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897 vs K3

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Ben Ramler

897 vs K3

Evening Group,

Well here's a dilemma..... do I get an 897D or do I dive in and get a K3 to start with than upgrade it from there. The thing that sticks out is that K3 is light years ahead of the 897D. However I would have to get brand new because the asking used price is such that no one is willing to work with me on.

thoughts?

73,

Ben

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dave.wilburn

Re: 897 vs K3

A lot depends on what is important to you, and what you want to do
with the rig.

If you are contesting, its a no brainer. The K3 receiver performance
when surrounded by strong signals, is unmatched.

If you want to hunt DX, and dig out weak signals. I would go with the K3.

If you like to operate CW, and you want a rig that one of the best in
that mode, then the K3 is the way to go.

If you are going to rag chew with your friends and talk on local
repeaters, the 897D is a good rig.

If you need a rig with all the bands and modes of the 897D, then the
K3 is not a useful choice.

If you like to listen to foreign broadcasts, outside the ham bands,
then the K3 will require addition features to be able to receive those
frequencies.

Dave Wilburn
NM4M

Ben Ramler wrote:

> Evening Group,
>
> Well here's a dilemma..... do I get an 897D or do I dive in and get a K3 to start with than upgrade it from there. The thing that sticks out is that K3 is light years ahead of the 897D. However I would have to get brand new because the asking used price is such that no one is willing to work with me on.
>
> thoughts?
>
> 73,
>
> Ben
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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>
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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: 897 vs K3

In reply to this post by Ben Ramler

Ben,

Based on your question, I am going to assume you are ham budget
limited! BEWARE: my comments are biased, but I have nothing against the
897D.

Spring for the K3/10 if that is what you budget can stand right now.
Add the KPA3 as funds are available, and then as you operate and find
need (and budget), add extra filters and options purchase them at that
time. You will have a 1st class expandable transceiver if you select
the K3. Certainly you can get $3000 to $4000 tied up in the K3 if you
order all the options and a full house of filters, but the starting
price of $1395 will provide you with a great receiver and a 10 watt
transmitter. Lots of contacts can be made at 10 watts (ask the QRP
crowd about that). The K3/100 is only $500 more, so if you crave more
power, that is a good first investment. The kit version is not
difficult to assemble - just follow the manual instructions - if you
have questions, ask on this reflector and you will likely get answers
within minutes.

73,
Don W3FPR

Ben Ramler wrote:

Rick Braun

Re: 897 vs K3

In reply to this post by dave.wilburn

I own both and all responses are correct. I tend to take the 897 travelling because it seems indestructible and it would kill me to damage or lose my K3. The 897 is a very good radio, the K3 is an exceptional radio. I originally bought the 897 thinking I would use the internal battery feature in remote locations, but it turns out to be of questionable value. With internal batteries the 897 weighs about 12-13 pounds, definitely not backpacking material. And with internal batteries you are limited to 20 watts output. OK, so if you don't use if for backpacking, you car camp, and can carry a regular UPS 60-90 amp/hour battery. The K3 also works just fine with a car battery and may be able to tolerate a lower voltage. So it's a toss up on portability. If you must make a choice, my recommendation, just one man's opinion, would be to save your dough, wait, and buy the K3/10, you'll never look back; unless, as Mr. Wilburn said, you intend to mostly ragchew on 2m/70cm repeate
rs.

Rick Braun
KE7VXP
K3 #2869
----- Original Message -----
From: David Wilburn<mailto:[hidden email]>
To: Elecraft Discussion List<mailto:[hidden email]>
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 4:36 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] 897 vs K3

A lot depends on what is important to you, and what you want to do
with the rig.

If you are contesting, its a no brainer. The K3 receiver performance
when surrounded by strong signals, is unmatched.

If you want to hunt DX, and dig out weak signals. I would go with the K3.

If you like to operate CW, and you want a rig that one of the best in
that mode, then the K3 is the way to go.

If you are going to rag chew with your friends and talk on local
repeaters, the 897D is a good rig.

If you need a rig with all the bands and modes of the 897D, then the
K3 is not a useful choice.

If you like to listen to foreign broadcasts, outside the ham bands,
then the K3 will require addition features to be able to receive those
frequencies.

Dave Wilburn
NM4M

Ben Ramler wrote:
> Evening Group,
>
> Well here's a dilemma..... do I get an 897D or do I dive in and get a K3 to start with than upgrade it from there. The thing that sticks out is that K3 is light years ahead of the 897D. However I would have to get brand new because the asking used price is such that no one is willing to work with me on.
>
> thoughts?
>
> 73,
>
> Ben
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft<http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm<http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm>
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]>
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net<http://www.qsl.net/>
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html<http://www.qsl.net/donate.html>
>
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Dave, G4AON

Re: 897 vs K3

In reply to this post by Ben Ramler

I'm not sure that the K3 is light years ahead of the 897D in all areas,
but it certainly outperforms them in several. I used to use an FT857D,
which is basically the same as the 897D but with a different case and
front panel, extensively for portable work from a leisure batter and
initially thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Ignoring the
need to use menus more on the smaller transceiver, which is a trade off
between size and operator convenience, the "problems" with the FT897D are:

1. The receiver always sounds tiring, I tried reduced gain via the
engineering menu but that didn't help. It was "OK" out portable on 6m
but in the shack on HF it didn't last more than a few minutes before I
had to switch to my K2. The mode/band most often used at home was 80m
CW. I haven't compared one to a K3 as I got rid of mine before I bought
my K3.

2. Beware that on transmit the early FT857D was prone to outputting
spikes at the leading edge of a CW transmission and after a pause on
SSB, when running less than full power. This is totally unacceptable
behaviour and the main reason for getting rid of mine. Later models may
have been improved but it's something to check if you intend to purchase
one. For details of my findings and a partial work around see:
http://www.astromag.co.uk/ft857d/

3. There are no proper CW keyer memories, only a "beacon" feature which
is peculiar. The 897D may be different, but I bought a code cube to go
with my Palm mini paddle as the only solution to the awful internal
keyer/memory.

I suppose there will always be a certain appeal with a radio that covers
160m to 70cms, but I'd far rather have the K3 which covers 600m to 2m
depending on which internal modules you fit.

The K3 isn't perfect, but it's way ahead of the 897D.

73 Dave, G4AON
K3/100 #80
--------------------
Well here's a dilemma..... do I get an 897D or do I dive in and get a K3
to start with than upgrade it from there. The thing that sticks out is
that K3 is light years ahead of the 897D. However I would have to get
brand new because the asking used price is such that no one is willing
to work with me on.

thoughts?

73,

Ben
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M0XDF

Re: 897 vs K3

In reply to this post by Ben Ramler

I have both FT-857 (now D) and K3 - I go along with everything said,
but have to say the K3 is a much better rig, not to mention the great
support from Elecraft.
The 857 is the smaller version of the 897 and there is no different in
internals as far as I know, but front panel is slightly easier on 897.

in Feb'08 I worked VP6DX on 80m SSB with 100w from my QTH in the UK
(Bracknell, 30m west of London) via the K3 - I could not have done
that with the 857.

I used the 857 as my base rig for 3.5 yrs and it's certainly a good
rig and for the price - very portable and mobile, pretty rugged and
still gets used a lot for short 2m comms jobs etc - good all round rig
that I shall not be getting rid of,
But I prefer the K3.

If you're budget limited, the 897 is a good choice in my book.

73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
--
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless
they
kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
-Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778)

On 13 Jun 2009, at 00:04, Ben Ramler wrote:

>
> Evening Group,
>
> Well here's a dilemma..... do I get an 897D or do I dive in and
> get a K3 to start with than upgrade it from there. The thing that
> sticks out is that K3 is light years ahead of the 897D. However I
> would have to get brand new because the asking used price is such
> that no one is willing to work with me on.
>
> thoughts?

AD6XY

Re: 897 vs K3

It really depends on your needs - I would go for the FT857 rather than the FT897. The FT857 is cheaper and a better radio ergonomically when used mobile than the FT897 or the K3. It is well suited to use with repeaters on 2m and 70cm. The front end on HF is quite good, nothing like the K3 but if you have very restricted antennas, e.g. mobile, that may not matter. The inclusion of 2m and 70cm is a bonus - again performance is not exceptional but it is entirely adequate for many uses.

So - FM, Repeaters, occasional HF, listening to AM broadcast and for mobile use, go for the FT857 or FT897. VHF portable - The FT817 is great for this.

Serious use on HF/6m from home. Go for the K3/100. Do not go for the K3/10 unless you have exceptional aerials or are prepared to make only very few SSB QSOs. Many HF phone operators are extremely deaf and 10W will not get you very far except on CW. Believe me, the K3 will hear much better than anything else and if you are only running 10W you can't expect the other chap running 100W with an inferior receiver to hear you as well as you hear them.

If your budget is really restricted, but you want a great HF only radio you might look at the K2.

Mike

Bill W4ZV

Re: 897 vs K3

In reply to this post by Ben Ramler

Here's a recent eHam review of the K3 by a former 897D owner:

#############################################
WA9VEE:
I have had my K3 #2717 for over 2 months now. I came from a FT897D, so I was easy to impress.

I’m only adding this review to highlight the Diversity Receive feature that links the 2 receivers together to use 2 independent antennas (only one way of many that the 2nd receiver can be used). I must say that of all the rich features of this radio, I rate Diversity Receive the best. Very seldom does it happen that using 2 antennas does not improve the reception. And since the antennas tend to QSB at different times, a solid copy, especially on weak signals, happens very often where switching between antennas proves I would have lost contact in QSB with either antenna individually.

Some K3 folks I’ve talked to have a mental picture that the 2nd antenna must be substantial. Constrained to an apartment, my 2nd antenna is just a floor to ceiling vertical wire fed through a small old MFJ tuner. Someday a substantial 2nd antenna would make me very happy. But for now, this little vertical wire in additional to my main outdoor horizontal 200’ long wire make 2-antenna receive something I would sorely miss if I didn’t have it. Something like 20% of the time, the short indoor wire receives better than the outdoor antenna, especially if the other station is using a vertical.

And from what I understand, the K3 is the only rig that does this Diversity 2-antenna Receive thing right. Thank goodness.
################################################

I agree that True Diversity is the primary feature of the K3 that sets it apart from other rigs (the Flex 5000 may be the only other rig with it today). Even the $10k rigs (IC-7800 and FT9000) do not have it. Whether this feature is worthwhile to you is something only you can decide. For myself, having used it extensively for the past year, I will never use another rig without it. A K3/KRX3 is probably well above your budget now, but one of the nicest things about the K3 is that you have a very easy upgrade path if you want to add features in the future.

73, Bill W4ZV

P.S. One of the reasons you may not be finding "good deals" on used K3s is that the market recognizes its value compared to other rigs.

Bill K9YEQ

Elecraft Diversity Receive... changed the subject matter to this topic.

Ditto the diversity receive. I use stereo speakers on the line output of my K3 into Creative Labs triple tweeters per channel and a central subwoofer. I use a third speaker out of the speaker output in mono mode which is a combination of the stereo channels. I use two 75 meter dipoles, one 25 feet above the other and they are not in the identical plan or side slopes. Incredible receiving experience. Not cheap but I cannot believe my ears. What a difference. My whole desk is filled with sound... about 4 foot of it. Diversity is incredible.

I run an ALS 600s amp and I can work what I can hear. Even the guys running 100 watts or less at distance. This setup extends my effective range with more than just QRO operators. This is also a benefit of the fine Elecraft engineering. I don't even work for these guys and they are effectively tapping into my life savings! :-) This is a sweet setup, the best in my hamming experience from 1960 and I have had experiences which were quite a step up in technology. This is in the stratosphere for me.

73,

Bill
K9YEQ
K2 #35; KX1 #35; K3 #1744; mini mods
ATS-3B
-----Original Message-----

Here's a recent eHam review of the K3 by a former 897D owner:

#############################################
WA9VEE:
I have had my K3 #2717 for over 2 months now. I came from a FT897D, so I was
easy to impress.

I’m only adding this review to highlight the Diversity Receive feature that
links the 2 receivers together to use 2 independent antennas (only one way

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