[Elecraft] Why buy a 10w radio?

[Jim Lowman]

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, especially when it comes to 
perceived value vs. cost. However I, for one, appreciate Elecraft's 
philosophy of allowing one to start with a base model and add options as 
desired or needed. This has been true since the K2 and carries forward 
to the K1, K3 and now the KX3. In my case, I enjoy QRP operation and 
already have an Ten-Tec Eagle, Pegasus, FT-847 and Drake T-4XC that will 
put out 100+ watts if needed. This way I'm not paying a premium for 
unneeded power. Also, at the time that I bought the basic K2,I didn't 
think that there was enough QRP SSB action to warrant adding the SSB 
option. Recent activities have changed my mind on that issue. Now I have 
a fairly fully-loaded K2, with features added as needed or wanted. The 
only disadvantage has been that over a 10-year period, adding 
capabilities has necessitated upgrading the firmware, which is 
hardware-based. I expect this not to be a problem with the KX3, since 
Wayne mentioned that the design is SDR. In short, saving money on 
unneeded features is my rationale for liking the way that Elecraft 
designs their products. 72/73 de Jim - AD6CW On 20 May 2011, at 17:03, 
Merv Schweigert wrote:

> >  Not enough power and way too many bucks.
> >  
> >  On another subject,  why do you guys all buy QRP, limited
> >  function radios and then wish to add a 100 watt amp?
> >