[Elecraft] K4 Ergonomics etc

[Alan Corbeth]

Very good review and information Doug.  Thanks for taking the time to do it.  

I too will be ordering a K4, probably in the second production run.  I may wait until the super het version is available.

Alan
K7FH

> On Jun 26, 2019, at 11:01 AM, Doug Turnbull <turnbull at net1.ie> wrote:
> 
> Dear OMs and YLs,
>      I had a chance to see the new K4 at Friedrichshafen.    It was like
> visiting flowers with bees swarming to have a go.    I am impressed and have
> a few points perhaps not mentioned previously.
> 
> 1) Ergonomics:
> 
> a) The Main tuning know is raised and has clustered directly around it
> certain LEDS and Switches of particular use in tuning.
> 
> LEDS are TX, Delta Freq, SUB (RX), and DIV for diversity.    Having "Delta
> Freq" directly adjacent to the tuning know may help me remember to stay off
> a DX frequency.     
> 
> Switches are Freq Ent, Scan, Lock A/B and Sub/Div.   Positioning these
> switches right at the main tuning know seems to me an improvement over the
> K3/S.
> 
> b) Having the Spectrum display directly in front and on the radio itself yet
> also giving a good size for the spectrum display is also to my liking.
> 
> c) Because the spectrum display is built in, the radio is not as wide as a
> K3 and P3 combination.    The HDMI port still allows me to have a 24 inch
> monitor for the frequency display so the slightly smaller display will not
> cause me difficulties.
> 
> d) A built in P3 should reduce the number of external cables.
> 
> e) The tactile feel of the switches has been improved.
> 
> 2) Economy, Many accessories of the past are built in.
> 
> a) No need for a DVK CW, voice recorder card as this function is built in.
> Ery good b) No need for a more stable oscillator as this too is built in.ry 
> c) No need for a wide band filter to allow general coverage because if you
> switch out the superhet front end, you already have a general coverage RX.
> Eric confirmed that the Superhet front end can be bypassed.
> d) No need for a 4 kHz filter for FT8 as you can just switch out the
> superhet front end.    FT8 is normally not a mode used in contesting so
> should be pretty robust without the superhet front end.
> e) No separate P3
> f) No need for an accessory board in the K3 to enable an external monitor.
> 
> 3) Ease of installing updates for diversity and also superhet front end; I
> understand that it will no longer be necessary to unplug the front control
> panel in order to install these options.    This was always a bit of a
> worrying moment for me though I have assembled three K3 radios and removed
> the front panels on a number of occasions for updates such as installing the
> DVK.   I am an old goat with shaky enough hands and deteriorating eyesight. 
> 
> I should go through the specs to compare total weights of a fully equipped
> K3 and P3 combination to the fully equipped K4.   This data is probably not
> yet available.  How will the power consumptions compare?  It will be
> interesting to see the full specifications and Sherwood test results.   No
> matter, my plans are to purchase in the next twelve months.   I like the
> Elecraft philosophy of keeping the radio relatively small, light and most
> importantly allowing for future enhancement.
> 
>  Agreed you will work anything with the K3 that you can work with the K4.
> Most likely the 7300 will work 99.9% of what the K3 works but a VW Beetle
> will do what a Porsche does but just maybe not with the same style.
> 
>        73 Doug EI2CN
> PS Sadly there will be no Fred Cady, KE7X book this time to further inform.
> 
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