[Elecraft] New ham and the KX3

[Fred Jensen]

Welcome to probably the very best hobby in the world! ... or at least it 
has been for me, I'm working on my 61st year with a license.  I think 
you picked a good one Sean!

To make contacts, antennas are everything.  If you're running 5 watts 
and go to 50W, that's at best 2 S-units, and probably less for your QSO 
buddy.  Go to 500W, that may be another 1.5 S-units.  Go to 1KW, and 
it's about a half S-unit.  Antenna choices can make way more than that 
difference.

I had a Buddipole for quite awhile, I used it in the field.  I 
ultimately sold it for an Alexloop.  The BP was heavy [my primary reason 
for selling it], but worked, sort of.  The Alexloop is much lighter and 
works OK.  It was a good trade, but I don't recommend it for your situation.

That said, I'll suggest you might want to try some very cheap wires that 
you can hide.  Longer wires almost always outperform any shortened and 
low antenna.  You might want to join the NA SOTA group on Yahoo, these 
are folks who climb mountains with radios, and antennas are a big 
discussion item.  They're all QRP [some VERY QRP with Rockmites], and 
there's a lot of info there, feel free to introduce yourself and ask 
questions.  I think you'll find us really accepting of a new ham.

Feel free to ask here too, and welcome to our hobby!

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
- www.cqp.org

On 2/25/2014 4:23 PM, Sean Wall wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> I recently got my Technician license and I'm working on my General
> and Extra.  I'm looking to get my first rig and I'm interested in the
> KX3. I was considering pairing it with a Buddipole antenna, as my
> development doesn't allow permanent antennas.  While I use the KX3 at
> home, will I get decent range with the 10 watt output?  In other
> words, would I need the 100 watt amp to make the kx3 a decent base
> station?  I am also planning on bringing the KX3 with me when my wife
> and I drive up north from Florida (where we live).  Since I'm new to
> amateur radio, I don't yet have a feel for how much power 10 watts is
> w.r.t. RF frequencies.  I plan on operating mostly 6 and 10 m
> initially until I upgrade my license.  Thanks for any help you can
> provide!
>
> -Sean