Wherefore at thou, K3?
I first "discovered" Elecraft after the great product review in QST
(March 2000). Since then, I have been faithfully reading the email
discussion list; it is a great source of information, with a couple
obvious (and taken-for-granted) stars.
After several months of reading, and being a die-hard contester (qrp
contester since 1986 since the big Multi/Multi I used to operate at
went SK), I naturally saw "room for improvement" in the K2. I liked
the price and I figured that I could buy two K2's for less than some
other contest radio and have the versatility equal to or surpassing
the expensive whiz-bang contest radios out there…not to mention a (at
the time) "best" rating on the front end (IMD DR3 at 5kc, IP3, etc).
I also wondered, "If this Elecraft company is so great…and contesters
are fanatics at having the best in terms of performance, I bet a K3 is
around the corner." I asked around, but nobody had any insight…or
they were not talking.
It's now been 6 years. Other Elecraft qrp/tiny/portable rigs (and
gadgets) have been brought to market…all filling a tiny niche market.
I have seen inquires about a K3 dozens and dozens of time and no real
reply from "the boyz" in Aptos other than, "What K3?" I think that I
finally believe them.
I was very surprised at the 1500 watt output amp shown at Dayton,
2006. It is very pricey (and not yet available…and no updates that I
have seen…and I look hard!). It too fills (will fill) a niche
market….probably one close to my heart (contesting), but at the very
high end. Maybe there are broader markets (beyond ham radio) involved
here.
So…armed with 6 years of history, let's see what the prospects might
be for a K3.
First, what would be different than the K2? I've seen lots of "wish
lists" but mostly they would be a K2 Mark II…not really strategic
thinking launched by a long range vision. And, probably more
importantly, what would be the target market?
Right now, a "loaded" K2 (with tuner and amp, etc.) is, what…$1800 or
so…in kit form. What else is out there for the masses? Kenwood
TS2000…less money. Yaesu…lots of models, less money. Icom "baby"
rigs…less money. So marketing a "new and improved" rig according to
dollars (to compete with these radios) probably should not be a goal
for Elecraft.
Let's move upscale. Yaesu FT2000…at least $3K. Icom 756 Pro III…at
least $3K. These are very slick radios for the masses that have money
to spend and the rigs have lots and lots of features. I won't attempt
to compare feature for feature, because "each to his own." If the
loaded K2 is $1800 (kit), I am thinking that an "upgraded" (whatever
that might be) K3 would at least be $3000…putting it into direct
competition with these other radios in terms of price. And I bet you
that these folks really are more appliance operators than the current
set of K2 owners or at least probably are not that interested (skill
being assumed to be present) in spending at least 40 hours (likely
more) building a "K3." And what would the "selling feature" be for a
K3 compared to these other radios (remember, we are talking in terms
of marketing). Clearly, not price.
Of course, I might be completely wrong here. Eric and Wayne might not
care at all about money and would develop a K3 just for love (is
anyone not laughing at this?). Let's see…price of the K2 goes up $30
and the list responds with complaints. What does this tell us?
First, it tells us that Eric and Wayne are not quite as philanthropic
as Bill and Melinda Gates or Warren Buffet. Second, they probably
don't want to market a K3 to "these people" who complain about $30.
Just how long has the K2 been $599 anyway?
Should they move upscale even more? Icom 7800 and FT9000 in the $10k
to $12k class. Hmmm. Maybe…if they are looking to undercut that
market based on price. But wait….The FT9000 Contest is "only" $5000.
Not much wiggle room then. And the TT Orion (of disputed reputation)
is over $4k (even tighter margin). And speaking of SDRs…how about
Flex Radio…that price is a steal! Yes, currently a poor performer on
cw if you love QSK, but it will be there in a year (of course, its
price will be at two tiers…or that is the rumor….at $3000 range and at
$10k range, depending on features). Honestly, I don't see Elecraft
wanting to compete in this league; from the comments posted, it
doesn't seem like that is what Aptos is all about.
So just what would the motivation be for Elecraft to come out with a
K3? I don't know! I think it would be neat to "smoothly" be able to
conjoin a pair of K2's (either externally or within a single box).
Some say N4PY and N1MM can effectively do that. When directly asked
about such a feature, the "boyz" will even direct one to N4PY (at
least they used to). But would that be a K3? Maybe.
I think the dream of a K3 is something necessary to the group. I
think the reality might be something different. I would love to be
proven wrong!!!!
de Doug KR2Q
K2/5285 ala W3FPR
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