[Elecraft] Musings on a "K4"

[Bill Frantz]

Sorry for the length. I've tried to put the really lengthy parts 
in footnotes.

General Comments:

I like building things and soldering[1]. I talked with Eric at a 
show and he had cogent things to say about support costs for SMT 
kits, but with my Heathkit background I think we need to give 
young people the experience of building with modern techniques 
so they can compete in inventing new devices.

Touch screens can be really bad.[2] I can still use my K3 by 
touch at night when I haven't turned the lights on. Also think 
about blind hams and other handicaps.

Any new-design radio should have a direct digital audio 
interface to computers.[3]

The radio should be designed for complete remote control[4].

Reducing the maze of wires is certainly desirable.

Mouse click to panadapter tune would be nice.

As a K3/10 owner, I am not overly impressed with the need to 
have >100W in the box. I like the clean signal argument Joe 
presented though.


Cheers - Bill, AE6JV


[1] It took me 18 months to decide between the K2 and K3. I 
looked at it as:

K2:
   + Real kit
   + Smaller
   + Less receive power
   + Less $$$
   - Poorer specs
   - Poorer support for sound-card digital

K3:
   + Better specs
   + Good sound-card digital support
   + The rest of the K line

I finally got off the dime at RadioFest near Monterey CA after 
my wife (a retired Apple software QA engineer) spent 15 minutes 
discussing the K3 UI with an Elecraft booth attendant. When she 
approved the UI and was willing to pony up the $$$ for a minimal 
K3 I jumped on it. My show benefit was free shipping the 30 
miles or so from Watsonville.


[2] My iPhone frequently doesn't recognize my touch. Wetting my 
finger tip helps. I have really big fingers, glove size XL. I 
like the touch screens that can be used with a stylus because I 
can use my finger nail with them. As a touch typist, touch 
screen keyboards are awful.


[3] The radio could include a general purpose computer as part 
of the package. Deciding on computer features makes this choice 
less desirable. (Ducking the Mac/Linux/Windows wars.)


[4] Being able to set the radio up for remote operation becomes 
more important as more and more hams live with antenna 
restrictions or travel. , Also allowing the final amp and 
receiver front end to be near the antenna feed point is quite 
valuable at higher frequencies.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz        | Since the IBM Selectric, keyboards have gotten
408-356-8506       | steadily worse. Now we have touchscreen keyboards.
www.pwpconsult.com | Can we make something even worse?