[Elecraft] Considering K3

[Don Wilhelm]

Emilse,

WARNING - a lot of what follows is my personal opinion, but indicates my 
satisfaction with Elecraft products in general.

I cannot decide for you, but if you are looking for a top performing 
receiver that has the promise that it can be upgraded easily without 
selling your current rig and buying the latest model, then the K3 is for 
you.  Elecraft always has offered mod kits at reasonable prices to bring 
your K1/K2/KX1/K3 up to the latest level - I don't believe that is 
possible with any other radio on the market.  Most manufacturers simply 
offer a "new" product with the upgrades included.  My K2 is over 10 
years old and is up to date with the currently shipped models, and I 
expect the same of my K3 10 years from now.

I don't know your budget for your next radio purchase, but the K3 can be 
purchased in the 'stripped down' model, and updated with options as your 
budget and operating needs dictate.  My K3 is the stock K3/100 (except 
for the FM filter), and it serves my purposes well.  If I were to 
suddenly want to seriously chase DX or get involved in contesting, I 
would add the KRX3 and additional filters, and maybe some extras like 
the KDVR3.  To me, the K3 is expandable to fit my operating needs and 
requirements - for right now, I need nothing more than the basics, and 
Elecraft gives me the opportunity to pick and choose which of those 
options I want to have - I don't have to deplete my ham budget with 
functionality that I know I will not use enough to appreciate the value.

What I am trying to say is that the K3 is a top performing transceiver 
(look at the ARRL and Sherwood ratings) in any combination of the 
options, so if you are seeking a top performing radio, then the K3 is 
worthy of serious consideration.  It is one of the lower cost radios 
because of the options offered - see the 2010 ARRL Handbook chapter 14 
where the K3 falls into 3 of the categories, Mid-range, Upper Mid-Range, 
and Top-Drawer simply because of the options that are available.  The 
receiver performance for all 3 categories is the same, and you can 
"grow" your K3 from the Mid-Range to Top-Drawer just by adding options.  
With the addition of the K144XV, it becomes a 160 thru 2 meter 
transceiver in any of those 3 categories.

On the downside, some have commented that there are not enough buttons 
and knobs (some would like a bigger front panel) - I don't know your 
desires in this area, so I cannot comment other than to say the K3 has 
had high acceptance with DXers and contesters, and they do not have a 
major problem with the econometrics.  The K3 is highly configurable for 
extreme operating conditions through its menu system, but some consider 
that a downside because of the many menu controlled variations 
possible.  My answer to that is that the default settings are there for 
normal use, and the deviations from those defaults are available for 
more extreme situations - the K3 can be configured to your particular 
needs, but you may have to do some studying of the menu system to take 
advantage of this flexibility - as I said, the default settings will 
suffice for those who do not want to go to the trouble of 'messing with 
the menu', but it surprises me that so many want their radio to work to 
perfection in extreme situations "right out of the box" with no effort 
on the part of the operator.

I hope I have not discouraged you (or any other perspective K3 owner), 
but those are the facts as I see them.  The K3 is a highly configurable, 
high performance radio that has a long life expectancy.  It will work 
well "right out of the box", but has the flexibility to be configured to 
your needs and desires.  If your budget for a new radio is between $1450 
(K3/10) and $4700 (fully loaded), then choose the options that you want 
for your transceiver and order your K3, you will not be disappointed.

73,
Don W3FPR

Emilse Peraza wrote:
> HI all , I am considering to buy a new radio and I am between the K3 and the IC 7600, I have read very good things about K3, although I don't know anybody near me that have one, so I would like to hear comments in why to go for the K3 and if someone live near Ogden UT that would like to shoe me their K3 would be awesome. TNX
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