[Elecraft] Reason to NOT buy a K3?

Sun Dec 26 14:53:15 EST 2010

Merry Christmas, Gary!

Full disclosure: I'm an Elecraft employee. Before my K3 I was a happy Icom IC-7800 owner. 

I'd recommend you consider the 5 pole 200 Hz filter rather than the 250 Hz 8-pole filter if your main interest is CW contesting and DX.  There are plots of the 8-pole filters on Elecraft's web site at  http://www.elecraft.com/K3/K3_8_pole_plots.htm 

My K3, ordered in first day at Visalia (before I was an employee), had five 8-pole filters, 2.8, 1.8, 1.0, 400, and 250. I have since changed the 250 to a five pole 200 Hz. I don't use it very much. In contests I usually run with 800-1.2 of bandwidth if I can stand it to pick up off-freq callers. 
The 250 Hz filter may be just right for digital modes, tho. I'd defer to W0YK's judgement there. He has contributed several posts to this topic and these postings are archived and can be found with a search engine like Google. 

The K3 is mentioned frequently and positively in the new issue of ON4UN's Low Band DXing. 

All the radios you are considering have some good points, and the differences in equipment will be less than differences in antennas and operator skill. The best contesters could use really old gear and still do very well...

What I think sets Elecraft apart, other than great engineering and customer service, is the "Hands On Ham Radio" engagement of our customers, engineers, and company owners. You csn meet the owners at many amateur conventions. Our CEO moderates the Elecraft forum, reads every post, and they are often forwarded to the right person for action.  The equipment often gains new capability, usually through free firmware updates and the occasional hardware modification offered at reasonable prices. 
One asset we treasure and cultivate is the community of our users. They are our best source of product ideas, criticism, and are our best salesmen.

73 de Dick, K6KR

On Dec 26, 2010, at 11:10, Gary K9GS <garyk9gs at wi.rr.com> wrote:

> Hello all and Happy Holidays!
> 
> I've been reading the K3 reflector for the past couple of weeks.  I'm in 
> the market for a new radio and have my choices narrowed down to a couple 
> models to replace my TS-850S which has served me very well.
> 
> First my operating interests:
> 
> I primarily spend my time contesting, DX contests in particular, and 
> most of my time on 80 and 40M.  99% of the time I operate CW.  So, in 
> particular, low band CW performance is important to me.  In between 
> contests I spend my time DXing, again primarily on the low bands.  Some 
> occasional VHF operating on 6 and 2M.
> 
> I'd also like to point out that I do interface my radios to a dedicated 
> computer using Win XP pro and use N1MM for contesting and Logger 32 for 
> general operating.  Both of these applications are very well supported 
> and the K3 is well represented among users.
> 
> I've narrowed my choices down to two radios, the FTDX5000 and the K3.  
> There are several things keeping me from falling in love with the FTDX5000:
> 
> 1)  The CW break-in performance is broken in the FTDX5K above ~30 wpm, 
> resulting in chopped characters, and from what I'm told, really bad 
> sounding on the air.
> 2)  The APF filter is also not working correctly.
> 3)  The contour control does not function on CW, I believe only on SSB.
> 
> Of course, these limitations COULD be fixed by Yaesu in future revisions 
> but I'm apprehensive that Yaesu is going to fix anything.  They 
> certainly don't participate in the FTDX5000 user forums although 
> supposedly they do read the posts.  Sort of the "we know what we're 
> doing, there's no problem" attitude with JA radio manufacturers.  After 
> all, how many FT-1000XX radios were built with the key click problem?  I 
> don't think Yaesu ever admitted there was an issue and the fix was 
> relatively simple to implement in production.
> 
> At $5K plus one would hope these problems are addressed but one never 
> knows.  Certainly Elecraft is much more responsive and is actively 
> involved in post sale issues and solutions.
> 
> I've never been a fan of ICOM HF radios although the IC-7800 gets good 
> reviews but at $10K per radio???  I've also used Ten-Tec before and 
> never been a big fan plus the Orion II suffers from a poor performing 
> 2nd receiver and I know of several locals that have had there Orions 
> back for service/updates several times.  So what else is there and am I 
> missing anything else?
> 
> Which brings me to the K3.  This radio seems, to me, to be exactly what 
> I'm looking for.  I really can't think of anything holding me back.
> 
> I'm looking at the 100W model with the following accessories:
> 
> a)  KAT3
> b) KXV3A
> c) 2.8K 8 pole SSB filter
> d) 400 hz 8 pole filter
> e) 250 hz 8 pole filter
> 
> Future options would be the KRX sub receiver, K144XV-K 2M Module (I do 
> some VHF operating but presently have a rig for 2M SSB anyway),   I'm 
> not currently using any receive antennas on 80/40M.  I'd like an opinion 
> on this but I don't think I see the advantage to buying the sub receiver 
> UNTIL I have receive antennas available for diversity reception?  What 
> am I missing here?
> 
> I don't operate any of the digital modes but I would like to do so.  Is 
> the 2.8K filter adequate for digital modes or do I want something different?
> 
> I also like the portability of the K3 as I am planning on some future 
> DX-pedition use.  I can't see lugging a 43 pound FTDX5000 through 
> airport security either.
> 
> Sorry for the long post but I wanted to have a sanity check with some 
> experienced K3 users that know the K3 and have similar interests and 
> requirements.  I'm on vacation this week and one thing I do plan on 
> doing is dropping by a local in or DX club and using his K3 for a couple 
> of hours.
> 
> Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
> 
> -- 
> 
> 
> 73,
> 
> Gary K9GS
> 
> Check out K9NS on the web:  http://www.k9ns.com
> Greater Milwaukee DX Association: http://www.gmdxa.org
> Society of Midwest Contesters: http://www.w9smc.com
> 
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