[Elecraft] Has the KX3 rescued Ham radio?

[Mark Petiford]

Re Dan's comment:  <<So, to be fair, I was one of those gear hungry hams.>>

I was the opposite type of ham.  I couldn't see spending a lot of money on a hobby when I was starting a career with a house in Southern California, cars to pay for and maintain, three college educations to save for, savings and investing for future retirement, and three beautiful daughters ready to help keep my wallet trimmed down (I love them dearly, though).  I sacrificed big expensive radios willingly so that my family could enjoy their interests.  I maintained my modest station (TT540, a vhf HT, Model 19 TTY, 3 el. CL-33 on 30ft. tower, etc.), but eventually became more interested in microprocessors (I do not mean building PC's from pre-manufactured boards), and eventually drifted away from ham radio.  About 10 or so years ago, I was introduced to QRP, and I found I could have a lot of fun with simple, inexpensive QRP rigs, built from kits or from scratch, paired with simple wire antennas.  When I saw the first KX3, I knew it was the radio for
 me.  I retired recently, and it became a retirement gift to myself, sparking a new interest in portable operation and being involved with ham radio in more general way.  I still don't have a big station with all the latest big radios (I call them boat sinkers...as opposed to boat anchors), but I don't really want one.  My KX3 looks very nice sitting on the coffee table (I have a wonderful wife!) and performs quite well for what I need.  Occasionally I even hook it up to my laptop to run digital modes...great fun!


As we strengthen individuals' interests in Ham Radio, we make the entire hobby stronger.  Good to see you are enjoying the radio, Dan.


Mark
KE6BB



________________________________
 From: Dan McCoy <docdano at gmail.com>
To: "elecraft at mailman.qth.net" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net> 
Sent: Sunday, June 9, 2013 9:58 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] Has the KX3 rescued Ham radio?
 

So, to be fair, I was one of those gear hungry hams. I had outfitted my shack with every toy and gadget I could fit into my refitted closet.  Then over the years I noticed that I was losing interest...first code, then data...and to be frank there was just nothing "new" and the hobby started to lose my interest.  I sold much of my gear but continued to read and keep up.  

Then came along the KX3.  

I read as much as I could find, dropped an order for every extra component on a Friday. The ups man was at my door on Tuesday with the little radio.  I bought the pre-built model so literally I threw 26 feet of Wireman 534 and a counter poise on the BNC adaptor....2 min later I had a contact in Wisconsin. 

So why do I think it will rescue Ham radio? It forces us (ok, gently) to go back to being experimenters, operate remote, makes using code cool and useful, and to be honest just great fun. 

Great job
 Elecraft. Proud to now be a part of your family. 

Dan
N2DRM

Sent from my iPhone
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