[Elecraft] New KX3 Owners

[Bob Applegate]

> I'm kind of curious as to how many KX3 owners are also first time Elecraft
> owners.  Seems like, based on some of the conversation, it's a fairly high
> number.  I don't know exactly what to attribute that to, but I suspect
> more than a little of it is due to the success of the K3.

I’m a new Elecraft owner, at least I will be once my KX3 appears :)

I can’t speak for others, but the K3 isn’t what drew me in.  The K3 is an
amazing rig, but I’ve got a number of very nice HF rigs already and can’t
justify yet another, but the KX3 has exactly the right features I need for
a specific application: portable QRP SSB.

Yes, I know QRP SSB isn’t as fun as CW, but I do a lot with local Boy
Scouts and wanted a portable rig to take camping, toss a wire into a tree,
and get on the air.  A cool little rig like the KX3 will provide an
excellent example of what ham radio is about.  CW is fun when you know how
to copy it, but it’s just “dots and dashes” to the average scout.  I can’t
remember how many times I’ve explained SOS consists of dits and dahs, NOT
dots and dashes!

We camp about once a month, so part of my camping gear will soon consist
of a KX3, portable antenna, a gel cell and a solar panel.  At last night’s
meeting one of the scouts said he wants to get his ticket; hopefully
getting some of the guys on the air at camp in the middle of the woods
will inspire a few more to look at ham radio as a fun hobby.  A new ham
you work in a couple months might have been fired up by making his first
QSO in front of a KX3 near a camp fire.

Bob – K2UT