[Elecraft] A confession

[Phil Wheeler]

I agree, Eric.

My thought on a solution is for him to sell his second K3/P3; it's not a religion, after all. I see this "the reason I got rid of the first K3/P3 was having to deal with the occasional O/S bumps, frequent updates, and relatively complex user interface for both. Being a slave to a piece of equipment no longer interests me." as very telling. For me that's one of the reasons I'd pay a premium to own a K3. OTOH, he could just ignore the updates, unless one is critical in some sense (e.g., to meet FCC spectral purity requirements). I've not done all the updates to my K2/100 and don't plan to.  And the K3 cannot be evolving all that much now, some five or so years after it first appeared. Many other rigs *never* evolve; I see that as a downside, perhaps he do not.

We all come at this hobby a bit differently. There was a time when I averaged 5,000 CW QSOs for three years running -- that was close to 60 years ago and I was obsessed. For about ten years (1993-2003) I mostly build qrp gear and operating in spurts. So likely others change  in their focus over time. I get the impression that Gary is more focused on operating just now -- and his TS-590S is a fine rig. But I rather enjoy doing the firmware updates (even with my K2 which I have to disassemble) and the fact that Wayne and Eric strive to keep every product at the cutting edge.

73, Phil w7ox

On 2/9/14, 1:13 PM, EricJ wrote:
> I think I get Gary, too, on some points.
>
> I almost gave up ham radio 8-10 years ago. The 
> operating had become routine and boring. DXing 
> was indistinguishable from post card or stamp 
> collecting to me.
>
> What changed it was a club member bringing a 
> bunch of QRP rigs he had built to a meeting. 
> Among them were a Rockmite and a K1. Next day I 
> ordered one of each. Since that day, I have been 
> as immersed in ham radio as any time in the last 
> 57 years I've been licensed. I've since added 
> two K2's and a KX1. I have no qualms about 
> opening the cases of any of them and heating up 
> the soldering iron to try something, though most 
> of my ham activities involve sitting at the 
> bench systematically working through the 
> homebrewer's bible, EMRFD, and learning to 
> program PICs in Forth (tired of C...if I stop 
> for lunch I need to be retrained).
>
> But I could never generate the same interest in 
> the KX3 or K3. I've come close to buying a KX3 
> based on the absolutely superb specs and 
> incredible reviews, but something's missing for 
> me. I said the same about the first luxury 
> Japanese cars when I worked in that industry; 
> superb engineering and build quality, but they 
> have no soul. The KX3/K3 kit builds are mostly 
> mechanical not electronic. And who really knows 
> what's going on inside that box beyond the block 
> diagram which is all that is provided. I don't 
> mean this to be critical. I don't know what 
> hidden things are going on inside this computer 
> I'm typing on either. SDR, with its hidden 
> computer circuits, is where RF and ham radio is 
> going. It's a very natural progression for 
> Elecraft as one of the leaders in ham radio. 
> Nobody could last long in this high tech age 
> sticking with thru-hole QRP kits.
>
> But there are people like Gary, and like me, who 
> don't see the same radio magic in SDR that 
> others see. I work on everything from 
> boatanchors (Viking Ranger on the bench right 
> now) to homebrew original design SMT and PIC 
> projects, so I'm not some old f**t longing for 
> the good ole days. (OK, maybe old f**t, but not 
> the longing part) I love the new technologies, 
> but I just can't get behind a rig that really 
> isn't meant to be opened up and tinkered with.
>
> Hats off to the Elecraft team for producing such 
> technological wonders, but also hats off to them 
> for keeping more classic rigs like the K1 and K2 
> in their product line.
>
> Eric
> KE6US
>
>