Hi Kevin, Actually, I think this list is very appropriate for your question. I think far too many people are looking at the KX3 through rose colored glasses, to use a tired old phrase. I received KX3 kit, serial number 557, on June 29th, by coincidence my seventieth birthday. The parts list and the actual inventory did not match but the kit went together anyway. There seemed to be many hardware errors that were miraculously made up by a package of "extra" hardware. And there was quite a bit of left over hardware. Odd
I found the assembling of the two halves to be quite vexing. The speaker and battery wires caused major problems as they kept getting into the way. It seems they will always be an issue. In addition, the legs, dangling as they do, hold the case fasteners at an odd angle and exacerbate an already vexing problem. Clearly the legs could use a better mechanical design, independent of the case fasteners. Once assembled the KX3 powered up with no issues but I was stunned by the poor audio. The distortion was unacceptable at any level above a low, unlistenable volume. I thought it might be the speaker so I attached external, powered speakers and got the same result. I have read on this list that one should just use earbuds or headphones. As one who uses two hearing aids, earbuds are unacceptable and I don't think I should be forced to use headphones in a very quiet radio room. The speaker has to work! And now I find I need to install the grille cloth because of bad directions. Someone also suggested grinding or filing away portions of the case around the speaker. I'm not about to do something so drastic on a piece of electronic gear! The result of all that was I have set the radio aside and consider it useless in its present form. I have read of firmware revisions but they seem unacceptable at this point. Revision 1.10 was noted just today as causing a fatal flaw in certain KX3's and the advice was to wait for revision 1.12 which will not be out for a while. Duhhhhh. In reading the various emails it seems that for every step Elecraft takes ahead in firmware, they take almost a step back in issues the new revision creates. In addition, there are still things not implemented. I wonder how the editors of QST would feel if they knew Elecraft advertisements in their magazine were claiming features that were not available yet? I can't recall Yaesu, Kenwood, or Icom ever doing that. Here in Maine the KX3 would be classified as a blivet, two pounds of you-know-what in a one pound bag. If it had been made just a quarter or half inch longer, taller, or deeper it would be a far better radio. Perhaps Elecraft could offer a back case that is one quarter of an inch deeper as a retrofit. I'd buy one. I am not trying to say that the KX3 is not a good radio, it's just not ready for "Prime Time". It will be awesome when it is fully implemented but when will that be? If I have any advice for Elecraft it would be to sit down and list all the issues, with all their products, and set firm dates for resolving them, and then stick to that schedule. Elecraft gives the impression of having too many balls in the air, all the time, and thus are being forced to nibble at the issues. To answer your last question, there is no XYZ radio that I wish I had bought. Nothing has the capabilities/specifications of the KX3 at the present time. It's the KX3 or a giant step back to the FT-817ND. So there you have it Kevin. I own a $1400 paperweight that may someday be transformed into a great radio. My advice to you is to wait a bit longer to see how the radio evolves. 73, Harry White K1RSA -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Kevin Kleinfelter Sent: Friday, August 03, 2012 1:11 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] Unhappy With Your KX3? I'm interested in buying the KX3, but it is a lot of money for me; I want to be sure not to make an expensive mistake. So I started searching the net for someone who is unhappy with his/her KX3. The closest I got was someone who said he hated his KX3 and was going to send it back -- until Elecraft contacted him, helped him make a config change, and now he loves it. So... If you are unhappy with your KX3, please respond with why. (I'm not looking for things that could be tweaked to make it better. I'm looking for "Here's why I really wish I had NOT bought my KX3" or "Here's why I really wish I had bought xyz instead.") If you don't want to post it to the list, please send it to me at do-not-like-kx3 [at] kleinfelter [dot] com. TIA Kevin KK4KIK ______________________________________________________________ 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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
