[Elecraft] K3 & M/M Contest stations

Mon Apr 14 12:14:44 EDT 2014

This email reminded me of something ..I think I may have brought it up on the Yahoo group but not on this reflector.

I have a K3 line at my home station ...and of course am a real fan.  I am often on the team at the KL7RA M/M station here.  We have an ongoing (good natured) dispute about whether the K3 is a feasible M/M rig (not because of quality, but because people are so personal in the way they like to have it configured).  I know I've had no problems at all using K3s in M/S ops.  I'm wondering if there are some serious mostly/all K3 M/Ms out there ..and if so ...if I could weasel an invite sometime when I'm not committed up here.  I can do pretty high rate on cw, don't eat much and am paper trained :)

73
Steve KL7SB

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Gerry Hull
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 4:24 AM
To: bill at wjschmidt.com
Cc: Reflector Elecraft
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] David Cole...756ProIII vs K3

?My history with amateur radio is that I typically "rent" gear -- what I mean is I purchase gear new, use it for one or two years, and sell it.
 That way, I get to experience the latest gear without busting the bank completely.
That has changed since I got my K3.

I'm a contester, CW mostly.   Typically in multi-op stations with big
antennas, amps etc.  So bone-crushing to eme-level signals are the norm.  I agree with many here that Sherwood has captured a  lot of good data about receiver performance.  If you want to be a competitive contester or DXer, your receiver performance is the #1 issue.  Taking a listen doing a couple of comparisons does not tell a story.  Make sure you understand the tests that are being described.

I had the FT1KMP and MK5 for a while.   These were the standard for a long
time.  However, the out-of-band, key-click and phase noise issues are pretty bad.  As was talked about here, the Icom ProII/ III are really good receivers, but not with out-of-passband spurious products.  Like what was mentioned by another poster, you never feel you are by yourself with a Pro III in a contest -- always all kinds of pops an squeaks from out of band signals.

I think the ergonomic differences between Icom an Elecraft are really not that great.  They both use single-button overloaded functionality (tap, single push, push and hold) to provide various functions.  Rather than wrap things into the display (limited space), careful labeling on the panel make if (fairly clear) what is going on.  The comments I get from many older friends is they don't like this mode of operation.  One friend went out and bought the 5000 because he did not like the K3 human interface.  Well, he is selling the 5000.  The K3 receiver, in his opinion, destroys the Yaesu. ?

The reason I'm not going to just "rent" my K3 -- it will be my radio for the foreseeable future -- goes far beyond the technical performance of the
radio.   It's the intangibles.   The Elecraft team are operators,  They get
it.  They understand who we are and what we want.  They react to our input.
 Have you ever seen a the KIY guys ever react to what the market wants, in a timely manner?  I don't think so.

I am setting up Remote with some friends -- we had some really strange issues.  Brandon from Elecraft got on Skype with me from his home, on a Saturday, to help me diagnose an issue.  What company does that?

I know I'm preaching to the choir on this reflector.  However, when talking about radios, you cannot leave these details out.  It's what sets Elecraft in a completely different league from the competition.

73,  Gerry

Gerry Hull, W1VE   | Nelson, NH USA | +1-617-CW-SPARK
AKA: VE1RM | VY2CDX | VO1CDX | 6Y6C | 8P9RM <http://www.yccc.org> <http://www.yccc.org/> <http://www.facebook.com/gerryhull>  <https://plus.google.com/+GerryHull/posts>
     <http://www.twitter.com/w1ve>

On Sun, Apr 13, 2014 at 3:11 PM, Dr. William J. Schmidt, II < bill at wjschmidt.com> wrote:

> There are additional aspects of these comparisons that are not often 
> discussed.
>
> The ergonomics of the two radios are vastly different... and rightly 
> so given their history.  The Icom has had many more generations of 
> radios to improve the look, feel and operation of the radio.  After 
> owning and operating both, I find that both have adequate controls 
> places appropriately... both radios could improve the menus (cryptic at times).
>
> The other aspect, which is sort of an elephant in the room is the 
> repair histories and the way repairs are handled by the respective companies.
>  I've never had a repair issue with my PRO III, although I have sent 
> my 7800's back for service twice.  It this case the radios sat in a 
> queue at ICOM repair depot waiting for their turn to get fixed.  
> Several weeks later the radios arrived without any warning, to sit out 
> on my doorstep awaiting my arrival home.  In contrast, I've had three 
> issues with my K3... all three were diagnosed over the phone with tech 
> support and parts shipped to me for install and immediate correction 
> of the issues.  While the K3 record on failures seems a bit higher 
> than the Icom, the relative ease of troubleshooting and repair for a 
> person like me (will full lab/ repair
> capabilities) is a wonder.
>
> Neither of these things should be missed when contemplating a new radio.
>
>
> Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ / J68HZ/ 8P6HK/ ZF2HZ/ PJ4HZ/ VP5HZ
>
> Owner - Operator
> Big Signal Ranch
> Staunton, Illinois
>
> email:  bill at wjschmidt.com
>
>
>
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