[Elecraft] Elecraft newbie considering K3 vs KX3

[Bob]

Hi Tom,

Your scenario is pretty similar to mine -- I took a decade off, from 2001
until 2011, and when I got back I discovered all sorts of wonderful new
digital modes and exactly how much receivers had improved in that decade.
I had a couple of decent rigs from Kenwood and Icom, but they were pre-DSP
age rigs.  I decided to plunge back into things.

I joined the modern world by buying an Icom IC-9100 because it combined HF
and VHF/UHF into one box.  But the HF part of the rig was not much better
than what I had with my older Kenwood.  Yeah it had DSP, but the receiver
fell apart during busy contest weekends -- it would overload.  But at least
I was able to use it for satellite mode contacts on VHF/UHF.  Frankly that
rig cost as much as a new K3 did.  I also bought a FT817 and had an
absolute ball running QRP.  It was a great little rig and could run for
about an hour on internal batteries -- I took it and a BuddiPole antenna
everywhere I went, and would be on the air in 15 minutes after arrival
making a few CW contacts.  But the 817 receiver was also pretty bad,
especially on a busy band.  So I was looking for something better.

I finally bought a K3 and absolutely fell in love with it.  It is an
absolutely fantastic radio, arguably the best that exists for a CW operator
(some might give the Yaesu FT5000DX a slight edge on SSB but that thing is
about 4x the weight and volume -- it is massive).  You couldn't pay me to
give up my K3.  I liked it so much that I bought a KX3, and it is my new
best portable buddy.  I sold the FT817 to fund about 2/3 of the KX3
purchase.

If I could only have one it would be the K3 because most of my operation is
from the home and I'm very active on digital modes.  The KX3 is wonderfully
small, but that comes at with some compromises that would impact my day to
day operation.  That said, I've run it in several contests and it works
just about as well as my K3.

Ultimately you will need to decide where and how you will use your rig.
the KX3 is certainly optimized for portable/mobile operation.  The K3 is
capable of portable operation too (DXpeditions love it due to its
performance and weight/size), but it is more full-featured and perhaps
better suited for the ham shack.

73, Bob, WB4SON