[Elecraft] K3 Portability

[Edward Cole]

This was one of the major selling points that made my decision to buy the K3

The K3 is rapidly becoming the IF radio of choice for microwavers 
because of its small-size/light-weight and superior weak-signal CW performance.

My K3 has now been received in BC by VE7BDQ on 502.4 KHz using the 
WSPR mode.  My ERP = 3.24w. 1366-miles

73, Ed - KL7UW

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Message: 39
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:21:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Don Rasmussen <wb8yqj at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 Portability
To: "elecraft at mailman.qth.net" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Message-ID: <618418.63926.qm at web80808.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

The K3 is light for what it does, and simple. I have no doubt that if 
the K3 were wrapped with bubble wrap and double boxed, it could be 
dropped from almost any height without harm. Some of the K3 
contemporaries, I'm not so certain about. FT2000 - yikes. There is a 
power supply in there and there are so many interconnected boards 
spread over a large area. Nice reliable looking radio in there but I 
wouldnt want to test drop it for any reason. I would be nervous about 
sending it in for repair that some little thing could work itself out 
of position, etc.

Orion is better but still a lot of unsupported open space.

FLEX - ;-) ha - my PC falls apart just sitting on the floor. I am 
constantly slapping my DELL back together. Fairness to FLEX, they are 
not racing with Icom to be the Dxpedition transceiver of choice.

There is an old school term for some gear, MTBF. It just seems to me 
looking at the K3 simplicity, that there is a whole lot less to go 
wrong, even though Elecraft is always the first one to make anything 
that may happen, right.

So I am wondering. I have an FT101 from 1975 that's still going great 
and it's as complex as heck inside and so many moving parts to stick, 
caps to harden, bandswitch contacts to foul. How long will K3 go, in 
comparison. After burn in, years I'd guess, lots of them. Seems that 
like jets, daily expansion and contraction might be it's biggest stresser.


73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45
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BP40IQ   500 KHz - 10-GHz   www.kl7uw.com
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