[Elecraft] Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

[Lee Buller]

Some people here on the reflector have already stated this...but what do the 
numbers from the Sherwood web site really mean?  Are these numbers so close 
together that you just start picking nits?

Two guys want to buy a vehicle.  One went to Ford, the other went to Chevy.  
(You can see where this is going)

They can look at the vehicle...sit in it...turn the knobs on the dash...but they 
cannot run the engine or take it out for a test spin.  (Just like we cannot take 
a rig on a test spin - we can look at them in hamfests, but we can't take one 
home for a week to really give it a test drive.)

So, these two guys take a look at the specs between the two cars.  They have the 
"numbers."  The only real difference is 1 inch on the wheel base, one car has 5 
more cubic inches of displacement, and one has 10 more horse-power than the 
other.  


They both have nice paint, finish, chrome, and all the basics one needs for a 
car...4 wheels, steering wheel, AC, power this and that, and automatic 
transmission.  Just a few things are different.

Price is different...the Ford cost $5,000 more than the Chevy.

So one guy picks the Ford and the other pics the Chevy?  Why?  One certainly 
costs less but the specs are "oh so close"

As ham radio operators...are we that competitive that every DB of this or that 
matters?  What do the numbers really mean?  All this is lost to me because of 
"the noise of the numbers."  Where does operating skill come in?

Now, look on down the Sherwood list and you see some older rigs coming in pretty 
good.  Have we lost perspective in this number numbing battle for the best 
receiver?  The Drake 4C looks pretty good.  The 765 looks good too.

>From my perspective...the K3 is the best rig I have ever owned...it beats my 
Ocean Hopper, my NC57, my HR-10B, my HW100, my TS520, 820, 830, 850, my ..... 
and the list goes one.  Remember from whence we have come!

Numbers....the din is deafening!

Lee - K0WA


 In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you don't 
have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you can't find any 
Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense.  Is Common 
Sense divine?

Common Sense is the image of the Creator expressing revealed truth in my mind. 
-  J. Wolf