[Elecraft] Reason to NOT buy a K3?

[Jim Brown]

On 12/26/2010 11:10 AM, Gary K9GS wrote:
> Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Some observations. You've pretty well hit many of the K3 advantages. One 
BIG one you left out is the very strong customer-oriented, 
customer-responsive Elecraft management, and easily accessible support 
by phone or internet.  Users want new features, Elecraft often delivers 
them in updated versions of operating firmware, all of which are no cost 
to the user. Users discover problems, Elecraft fixes them, either with 
hardware fixes that the user buys at a nominal cost, or with updates to 
firmware that are no cost to the user.  The OWNERS of Elecraft read this 
reflector daily, and respond directly when needed.  The design and 
operating features of the K3 are STRONGLY influenced by users of K3s, 
many of whom are some of the best operators in the world.  .

By contrast, Yaesu has a HISTORY of taking a decade to fix major 
problems (the infamous key clicks of the MP and its decendents that make 
an MP user 5 kHz wide), to to fix them, you don't upgrade the radio you 
already own, you must buy the new model.  Or you must open it up and do 
the surgery yourself, on the instructions NOT of Yaesu, but of third 
parties.

Other advantages of Elecraft -- you buy the options YOU need, not the 
ones you don't.  All documentation is on the website, including complete 
schematics.  Manuals aren't perfect, but updates are pdf's, published on 
the website.

As to the 2nd RX -- I owned an MP before buying a K3, and that sold me 
on the advantages of a 2nd RX for DXing and for contesting.  For DXing, 
you can listen on the split frequency where you're transmitting to help 
you figure out WHERE you want to transmit. For contesting, you can use 
the main RX to listen on your run frequency, while you use the sub-RX to 
search for multipliers to work.  VERY useful.

Reasons to NOT buy a K3?  You have far more money than you'll ever need 
so that cost is no object, and you want this monster box on your desk 
with a big screen and lots of knobs. And you've got this insecurity 
thing about needing something BIG!  :)

73, Jim K9YC