[Elecraft] New products

[EricJ]

It's always interesting to hear list members' idea of new amateur radio 
products. I get the idea that the ham market is driven by the needs of 
megabuck contesters and DX'ers, many of whom are now legally 
incorporated entities! I'm obviously not in tune with an amateur market 
that sees a combiner for three $2000+ linears as a viable product. Maybe 
the ham market has always been driven by these folks, the race car 
drivers in our sport with factory sponsorship, whose wants and needs 
then trickle down to the rest of us as rear view mirrors and racing 
stripes for our family SUV.

I have no advice for Elecraft which already produces things that are 
beyond my needs in this hobby. But consider this. I worked the Alabama 
QSO Party this weekend just for fun.  I did all my tuning/searching with 
my Drake 2B, then "pounced" (a word that is hyperbole for what I do in a 
contest) with the K2/100. There was nothing I could hear on the K2 that 
I couldn't hear on the 2B. In fact, I was only interested in mobiles 
running AL counties, the weaker stations in the contest.

Granted this 50 year old radio suffers a number of inadequacies that I 
would no longer stand for, however, it is still capable of performing 
the duties that MOST actual everyday hams require of a receiver. It 
would not make it through the first lap as a race car, but it still does 
a remarkable job as a daily ride. And, the Drake 2B is still more FUN. 
It wouldn't be enhanced with a touch screen instead of knobs/switches 
and neither would anything else meant for every day hamming.

Eric

KE6US


On 6/5/2016 12:27 PM, Buddy Brannan wrote:
> Lighten up, you say? I don't know...I sort of like having radios I can actually use. Unless said touch screen will also come with some sort of spoken interface, (they haven't, so far), I guess eventually I get to look for a new hobby if that's where we're all going. And really, with the aging ham population and the sight loss that sometimes comes with said aging population, guess a lot of those guys are gonna be screwed, too. Sounds like a great idea to me.
>
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: 814-860-3194
> Mobile: 814-431-0962
> Email: buddy at brannan.name
>
>