"Lastly, I think the majority of K3 owners use their radio more than 5 times a year. The K3 is not for the "everyday, get on the air and rag chew with the guy in the next state" amateur. The K3 is targeting DXers and contesters, and I think they are on more than a few times a year. I use my radio every day, and in fact it is on 24/7."
Can anyone with one of those boat anchors can do this: Two nights ago on 40M there was a station from Africa calling cq with a signal of about 57 on SSB and I wanted to work him but just 2Khz below there was a net with lots of stations,most of them 59+20db,you know how bad QRM is that for sure,well,not a problem for a K3,moved down the WIDTH to 1.8 engaged the 1.8Khz roofer as well,moved to the left the SHIFT,to reach the 1.0 spot and what happened? the net and ALL of their users were completely GONE and the dx station was coming cristal clear,end of the story I worked the African station nice and easy. That is why I use my K3 every single day of the year at least 5 to 6 hours,period ! AD4C "For a refined ham it is compulsory to own a k3" --- On Mon, 1/11/10, Dick Williams <k8...@mho.com> wrote: From: Dick Williams <k8...@mho.com> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 how often do you use it? To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Date: Monday, January 11, 2010, 6:21 PM I beg to differ with who stated that "most" hams want large radios and find the ergonomics and packaging of the K3 to be less than desirable. First, not every ham wants a "boat anchor" box that takes up half the operating position and weights in excess of 50 lbs. Granted there is a certain "niche" market of guys that feel the "bigger the better"; but I don't know as if that is the majority. Sure, there are tradeoffs when you reduce the size of anything; and closer spaced buttons and knobs is one of them with a smaller footprint radio. I just took a good look at the keyboard on my cell phone; it has 41 buttons in a 1" by 4" space. I see kids texting a "mile a minute" and never missing a beat on those keyboards; the K3 has 46 in a 4" by 10 3/4" space; think how much smaller they could make the K3! What is the "psyche" of "most" hams? And what "more" knobs do we all need (with possible exception of one to "null out" the XYL when she is yelling at us to come to dinner when we are trying to work some rare DX)? What is the matter with the front panel now? In the past I owned a Orion I, II, Yaesu Ft-1000D, 1000D Mark V, and numerous Drake and Heath equipment. I would not say their front panels were any better (or worse) than the K3. I would agree that some of the Yaesu and Icom radios (with all their color displays and flashing lights, bells, and whistles) might look "cool"; but at what expense and does it really improve the performance of the radio? Just because the K3 does not fit with one individuals perception of what the radio should be, does not mean that Elecraft is listening to the wrong people. They are listening to the guys that want a small, light radio that will outperform, or is certainly on par with any other out there (regardless of size). And it is a radio that we can take apart without having to worry about "voiding the warranty", one we can replace parts and boards if need be, and if does need to be returned to Aptos, it will not cost a small fortune to do so. Lastly, I think the majority of K3 owners use their radio more than 5 times a year. The K3 is not for the "everyday, get on the air and rag chew with the guy in the next state" amateur. The K3 is targeting DXers and contesters, and I think they are on more than a few times a year. I use my radio every day, and in fact it is on 24/7. This is my "2 cents worth". Dick K8ZTT On Jan 9, 2010, at 5:41 PM, Randy Downs wrote: > I fellow said "Elecrafts ergonomics and packaging is not appealing > enough for most people despite its receiver performance. They could > fix it by putting the K3 into a bigger box with a decent front > panel and more knobs, but they wont. They wont because they are > listening to the wrong people who dont have a clue about marketing > and who dont understand the psyche of most everyday hams. Hedging > your bets on a small group of hams who turn their radios maybe 5 > times a year while ignoring those who use a radio probably every > second day is not wise." > in a message to me. I guess now the question becomes, how often do > you use your K3? I use mine at least 10 hours a week. We need a > poll I guess. > Randy > K8RDD __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4762 (20100111) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.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 ______________________________________________________________ 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
