[Elecraft] The K3 and the future

[Vic Rosenthal K2VCO]

I've been quiet lately, working on getting back on the air at my new 
QTH. But I am thinking about the future.

The K3 is still a great transceiver. For my purposes, there is nothing 
better out there for a reasonable price. But the competition isn't 
sitting still. And as everybody knows, there are some areas in which the 
K3 could be markedly improved (cleaning up the audio artifacts in QSK is 
my personal favorite).

The KX3 is apparently a great field radio. I don't need another field 
radio, though. I am never going to give up the K2 I built myself. The 
KX3, in my opinion, is not suitable for a home station, because of the 
form factor, the way accessories are connected, etc. Again, this is just 
my opinion, but I know some others share it.

So my question is, will Elecraft maintain its dominance in the home 
station transceiver market? Will the K3 be markedly improved, both 
hardware and firmware? Will there be a K3b or a K4?

I understand that the firmware/hardware of the K3 represents a huge 
investment. So maybe the best approach will be incremental. Let's say 
that Elecraft started producing a K3b with hardware modifications in key 
boards, and a firmware branch to support them. New K3 purchasers would 
get the K3b, while existing owners could buy new boards to upgrade their 
units. The K3 utility could detect the version and load the appropriate 
firmware.

Someone who is happy with his K3 as it is would not have to upgrade, and 
it would still be possible to improve K3 firmware, although probably the 
really good stuff would require a K3b.

This would be less expensive to do than a K4, and could leverage the 
experience of the designers that they have gained with the KX3.

-- 
73,
Vic, K2VCO/4X6GP
Rehovot, Israel
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/