[Elecraft] Gurus

[Bill Johnson]

The only flaw, I see is if someone doesn't really understand the real life application or meaning of the numbers.   To me, quality, usability,  simplicity,  update ability,  cost-effective use are more important.   Not the numbers.   Rob owns his preferences,  is not influenced by manufacturers and to me does a fantastic job of reviewing (I use different sort order for my picks at times) and because of Wayne, Eric and their phenomenal team... yes, you can say I drink Elecraft.
Bill
K9YEQ
Have a great day!
Bill

________________________________
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> on behalf of Al Lorona <alorona at sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 8:57:08 PM
To: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [Elecraft] Gurus

When this subject appeared last week I had composed a reply but then slept on it and canceled it the next morning, as I probably do 80% of the time.

In this my second attempt, let me say that I've always been amazed at the power wielded by Rob Sherwood. Thousands of hams hang on his latest tests. If he deems a new radio exceptional in some way, that can mean many millions of dollars for a manufacturer.

And yet, if there were no such thing as gurus on the web and at places like Dayton expounding about how Brand A is better than Brand B, how would you answer the questions, "Do I like this transceiver?," and, "Is it any good?"

You'd probably get on the air and use it, and decide that way.

But we constantly have gurus telling us that Brand A is the 'best' which horrifies us if up until now we liked Brand B better. Against our personal experience we flip-flop and say, "Gee, I used to like Brand B, but Brand A must be better because the gurus say so."

Yet, there will always be guys who'll be tortured owning a transceiver that has the 2nd highest dynamic range, or the 3rd best distortion. Never mind if they can't actually hear the differences.

It's how a rig *sounds and feels* during actual operating that's most important. Not the numbers. For instance, Wes made a comment about his tuning knob, and although some of you might have laughed at that... it's darned important! That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.

Here's my opinion on ranking receivers by 2 kHz 3rd order dynamic range: almost any modern receiver has enough dynamic range to make this ranking more and more meaningless as time goes on. Sherwood himself has said that 90 dB or above is plenty enough. To understand why, see this post from 2016 by one of the old guys on this reflector: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K3-The-Way-We-Rank-Receivers-long-td7623639.html

Lastly, if you've been enjoying your rig for years and then hear someone else complain about a flaw you weren't even aware of, don't panic. There are a million reasons why his concerns might not involve you in the least.

Above all, have fun.

Al W6LX/4
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