Vic, You've hit on a major factor in my recent decision to order a K3. I believe we are on the eve of a shift in the market. I believe at $2000, the K3 is really going to win a lot of hearts. I wanted to get my order on the books as late as possible before that flood hits. I suspect demand for the rig will be high. I'm hoping there will be a bit of a lag. So far K3 sales have (I'm guessing here) largely been within the family, to current Elecraft customers who are upgrading / supplementing. But, once these rigs hit the air and people start winning contests with them, and once ARRL tests them and gives them their "blessing", we'll see demand go up.
I was going to wait for a while and order next spring or a year from now after the initial flood subsides, but I'm not sure it will subside that quickly. One thing is for sure, it is exciting to be watching from *almost* behind the scenes, as a new rig comes into being. I can't WAIT to see the QST review and to see how the K3 is received by the ham market. Maybe in a couple of years we'll see a hostile takeover as Elecraft buys Kenwood :-) - Keith N1AS - - K2 5411.ssb.100 - - K3 Wave 3 - -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Vic K2VCO Now with the K3 Elecraft has leveraged its two-way communication and the exceptional ability of its developers to take direct aim at the big boys. I suspect that they have been more or less taken by surprise. They will be hurt. The Japanese manufacturers are big players in the handheld market and in non-amateur areas. They may react by scaling down in the HF ham market, as Kenwood did. It's unfortunate that Tentec, which as far as I know does not have a big non-ham business, will take a hit. But that's biz biz. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
