You will get many opinions on this. Here's mine. I am primarily a CW operator but I like to listen to AM BCB and Shortwave stations. My antenna is a multi-band Cobra Ultralite fed with ladder line and a Balun Designs 4:1 Tuner Balun.
1. KAT3 Tuner. If you have matched, coax-fed antennas, then you may not need this. But it is a great addition to those of us with multi-band antennas. It remembers the settings on small segments of each band which is incredibly convenient for QSYing, especially on 160m. 2. KBPF3 General Coverage Filter. If you stick only to the ham bands, then you may not need this. But it was on my "must-have" list (as was the KAT3). I have all 100 memories filled with short-wave and AM BCB stations all over the frequency spectrum. I've been listening to Radio China and Radio Cairo a lot lately. 3. KPA3 100W Amplifier. Many people start out with the 10W option. I have had a lot of success with the K2 at 10W. But I wanted the K3 to be my "QRO" rig as it replaced a Kenwood TS-930S (which is a fine but aging rig). 4. KRX3 Sub receiver. I added this after a year and find it is incredible for working split-frequency DX stations. I cannot see ever going back to the "push the TF Set" button days to try and figure out where the heck the DX station is listening. If you are not a DXer, or don't care about diversity reception, etc, then you may not need this. 5. Filters. This was (and is) a hot topic. But I stand by my initial decision, which was: A. 200 and 500 Hz 5-pole filters. There was an early posting that said that only the first 30 dB of slope is critical, and that a 5-pole filter would be more than enough. I went with that, and am happy. There probably is some (small and subtle?) difference between the 5-pole and 8-pole performance, but the main purpose of a roofing filter is to prevent the DSP (the main selectivity in the rig) from overloading. Signals are generally weak right now, but will start to get stronger as conditions improve. It is amazing, though, to crank that knob down to 500 and then to 200 and know that there is no chance for any out-of-bandpass signal to get through. B. 2.7 kHz SSB filter. This comes standard. This is the only filter that I have in the sub receiver right now. I based that decision on wanting to hear a wide bandpass most of the time to hear the station that the DX is working. C. AM filter. This is a little bit disappointing to me as I thought that I would use this a lot. But I almost never use it. Unless you are interested in AM transmission or ESSB transmission, you might skip this one. D. FM filter. This is the one that I use for all my AM listening. I wish they offered a less-expensive filter for receiving only. You can always buy the minimum configuration now and add later. A real big advantage of the K3 over most other rigs today is the roofing filter concept, and signals will be getting stronger as conditions improve, so think about getting at least one or two optional roofing filters to start with. Good luck and 73, John W2XS What elective boards should I consider purchasing to enhance the functionality of the K3. -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Want-to-buy-a-K3-tp4287275p4288261.html Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.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
