, a Flex 5000A
with internal tuner and second receiver might be a good choice.  Still it
costs alot more than the Perseus, but significantly less than a similar K3
loaded with filters.

I suspect the K3 is a better choice.  I'd just hate to be sending a K3 back
to the factory every year to pay for the latest hardware mods.  Though I do
agree it is great the K3 owners can do this without buying a K3MkII, etc..

None of these radios are "bad choices".  They float to the top of Sherwood's
list, and the vast majority of their owners love them.  People just have
preferences between them.  I don't think there is definitive evidence that
one is clearly superior to the other.  I think my preference is for the K3 -
I'll just wait until the h/w is done.

As I said before, it just doesn't look like the K3 hardware is finished. It
is not 100% - not yet. It is still evolving.  This makes me want to wait. 
Others enjoy the changes - it depends on what one likes.

I think the original author of this topic is incorrect to call the K3 100%
done.

Howard.





I'm honestly curious, Howard ... which rig (brand and model number) would
you buy at this moment in time that you consider to be stable and perform
better overall in its price range than the current version of the K3?

73,
Dave   AB7E



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