FWIW, When I was choosing which rig to get, to upgrade from my TenTec Omni V, I wanted a radio that was going to be on the top of its game as long as there were parts available for it. I considered all the rigs available at the time and it was a close draw between the Orion & the K3. I eliminated the Asian rigs because of the extremely high cost and because there were problems that were seemingly eternal that the only fix was a new model and retiring the old one.
The Orion was and still is a really fine radio but there were a lack of updates to the software that for whatever reason, left their owners complaining and the solution never being made available. At the same time the K3 was seeing updates seemingly every month if not sooner and it was obvious Elecraft was trying to resolve every valid issue that it could. The Orion ran into issues with end of life components that could not be obtained and an Orion II was released. I'd decided to go with Elecraft, another US company and I felt badly not going with TenTec but to my impression, Elecraft was delivering and TenTec was not. As it is today, I made the right choice; The Orion is no longer in production (which is a shame because it was a really nice radio) and the K3 is in production and Elecraft will make all of them as-new for a modest investment. No way I could afford to buy a new rig every couple of years but in the K3 I have a rig I am familiar with and it is newer and improved, just like buying a new & upgraded radio but one I don't have to learn about or the location/functions of buttons anew as a new rig would demand. Would I like a newer serial #? Absolutely but only from the standpoint that people equate a higher serial with a better radio. With this upgraded/updated K3, it is exactly the same as a new one. When Elecraft comes up with a new update/upgrade, I'll be right there to buy that and keep my rig "brand new". What other manufacturer does that other than Elecraft? They have my business from now on. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com ______________________________________________________________ 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
