I will throw my view into the mix. As a new Ham operator you have no idea what you want to do in the hobby other than EVERYTHING!!! In addition to wanting to do everything we're also most often budget limited to some extent.
Challenge: Weigh the desire to do everything with the most cost effective way to get started until we know what we actually enjoy. Suggestions: 1. Find a mentor (in our hobby they are called Elmers) to help you along, get you on the air, and help you get experience to find out WHAT you ENJOY doing in the hobby. 2. Meet with as many hams who do different things in the hobby as you can and ask them to show you that part of the hobby....example: HF, UHF/VHF, EME, DX, Contesting, Different modes....etc.. Once you know what you ENJOY in the hobby you can best invest in the resources to engage. My world view of ham radio gear specific to Elecraft: Most Gear Advantage (generalizations): cheaper, simple to use/operate (appliance operator ), may have firmware updates. Most Gear Disadvantage (generalizations): limited to the manf. Design limits and locked to model, firmware updates generally limited to correcting bugs and not generally to add features/functionality. Elecraft Disadvantages (my opinion and generalizations): High entry price, operator MUST learn to use the gear, configurations can be complex and are generally open ended Elecraft Advantages (my opinion and generalizations): Gear is highly adaptable to conditions and configuration based on operator demands a the time, hardware and software upgrades (both hardware and software upgrades have traditionally been for new features/functionality in addition to bug fixes). Summary: I would have been happy with a less expensive radio, however, I would have been frustrated at the limitations. I purchased my Elecraft K3S specifically to avoid the frustrations I've experienced with other gear in the past. To date I've not been let down (although the cost of the options has prevented me from doing the add-ons that would be nice to have..e.g. sub rx, P3..etc). Jerry Moore AE4PB ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
