Hi, Bill. Good to hear from you. Yes, I'm field testing the KX3 now. It's
an amazing accomplishment - big rig performance in a QRP portable. I made about 400 Qs in nine hours in the ARRL DX CW with the KX3 driving an external amp to about 170 watts. It was mainly S&P but I had one good 130 Q hour running JA. I never felt handicapped by the radio, never felt hemmed in by QRM. It has many of the features of the K3 with comparable performance, although I've not yet done any serious A-B testing. I'm sure the K3 will beat it in some areas but the KX3 has an undeniably good receiver, the first direct-conversion rx I've used in decades. Like the K3, it sounds like an analog radio even though it's doing all demodulation in the DSP. I've made a handful of SSB QSOs with good audio reports, some unsolicited. Contacts prefer the sound of the MH3 hand-held mic to the Yamaha CM-500 but I haven't tried optimizing the latter with the tx equalizer yet. I'm also eager to try an Apple ear bud with dangling mic, the lightest two-way headset imaginable, when I take it out on the trail. I've confirmed that it runs FSK and PSK but haven't yet made any contacts on those modes. Other field testers have and are reporting good results. I haven't been using it very much QRP because I understand the difference between 12w and 170w and feel that I get more evaluation opportunities with the latter. But I do plan to take it outdoors soon and use it as its designers intended. ;-) I've confirmed that the internal ATU is fast and effortlessly corrects minor mismatches. I haven't run it yet with a portable or badly mismatched antenna. The attachable paddle is remarkably easy to use - although I prefer the feel of my big, heavy paddles, I find that I can send quite well with this little feller from Elecraft. The big advantage of an attached paddle is that it can be weightless, relying on the radio to hold it in place. If you're considering getting one, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's not only the best small rig I've ever used but also comes from Elecraft, the best ham radio company with which I've done business. (No, I'm not a shareholder!) You just can't beat the combination of quality equipment, responsive company support and hundreds of experts monitoring the reflectors, eagerly waiting to answer questions 24x7! 73, /Rick N6XI On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 11:26 AM, billc wrote: > > > Hi Rick, > > Saw you on the KX-3 list. did you order one? I remember you are an > Elecraft fan. > I am watching closely and practicing my code. Currently building a > 4-states QRP club "Ham Can". > > Rick Tavan N6XI Truckee, CA ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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