Hi Terje, The KX3 is a completely different radio from the Vertex 1210. It is much smaller, lighter, and has far less current drain. It can even be used hand-held. There's simply no room for a 20-W PA and/or a large battery.
The 1210 is a channelized "man pack" radio, which definitely has its advantages for certain operating situations. However, the 1210 is about 4 times larger than the KX3 by volume, and about 5 times heavier. It draws about 3 times as much current when receive is active (it draws less in "Saver" mode, but this is with the receiver squelched, periodically looking for channel activity). Despite the KX3's much smaller size/weight/current drain, it has several major advantages over the 1210 as a general-purpose ham transceiver: 6 meter coverage (and possibly 2 m, 4 m, or other bands), FM and data modes, large display, large VFO knob, controls for many more functions, optional attached keyer paddle, and optional narrow roofing filters for high dynamic range. Of course there's also the external 100-W PA. The KX3's current drain is low enough that it can function well with an extremely light battery pack (8 AA cells, internally, or your choice of external batteries). We went with AA cells because of their flexibility and ubiquity. You can always borrow some from other electronic devices in a pinch. You can power the radio for 5-10 hours of typical transceive operation or 16 hours receive-only from a set of nonrechargeable lithium camera batteries. Or you can use NiMH, with the internal charger keeping them ready to go. So it's really an apples/oranges comparison, in my heavily-biased opinion :) 73, Wayne N6KR > > As a portable user of the K2 and Vertex 1210, I was thrilled to hear > about > the new KX3. > > After reading the preliminary specs however, I think I´ll stick to my > existing radios. Why? > > - 10 W is insufficient power for portable SSB operation on the lower > bands, > at least in Europe. 20-25 W as the 1210 has is still low, but > acceptable in > terms of balancing power with current consumption. > > - My old 1210 has built in Lithium batteries which are light, high > capacity > and fast charging. Why not in the KX3?? > > AA1QG/LB7FA ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
