[Elecraft] New ham but seasoned CW r/o, between classic K2 and progressive KX3

[stan levandowski]

Arno, I'm looking at your email and reading between the lines:  You want 
to make the most of the time you have left and you want to reconnect 
with a meaningful time in your life which is spelled "CW".  I am also a 
former US Navy RM and I operate 100% QRP CW.  I own (and use) all the 
Elecraft transceivers and that's the problem:  They are all so wonderful 
I can't bear to part with any of them.  Having said all this, I find 
myself constantly reaching for my KX3.  It has the performance, the 
all-important dual watch which makes DXing a split incredibly efficient, 
and it's been working with no issues since I got #0325.  The ATU can 
load anything.  The automatic spotting function is outstanding. In my 
opinion the KX3 *is* designed for CW.  I just totally ignore the SSB and 
other modes stuff.  If I were in your situation I would buy the KX3. 
73, Stan WB2LQF

On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 1:23 PM, Arno Dienhart wrote:

> Hello,
>
>
> I am a new ham, retired, and this is a kind of bucket list thing: I 
> might
> have one or two years left and want to get back into CW that I know 
> well
> from my time in the (German) Navy. I have been looking hard at a K2 
> and
> would be able to build it but that would not be the reason to get it. 
> Life
> is short and I'd prefer to just assemble a KX3. What I like about the 
> K2 is
> that it is designed for CW, and I would not add SSB, nor the amp, but 
> the
> ATU.
>
> I also own a dual band HT, which I use for local ARES volunteer work 
> and
> scanning the PD band. Other than that, I'm not really into verbal rag
> chewing, be it local or DX (blame my snotty CW attitude).
>
>
> Only today did I realize what the KX3 is. Assembling it would be just 
> fine.
> While the smaller size is not necessarily a buying point for me, I 
> wouldn't
> mind it (I will take it outdoors). What I don't really need or want 
> are the
> other modes (SSB, data, and SDR), so I wonder whether I am getting the 
> wrong
> radio with a KX3 that is not a dedicated CW machine.
>
>
> If all I did were CW, with DX ambitions nevertheless, which do you 
> think
> would be the better radio for me?
>
> Thank you in advance for your suggestions and ideas, and also further
> questions, if you have them.
>
>
> 73,
>
>
> Arno
>
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