[Elecraft] K3 - it has spoiled part of my hobby
Doug Person via Elecraft
elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Tue Jun 24 22:27:38 EDT 2014
I guess this story resonates with many of us. I had a resurging
interest in amateur radio and decided that Dayton would be a great
experience. I came across the Elecraft booth and couldn't believe what
I saw. Frankly I thought that Eric and Wayne were nuts to invest so
much in such a complex kit. Who would pay $600 for a 10 watt cw rig?
It did seem to have a lot of nice features and the possibility of SSB
made it seem a little more attractive.
I have built nearly all the Heathkit line as well as KnightKits and
Eico. I was a prodigious kit builder and I built many HW-101s for
Senior Citizens. The HW-101 was a great bargain for its time. I could
only wonder if Elecraft was really going to pick up where Heath left off.
I visited the booth time after time and listened to Wayne explain the K2
time after time. I didn't bite. A year or so later I ran into them
again at the Charlotte, NC hamfest and I realized they were vastly more
successful than I had ever expected. I bought a K2. The build was
amazing. Certainly the biggest kit I ever built. Although, I think the
HeathKit color TV was a pretty big kit, too.
When it was finally done, debugged and ready, I got on 20 cw. I'm not
much of a cw op, but the K2 blew my mind. Running full QRO at 15 watts
out, it seemed like the world was waiting in line to work me at my
meagre 12 WPM. Seriously hooked, I built and sold 3 more. What a joy.
My K2/100 sits in my living room. I consider it a work of art. When I
show people what amateur radio is - I show them the K2. Nothing in my
mind better defines "Amateur Radio Equipment" than a K2. I built it
with my own hands, part by part.
I now have the full K-line, K1, KX1, KX3 with all the accessories. All
great radios. The K2 however, is the single most fascinating amateur
radio transceiver kit ever created. It is a major milestone in the
history of "ham" radio.
73, Doug -- K0DXV
(52 years of hamming and still going strong)
On 06/24/2014 08:43 AM, F5vjc wrote:
> Licensed now 50 years....SWL,, homebrew, Heathkit HW100 etc etc.
>
> Elecraft saved me from giving up on Ham radio.
>
> It all started in year 2000, with the K2 built from scratch, all options,
> including winding all the Toroids.
> I loved it, and ended up with a rig that performed amazingly, as well as
> my then current big box rigs, the Kenwood TS950, a TenTec Corsair and a
> TenTec Omni 6+, all very nice rigs which |I kept for some years.
>
> Then, when the K3 came along I just had to have one # 325.
> I eventually sold all my other gear and now I have the full K-Line, all
> built from kits.
> It still amazes me to be able to put together a kit of parts and end up
> with such a top performing, full feature piece of radio equipment.
> I love the ability to do software updates and hardware mods all to keep the
> rig current to latest spec.
>
> This together with all the amazing software available today interfaced to
> this rig keeps my interest going.
>
> Plug and play rigs (which is an Elecraft option of course) would soon bore
> me.
>
> I now have a super station indeed! Very happy.
>
> Now if only I could get a 60' tower and a big beam, hmmm....
>
> 73, Deni F5VJC
>
>
>
> On 24 June 2014 12:36, Bill W2BLC <w2blc at nycap.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> I bought the K3 a couple of years ago, then followed with the P3, and soon
>> after - the KAT500 and KPA500. Yep - I got it all.
>>
>> It used to be that I would spend a large amount of my ham radio time in
>> reading about new ham equipment, buying and using same. With a fairly
>> healthy turnover rate, I enjoyed trying new rigs and searching for that one
>> single rig that would appease my needs. For over fifty years I had been
>> doing this - owning or using most every rig out there - except for the
>> latest $10,000+ rigs. Then I got the K-Line...................
>>
>> That was the end of the quest - I no longer have any interest in looking
>> at new rigs, as I seriously doubt that I can find any new rig that will
>> improve my ham radio experience over the K3. It's performance, size,
>> layout, and individual custom setup suit my needs perfectly. I still enjoy
>> discussing rigs, but there is no desire to purchase another rig.
>>
>> The only ham radio thing I have bought lately is a PigKnob - a small
>> programmable device for rig control. To that end, I no longer use HRD for
>> rig control.
>>
>> Life is good!
>>
>> Bill W2BLC K-Line
>> Note that I said, "...my ham radio experience" and "my needs......."
>> Other's mileage my vary.
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