[Elecraft] K3S OR K3

[Edward R Cole]

Savings made buying a K3 over K3S may not be that much.  Seems that 
used K3 are going for 85-90% of new cost (depending a lot on 
accessories installed and age, condition, etc.).  If you are then 
going to install the upgrades to make it close to a K3S, it might not 
be that much of a savings.  One of the aspects of the K3 that helped 
my purchase in 2010 was resale value.

I'm guessing that Elecraft decided to drop the K3 as the K3S is what 
most will want and production will be much easier with only one model 
to deal with.  K2 was/is an entirely different radio than the K3 and 
was a true kit for those that wanted that challenge.

But if you can find a K3 offered at 50% of the new cost - snap it up 
as you can resell it for 80% and make a nice profit!  I have never 
seen one offered that low.

73, Ed - KL7UW

To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] K3S OR K3
Message-ID: <55D61F20.9020802 at k5dkz.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

I know there was a discussion on this subject.  I ignored it because I
was not interested in either radio.

Recent events have me interested in either a K3S or K3.

I know the K3 will have to be a used radio because new ones are no
longer available.  I am not sure why that is.  Sounds like a marketing
tactic.  I believe the K2 is still in production.

In any case a used K3 can be bought for significantly less than a new
K3S.  I am not convinced that the K3S 'improvements' are worth the extra
expense.  For instance, I don't need to be paying 2X for a 0.1X
improvement.

Of course if the performance does go to 2X over a K3, I might be
convinced to pay 2X.

So what was the conclusion of the discussion?  Do we have a 2X
improvement in the KS3 over the K3 or is it more like 0.1X?
  <k5dkz>


73, Ed - KL7UW
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