[Elecraft] K3 how often do you use it?

[Julian, G4ILO]

K8RDD wrote:
> 
> I fellow said "Elecrafts ergonomics and packaging is not appealing enough
> for most people despite its receiver performance. They could fix it by
> putting the K3 into a bigger box with a decent front panel and more knobs,
> but they wont. They wont because they are listening to the wrong people
> who dont have a clue about marketing and who dont understand the psyche of
> most everyday hams. Hedging your bets on a small group of hams who turn
> their radios maybe 5 times a year while ignoring those who use a radio
> probably every second day is not wise."
> 

That's just one man's opinion, one thing every ham is guaranteed to have.
But the assertion that K3 owners hardly ever use their radios makes it a
pretty ludicrous opinion.

The K3 can't possibly be all things to all people but if it can be done in
firmware it certainly tries. However size / ergonomics is one aspect where
it can only be one thing or the other. The fact that Elecraft went for a
light weight small size package probably does reflect the preferences of its
founders, if previous Elecraft models are anything to go by. They wanted to
create a high performance radio that could easily be used in the field, as
well as at home.

I guess they might also have considered that smaller, lower cost radios sell
in greater numbers and represent less of a business risk than one that
appealed only to those with deep pockets and a very large shack. I certainly
would not have bought a K3 if it was $1000 more, twice the size and four
times the weight.

Yaesu, Icom and Ten-Tec both have a range of products that cater for all
needs from the portable operator to the shack-bound top DXers. Note that
Kenwood with its smaller range don't make a desktop leviathan either. When
Elecraft has been established as long as Yaesu, Icom and Ten-Tec they'll
probably have a big desktop model too.

-----
Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392  K3 #222.
* G4ILO's Shack - http://www.g4ilo.com
* KComm - http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html
* KTune - http://www.g4ilo.com/ktune.html

-- 
View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/K3-how-often-do-you-use-it-tp4279807p4280673.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.