[Elecraft] A confession

[Scott Manthe]

Think about your "problem" this way: When Yaesu wanted to upgrade the 
FT1000MP, they brought out the more expensive and poorer-performing 
Mark-V Field (sorry if I offend, but the difference in RX performance 
between the two has been long noted). When they decided to grade the 
Mark V Field, the came out with the more expensive and poorer-performing 
FT2000. When they needed to upgrade the FT2000, they came out with the 
better-performing and MUCH more expensive FT5000. See a pattern here?

When Elecraft wants to update the K3, they either release a free 
firmware update which adds features or fixes bugs; or they release a 
reasonably-priced replacement board or option board that can be 
installed by the end user. This is a company philosophy that is 
diametrically different than Yaesu or Icom. (I don't mention Kenwood 
because at this point, they don't really even count as a major amateur 
manufacturer anymore, unless you're buying an HT. [Again, sorry if I 
offend, but it took them 20 years to replace the TS950SDX, and the TS990 
is inferior in every way to that rig, except for button population.])

Elecraft doesn't force you to buy an "new, better" (more expensive) rig 
when they upgrade the features or performance of the K3. And they've 
already said that whatever K4 feature/improvements there are on the 
horizon will be backwards compatible with the K3. So, if you don't like 
be bothered with updating your firmware, sell your K3/P3 and buy another 
Yaesu. And when they upgrade that rig, you can buy another Yaesu, and on 
and on...

Nobody here can tell you why you should take your K3 out of the box. If 
you don't need what it has to offer in performance, then you should sell 
it. K3s aren't perfect and they aren't for everyone, and Elecraft's 
"continual improvement" style of product development isn't for everyone. 
It took me a long time to get used to the fact that my radio could 
always get better if I wanted it to, without me having to buy a new rig. 
Some people want the product to be finished when they buy it and would 
rather just go through the product cycle, and buy a better/more 
expensive product when it comes out in a year or two, like they've been 
trained to do.

I go to Dayton almost every year, and I used to love seeing the various 
new HF rigs on display by the "Big 2" and I would begin saving my 
pennies so I could buy the next cool rig. I don't do that now. I am 
honestly not at all interested in changing to something else from the 
K3. I still look at the other offerings, but they just don't interest 
me. Not because I'm a kool-aid drinking lemming, as one of my friends 
labeled Elecraft owners (he now has a K3/KPA500), but because the K3 
suits my needs by being excellent, expandable and improvable. I don't 
need to buy the next "big rig" any more, I already have it.

73,
Scott, N9AA


On 2/9/14 2:48 AM, Gary NL7Y wrote:
> My conundrum is how the K3 (and work in progress P3 with SVGA-keyboard
> enabled software) will exceed the performance of my TS-590, MK-V Field, or
> unmentioned IC-765. I'm not a troll as some have suggested (my skin is
> tougher than yours), but a rather basic person given to operating rather
> than idly fussing with electronics.
>
> I've owned and/or operated many radios over the last 20 some years and am
> very familiar with my second K3/P3. The question remains for me to answer:
> will they both still be in a box a month from now? And if so, why not?
>
>