Serial #04060

[JonKG6VDW]

Greetings Everyone !!!

As this is quite an investment for me I spent a great deal of time
researching and comparing different radios.   I read the reviews in QST,
read the comments on all the Internet links and it was pretty clear from the
specifications that the K3 was as
good or better technically then any of the other radios out there.

My only previous experience is with Yaesu Radios.  I currently own the
FT-817, FT-857 and FT-897 and various HT's.  These are mostly used for
VHF/UHF and occasionally listening to the HF bands.   I have to say that HF
not being channelized the Yaesu Radios make it somewhat tedious to browse
the HF bands.  I do use HRD with them and that makes it easier but I have
found the SDR-IQ actually much easier to use as it gives you a visual
indication of signals on the band.

For my HF radio purchase I considered the TenTec Orion II,  FLEX 5000 and
DZKit Sienna as they were all in the same general price range.  My main
interest at this point in time is for a state of the art receiver as I only
have my tech license so I also briefly considered the IC-R9500 and AR-ALPHA
until I saw the prices... definitely out of my price range :)  Plus I was
planning for the future as I do intend to get my General and Extra license
at some point so a good transceiver would be an investment for the future
(sounds good when discussing with the BOSS...)  I also want to get on the
Microwave bands and from my research the best most cost effective way seems
to be via transverters.  So a foundational requirement is a very good IF
radio.

So my personal criteria for selecting my main HF radio were
1) Exceptional state of the art receiver performance
2) Affordability
3) Easy upgradability
4) Easy to interface with transverters
5) Computer controllable
6) Good customer Service
7) Portability

My experience with the SDR-IQ left me leaning heavily towards one of the
FLEX radios.  But the requirement of dedicating a computer to the radio
really reduces its portability.  And the FLEX radios are not as modular as
the Elecraft so I had to make a major investment up front.  Elecraft 1 and
Flex 0.  The TEN-TEC radios have a great reputation and great performance
specifications and I probably wouldn't be  unhappy with that radio but it
also lacks modularity and also requires a large investment up front.
 Elecraft 2 and TEN-TEC 0.  The Sienna was very intriguing and also fairly
modular but after researching it there seemed to be more soldering involved
then I was willing to do or had time for.  So in my final analysis the
Elecraft satisfied all my criteria at a reasonable price.

What did I finally order ?  A K3/10 kit with the KXV3A transverter
interface, KBPF3  General Coverage RX Bandpass Module, KUSB USB
Adapter, KFL3A-400  400 Hz, narrow 8-pole  filter, KFL3A-6K  6 kHz AM /
ESSB, 8-pole filter, KFL3B-FM  13 kHz FM filter and the stock 2.7 SSB
filter.  I also ordered the XV222 Transverter but I haven't put it together
yet.

I ordered my K3 on Monday and received it the following Friday.  Between
Monday and Friday I read all the owner manuals and assembly manuals.
 Purchased a static mat and wrist strap and put together a dummy load so I
was prepared on Friday to begin the assembly process.  I spent about 1 hour
making sure that I had all the parts (I did thanks Elecraft).   I then
worked from about 8pm on Friday to about 4:30am on Saturday to complete the
assembly process and smoke tests.  Success no problems !!!!!!  The assembly
manuals are unbelievably detailed without being tedious and the kit... ?
 Well what can I say other than I am no professional electronics expert but
I really had no problems building it.  The mechanical construction quality
is especially worth mentioning as the fit and finish and how well all the
mechanical pieces go together is just breath taking.

So after going to sleep early on Saturday morning I then woke up about 10am
on Saturday and completed all the calibration tasks.  Here I did run into
one problem with the Calibrating Transmitter Gain .  Using the Elecraft
utility to calibrate Transmitter Gain it only gave me an error.  For some
reason even though I had configured the filters manually per the owners
manual it seems that I needed to configure them through the Elecraft utility
program also.  Once I did that the transmitter calibration went flawlessly.

So I have now spent two weeks using the K3 and  I have to say I have not
been disappointed in any way.  Living in a deed restricted Townhouse my HF
antenna options are limited.  And I am on an eternal search for the best
antenna.  But even with a G5RV just laying in the backyard on the ground
this receiver was able to hear much better than my FT-897.  I have been
using the HF CW beacons to analyse the best antenna for my location and the
K3 makes it fun.  This weekend was some kind of HF SSB contest and I was
able to hear hams in Hawaii, Russia, Afghanistan and all over the United
States on 20 meters.  Definitely an incentive to upgrade my ticket... :)

Before purchasing the K3 I talked with Elecraft on the phone.  They were
very helpful and I feel very comfortable that they will be very helpful if I
run into any problems.

So now I have a state of the art HF transceiver that I can easily upgrade
with new hardware and software in the future.  As I assembled the radio
myself I will feel comfortable in adding new hardware as I want.

I do have one question.  There seems to be an RJ-45 jack on the bottom front
right side and I have not found any information on this in the manuals.
 Does anyone know what this is for ?  Maybe a microphone Input ?  Or an
Internet connection for the future ?

Thanks Elecraft for making such a powerful approachable piece of technology
available to the average Ham at an affordable price.

--
Thanks
Jon (KG6VDW)
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