[Elecraft] Buy a K3S?

Tue Jul 19 16:13:29 EDT 2016

Agree fully with the suggestions.

As to equipment, I once saw a sign in a high-end telescope shop:  “Buy the best first and cry only once.”

Ted, KN1CBR

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Message: 30
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2016 14:46:19 -0400
From: "Jerry Moore" <jermo at carolinaheli.com>
To: "'Reuben Popp'" <reuben.popp at gmail.com>,	"'Elecraft Reflector
	Reflector'" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Help sell me on the K3S
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

I will throw my view into the mix. 

As a new Ham operator you have no idea what you want to do in the hobby
other than EVERYTHING!!!
In addition to wanting to do everything we're also most often budget limited
to some extent. 

Challenge: Weigh the desire to do everything with  the most cost effective
way to get started until we know what we actually enjoy.

Suggestions: 
1. Find a mentor (in our hobby they are called Elmers) to help you along,
get you on the air, and help you get experience to find out WHAT you ENJOY
doing in the hobby. 
2. Meet with as many hams who do different things in the hobby as you can
and ask them to show you that part of the hobby....example: HF, UHF/VHF,
EME, DX, Contesting, Different modes....etc.. 

Once you know what you ENJOY in the hobby you can best invest in the
resources to engage. 

My world view of ham radio gear specific to Elecraft:

Most Gear Advantage (generalizations): cheaper, simple to use/operate
(appliance operator ), may have firmware updates.
Most Gear Disadvantage (generalizations): limited to the manf. Design limits
and locked to model, firmware updates generally limited to correcting bugs
and not generally to add features/functionality.

Elecraft Disadvantages (my opinion and generalizations): High entry price,
operator MUST learn to use the gear, configurations can be complex and are
generally open ended
Elecraft Advantages (my opinion and generalizations): Gear is highly
adaptable to conditions and configuration based on operator demands a the
time, hardware and software upgrades (both hardware and software upgrades
have traditionally been for new features/functionality in addition to bug
fixes).

Summary: I would have been happy with a less expensive radio, however, I
would have been frustrated at the limitations. I purchased my Elecraft K3S
specifically to avoid the frustrations I've experienced with other gear in
the past. To date I've not been let down (although the cost of the options
has prevented me from doing the add-ons that would be nice to have..e.g. sub
rx, P3..etc). 

Jerry Moore
AE4PB

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End of Elecraft Digest, Vol 147, Issue 35
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