[Elecraft] KX3 Batttery life question...

[David Ferrington, M0XDF]

I can't argue with the reasoning from either side of the camp here - if I was in the US, but I'm not...

I'm in the UK, 30m west of London in the M4 (that’s highway/freeway, think 101) corridor with suburbia all around, houses in the 'country' as close or closer than those in a NY suburb and VHF/UHF is likely to be of more use in an emergency. If I plan to go portable on some trail, that's a good 45 mins to the nearest quiet spot, I'd be planning that and taking something like an 4Ah gel cell and a tent. If I want to hike up a mountain, that's 2 to 3 hrs to something 'not small' and 5 hrs to something equivalent to one of your local small mountain ranges (we don't do 'big' here).

I still like the idea of the KX3, I can see uses for it here in both HF and VHF, but in my own mind I was thinking 'great 2M rig with fantastic frontend', to drive a 100W PA for our 2M contests at my alternative QTH - with mains power and a permanent mast. A lot less messing about than disconnecting the K3, XV144 etc and putting it in the car to go the 2 miles to that location (a Scout HQ on higher ground where we have erected a small mast and 2m beam).

I can see running SOTA with it as HF and then, yes;, light, minimal kit, ATU etc. would be great, but I don't do SOTA and as I say, for anything worth the climb, it's a good 4 to 5 hrs away.

If I want HF, I'll want an ATU as well, so I'll have to remove the 2M - I don't think the intention is to plug and play with these on a regular basis.

So to me, although very useful, an internal battery is not an inherent part of the rig, but a good 2m module will be. Guess I may end up buying 2!

As Wayne says, each to his own...

73 de M0XDF, K3 #174, P3 #108, KX3 #???
-- 
The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.
-Moliere, actor and playwright (1622-1673)

On 27 Aug 2011, at 06:13, Wayne Burdick wrote:

> To each his own, but....
> 
> Mike Morrow wrote:
> 
>> In the 45 years I've been around ham radio, the probability that any  
>> HF
>> ham rig would be used in an emergency has been vanishingly small, with
>> the highest probabilities having been 45 years ago, not today....
> 
> A few years ago a ham in Oregon broke his leg hiking. He used a KX1 to  
> call rescuers. I'm not kidding.
>