While I fully support any activity that gets people on the air, I don't think the intended audience for the K3 is to be hand carried by someone hiking.
For someone to mis-apply a high-performance DXing and Contesting machine like the K3 to such an activity should not be a concern of Elecraft, nor should the radio be changed as a result. If there is an improvement that would benefit those in the DXing and Contesting arenas, then by all means. In this case, I think a reasonable analogy would be if one was to take a Lamborghini Countach off-road instead of a Jeep or other 4 wheel drive vehicle. It just does not make any sense to do so. I may just be getting too old to appreciate this, but I cannot imagine why these folks would not use something like 2m, 440 or perhaps FRS radios for this activity. I certainly could understand using a tiny HF rig like the FT817 or the reportedly better IC703+ for such an activity, but I would not consider dragging a K3 around or installing it in a car - it's just too good, and too valuable to put it at risk like this. Based on others' comments, I suspect that I am not alone in the confusion over why someone would do any of this. 73, Bob W5OV -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Leigh L. Klotz, Jr WA5ZNU Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 11:50 PM To: Elecraft Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Strong signals Sentiments like the one below make me think that quite a few people have not yet encountered HFpack, one of the largest ham radio interest groups. Just like DXers, Contesters, QRP'ers, and kit builders, HFpack afficionados are another group of hams with like-minded interests. They like to optimize their equipment for outdoor, portable operation while holding on to the equipment, though HFPack operations also encompasses portable, mobile, and home operations as well. Often, as a social activity hams might get together and operate from nearby locations as they hike. There is also some overlap with the "green radio" (military pack) folks, who use military and commercial backpack equipment, which also works well with close-in signals on HF at the same time as more distant communications. HFPackers have been active in many areas of antenna design, portable power options, RFI/EMC, and equipment design. See http://hfpack.com/ for more info, or check out the HFPack Yahoo Group. Leigh/WA5ZNU > IMHO I would throttle anyone entering my property running 100W...period > ... > We are supposed to KNOW what we are doing and perhaps some people need to examine the way they use the equipment and learn a little more about what would be "best practice" when operating. > > I am not having a dig at anyone here, just suggesting that I have not experienced the problem that started the debate, and I believe this is because I gave a lot of thought to what I wanted to do and made sure I was set up to achieve the result I wanted. > ______________________________________________________________ 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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
