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

[David Herring]

There were three things that pushed me over the top to buy a K3:

1) The receiver.  Everything out here in Hawaii is more or less DX, and I knew I would be dealing with "compromise" antennas, so a good receiver was important to me.

2) The price of admission.  I liked the fact that it was a kit so I would be familiar with how it worked, and modular so that I could start affordable and upgrade as funds and interest permit.

3) Life span.  Other rigs can become obsolete way too fast -- I've owned a few. With simple firmware upgrades and the rare hardware upgrade, the K3 I bought a couple of years ago is still bleeding edge with all the newest and latest upgrades.  This is a rig I won't have to or want to replace for many, many years.

Ok, ok, I know I said there were three reasons, but I just thought of another one:

4) No offense to our Japanese brothers & sisters, but after watching them out-do the US on so many things for so many years, it tickles me just a little bit that a US company in this day and age was able to "open up a serious can of whoop-a$$" on them and design and engineer such a remarkable rig.

Nicely done.



David, AH6TD


On Feb 21, 2011, at 1:51 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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