[Elecraft] What made you decide on purchasing an Elecraft transceiver?

Mon Feb 21 19:56:49 EST 2011

I bought a KX1 because I saw one that someone had built when I was visiting
W1AW.  I thought it would be fun, it was kinda cute, so I built it and had a
great time.

I built a couple of mini-module kits that went together easily and I had a
great time building them.

Then I built a K2.  I had a few difficulties so I e-mailed for some help,
not expecting much.  I was blown away by the level of support and
encouragement offered by Gary Surrency.  I dropped a capacitor on my rug and
couldn't find it.  So I e-mailed a part order, and Elecraft responded VERY
quickly, without a request for additional funds, without trite.  I found the
capacitor a day later, of course.

Then I saw Eric and Wayne and a good-sized crowd at the Elecraft booth at
Visalia and wandered over, as my K2 was fairly new.  They were showing the
K3 to the public for the first time.  I made a fairly impulsive first-day
order.  I didn't really know what I was going to get, but it looked good. My
K3 is S/N 00018.

I saw them again at Dayton and heard the buzz from my colleagues in the
contesting community about this new neat little radio.  I had seen that one
of the WRTC teams in 1996 had chosen a pair of K2's, including a contester I
really respect, WN4KKN. My good friend from NCCC, Ed Muns, was the other
half of my carpool from the Crowne to Hara Arena (I had the car, he had the
speaker's pass) and he knew I'd just retired, and he mentioned that he was a
K3 Field Tester, and that maybe Eric and Wayne might be able to use some
help with the PC side software.  I had just retired from 11 years at
Microsoft and thought I could spare a little time writing a firmware loader
for them.  So I volunteered for a few months, and it worked into more than
I'd imagined I'd be interested in.  I joined Elecraft primarily because I
like the way they deal with their customers.
It's a better radio than I had a right to expect, and I like the way it has
continued to develop.  And there's more coming!

Dick, K6KR

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Phil Hystad
Sent: Monday, February 21, 2011 3:58 PM
To: Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF
Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net; Eric Swartz WA6HHQ
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] What made you decide on purchasing an Elecraft
transceiver?

The main thing:

1.  The K3
2.  Wayne and Eric
3.  Everybody else (most everybody) on this list.

73, phil, K7PEH

On Feb 21, 2011, at 3:51 PM, Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF wrote:

> Hi Wayne, Eric & everyone on the list, I thought that perhaps it was 
> time to ask one of the most important questions ever for this mailing 
> list, That is: What made you decide on purchasing an Elecraft transceiver?
> 
> For me it was participating in the local (all VK) 'Shires' HF contest with
my good friend Gary - VK4FD and his K3 #679.
> I was using my Yaesu FT847 during that contest sitting next to Gary and I
could not help but notice that whilst my FT847 was handling the 2 lower
bands (80 & 40M) fairly well it was still being desensed by Gary whenever he
transmitted on 20M and up. 
> 
> Whilst it was bareable for me I also noticed that Gary did not have any
such issues with his K3, he simply got on with the job at hand.
> (In fact he could listen on the same band I was on and have no issues 
> at all, it was a real eye opener for me!)
> 
> Now, I know that the FT847 is not a contesters radio on HF at all but it
didn't do such a bad job, after all we got second place in the rover
category that year with quite a large amount of the points scored being done
by me and the FT847 but when I saw the performance of the K3 in comparison
to the FT847 I thought, "maybe it is time for a change of radio".
> 
> So, the seeds of change were now sown, the sticking point at the time was
that I would lose the capability of operation on two bands that I was active
on (2M and 70cm).
> (The 2M transverter wasn't available when I first started to entertain 
> the idea of a K3 in my shack) The clincher for me was the announcment of
the K144XV internal 2M transverter with it's impressive spec, I now HAD to
have me one of those K3 radio's!
> I was willing to forego the 70cm band as it get's very little use in Nth
Queensland except for contests but 2M was a must have.
> 
> I knew that had to sell my beloved FT847 as well as my 2 other radios 
> (Kenwood TS480SAT, Yaesu FT897D) to afford the K3 as the other half 
> had said "No extra cost to the family, you pay for it with the 
> proceeds of the sale of your other radio gear".  (I miss the FT847 and 
> the TS480SAT but not the FT897D, it was a pile of junk!)
> 
> I pored over the options list and asked for Gary's advice on filters 
> and options as well as looking at my own operating habits before 
> settling on the radio's current configuration. (K3 #4257, DVR, ATU, 
> 100W, KXV3A, TCXO, KBPF3, 13KHz, 6KHz, 2.8KHz, 2.1KHz, 400Hz, PR6, 
> K144XV)
> 
> Now that I have had my K3 for awhile I can say that I am very happy with
my choice of not only the radio but the options that I had fitted.
> It has performed pretty much faultlessly since I got it with the exception
of a faulty microphone and the original K144XV failing. 
> (Both of which were replaced ASAP by Elecraft)
> 
> If I had a choice, wouuld I change anything? 
> The answer is: 
> A resounding NO!, I would not change anything with the K3, Though I would
encourage Elecraft to fit the PR6 internally in the K3, the external PR6 is
a right royal PITA because it hangs out too far behind the radio!
> (I'd also like so firmware changes to be made to accomodate the saving 
> of modes etc into the VFO memories for 2M FM Repeater operations but 
> that apparently needs a complete firmware code rewrite)
> 
> What's next on my list of things to have?
> I have tried out the P3 at Gary's (VK4FD) place and whilst it is a nice
addition, I cannot see a real use for it here with my style of operating but
I can see a real use for a KPA500 so I think that i will next set my sights
on sidling one of those up beside my K3. 
> (Added to the fact that I am losing my vision, which makes it kinda 
> pointless to have a visual aid to help operate the radio) :-)
> 
> So, there you have it, my reasons for owning one of the finest Amateur
Radio transceivers on the market today, such as they are.
> 
> PS: Wayne and Eric, You'll get no finer Australian ambassador for Elecraft
than Gary VK4FD, he's singularly resposible for getting most the Aussie K3's
owners to be, well........K3 owners!
> Cut him a good deal on his KPA500 (and mine too please!) :-)
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to read my drivel......
> 
> Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF
> Innisfail, QLD, Australia
> Elecraft K3# 4257 + PR6 - K144XV = multiband goodness!
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