[Elecraft] Elecraft newbie considering K3 vs KX3

[tom betka]

Thanks Phil...
I agree that the K3 does indeed seem like the way to go at this point, and the extra $$ is probably money well-spent. But that leaves me with another dilemma...how to outfit the K3?
Here's the basic order I came up with today. After talking David at Elecraft, I added the 100w power amplifier which kicks price up $450. But my question...is that really needed at first. I guess David's point (which seemed very valid when we talked) was that I should spend the extra money on the 100w amp, instead of some stuff for CW that I was going to opt for instead. I have never really practiced much CW to be honest, and would like to learn it. However David advised that it would be more important to get phone up & running, and working well--and THEN add on CW in the future. After considering his advice more today I think it's very sound indeed--and therefore was probably looking at this build list:

Elecraft K3
item#		item description			        unit price-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------K3/100	 	K3 100W Xcvr. (Modular Kit)	$1999.95	(10w = 1549.95)KUSB	 	Univ. Ser Bus Adapt.			$39.95KXSER	 	K144XV Serial Cable 			free	MH3		        MH3 Hand Mic		                $59.95	KAT3  		Internal Tuner				$299.95===============================================						TOTAL	       $2399.80   (10w = $1949.80)

Although it's a bit more than I was planning to spend initially, the 100-watt amp is an affordable add-on in the initial build. So it would be do-able. For comparison, if I were to go with a KX3 and leave off the CW components, the gear would come in at just under $1350--but of course that doesn't include a 100-watt amplifier, as they are not yet available for that radio. So it really isn't an "apples-to-apples" comparison at all...unless you simply consider the 10-watt K3 build. In that case it would be about $600 more for the K3, and I think it's been well-established that this extra money would be well-spent given that this would be my only HF rig.
Anyway, I'll hopefully be looking at Duane's K3 tomorrow if all goes well. Then I can make the final decision after that, and get moving.
Thanks again to everyone for the advice. It's very reassuring to draw on the wealth of experience that's so obvious in the users here.

Tom

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