Unhappy with your KX3
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Oliver
I agree. Selling a computer with incomplete software is a well-understood practice; customers know that the hardware is just the pizza-box and the software is the pizza. This understanding does not yet extend to radios; many hams don't yet grasp that a modern radio is mostly implemented in software. They will be unhappy when they buy a KX3 pizza and initially get just a box, pardon the metaphor. As far as I know the KX3 is the first to be sold in this manner. So some marketing thought may be called-for. Eric VA7DZ ______________________________________________________________ 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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>From the overwhelming reports from satisfied users it's a damn good box!
Colin - G8FRA/M5FRA m5fra.org.uk <http://www.m5fra.org.uk> ------ Original Message ------ From: [hidden email] > many hams don't yet >grasp that a modern radio is mostly implemented in software. They will be >unhappy when they buy a KX3 pizza and initially get just a box, pardon >the metaphor. > ______________________________________________________________ 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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I am saving up for my pizza box
Robert / WD9BBE On Aug 5, 2012, at 6:45 AM, M5FRA - Colin wrote: >> From the overwhelming reports from satisfied users it's a damn good box! > > > Colin - G8FRA/M5FRA > > m5fra.org.uk <http://www.m5fra.org.uk> > > > ------ Original Message ------ > From: [hidden email] >> many hams don't yet >> grasp that a modern radio is mostly implemented in software. They will be >> unhappy when they buy a KX3 pizza and initially get just a box, pardon >> the metaphor. >> > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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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In reply to this post by emanning
On Sun, Aug 5, 2012 at 4:10 AM, <[hidden email]> wrote:
> ...As far as I know the KX3 is the first... ================= Part of the design philosophy of the K3 and KX3 is the flow of firmware upgrades. This idea is also inherent in the TenTec Orion design, and of course in the Flex SDR radios. The idea goes back at least to the Orion I of 2004. It is also worth pointing out that some manufacturers have done field upgrades, in some cases requiring a return of the radio to the factory, in order to remedy serious design flaws present in the early wave of production versions. The well-known soap opera of the Yaesu FTDX-9000 is just one example. The bug fixes in the case of the 9000 were so extensive that Yaesu got QST to re-review the radio. The upgrades involved changes to the firmware as well as a number of factory installed hardware upgrades to as many as seven modules. Yaesu paid shipping for hams who sent their rigs back. The second QST review noted without irony that it was "almost like getting a new radio." Perhaps it was, in fact, like getting the radio that was originally advertised and sold for 12000 bucks. This extensive and expensive effort on Yaesu's part came after 4 years of hearing user feedback but saying nothing. The poster who commented that he "couldn't recall Yaesu....doing anything like that," viz. advertising features that didn't work, was evidently unaware of this famous saga, or perhaps was talking about a different Yaesu. In any big sample there are going to be outliers, and among hundreds of users of any piece of ham gear there will be those who don't like it. As has been pointed out repeatedly, in many cases the op just doesn't understand how to work his radio, but there are also going to be defective parts, shipments that go astray, communication breakdowns, component failures, and so forth. K3s and KX3s are no exception. But the big overseas manufacturers, monolithic, silent and remote, lag behind Elecraft in responsiveness to customer support needs. Tony KT0NY -- http://www.isb.edu/faculty/facultydir.aspx?ddlFaculty=352 ______________________________________________________________ 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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In reply to this post by emanning
On 8/5/2012 2:10 AM, [hidden email] wrote:
> I agree. Selling a computer with incomplete software is a well-understood > practice; customers know that the hardware is just the pizza-box and the > software is the pizza. SNIP > As far as I know the KX3 is the first to be sold in this manner. So some > marketing thought may be called-for. You have apparently failed to notice that the K3 and P3 were first shipped with not all planned features implemented in firmware. Over a period of months most were completed, and could be downloaded from the Elecraft website, and the firmware utility makes it VERY easy to download and install updates. In addition to PLANNED features, UN-PLANNED features and control behaviors have been added in response to user requests. Why would Elecraft sell an incomplete product? Have you not noticed the many hundreds of emails literally CRYING for the announced new product? There have been times when half the traffic on this list has talked about nothing more than shipping and delivery dates. A contrast with other manufacturers is appropriate. Yaesu's flagship radio, the FT1000 series in all its variations, is notorious for REALLY BAD keyclicks, and three of the four DSP mic processing settings can best be described as awful. It took them ten years and three model changes to fix the clicks, and you had to BUY the replacement (a new radio) that fixed the problem, and I don't recall ever seeing anything about owners of the problematic radios even being offered a discount. :) I don't know if they ever fixed the mic DSP. The original Ten Tec Orion was beset with LONG ongoing firmware issues, and you wouldn't believe the bitching on the Ten Tec email reflector about the new bugs in the bug-fixed firmware. The eventual solution was the Orion II. Again, you had to BUY a new radio, and again, no discount. . 73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ 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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On 8/5/2012 4:38 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> A contrast with other manufacturers is appropriate. Yaesu's flagship > radio, the FT1000 series in all its variations, is notorious for > REALLY BAD keyclicks, and three of the four DSP mic processing > settings can best be described as awful. It took them ten years and > three model changes to fix the clicks, and you had to BUY the > replacement (a new radio) that fixed the problem > The original Ten Tec Orion was beset with LONG ongoing firmware > issues, and you wouldn't believe the bitching on the Ten Tec email > reflector about the new bugs in the bug-fixed firmware. The eventual > solution was the Orion II. Again, you had to BUY a new radio, and > again, no discount. Yep! Were I a marketing major in college and thus a marketing guru now, I would reply, "Good Show! One working good radio for the price of three. Way to go!" Fred K6DGW/7 Sparks NV ______________________________________________________________ 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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