Tom, Welcome back to ham radio.
Are you capable of connecting a microphone to the transceiver and also an antenna? I know that may seem to be a bit of a "smart answer", but it is reality. The default settings will suffice to get started. Yes, you may have to change the menu items for microphone selection and whether or not your microphone needs bias, but those basic settings are about all that is required. Other 'for instance" is that you may want to choose a different LCD brightness than the factory default, but that is about as complicated as it has to be.
Yes, you should read the manual to have an idea about how the knobs and buttons work, and as you progress through your "life with the K3" you may be moved to try a few extra things, like customizing the TX EQ and RX EQ settings (for instance) That will begin to customize the K3 to your likings rather than just accepting the factory defaults. The K3 has a highly configurable CONFIG menu for those more complex 'set and forget' items, but need not be a first concern (unless you want it to be).
When you have the notion to work in a contest, or try working some exotic DX, you will have a capable contest grade transceiver that is up to that task as well.
There is a lot of questions and discussions here on how to set up the K3 with a variety of external gear, such as used for soundcard based data modes, an SO2R station, remote operation, and other such special applications - those discussions can get quite technical and detailed, but they are not for casual ragchewing operation. If you develop an interest in some of these later, the K3 is capable of serving as the main transceiver in even those most complex stations.
So yes, you can simply connect a microphone and an antenna to the K3 and operate successfully. If and when you want to advance beyond that point, the rest of the K3 capability is there just waiting to be customized for your operating wants and needs.
73, Don W3FPR On 4/4/2013 11:54 AM, Tom Branton wrote:
Good morning everyone, I am looking for my forever ham rig and have a concern. Most of the questions and issues discussed here involve fairly technical electronics issues that are somewhat beyond my level of understanding. I am a pretty good CPA but not an electronics person at all. My question, can a casual SSB operator mostly interested in talking with ham friends find happiness with the K3? Will I be in over my head with the technology side of the radio? I know an answer will not involve electrons but I bet there are some pretty wise hams onboard that can provide some insite to my question. Thanks so much and 73's Tom P.S. I am returning to ham radio after a 25 year absence, (ex WD5DFE) thus the long lapse in my electronics knowledge. I used to be pretty good with tube technology!
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