Roger G3XBM's (Mainly) Amateur Radio Blog: Elecraft K3S

14 May 2015

Elecraft K3S

See www.elecraft.com .

I see Elecraft has launched a de luxe version of its K3 transceiver. The K3 was already a pretty good rig and the S version will be even better, but sadly far too expensive. I guess Elecraft is right that this will be many times less expensive than similarly spec'd transceivers, but to me this is still far too much for an amateur radio rig. Don't forget that lots of the features cost more - like the mic and 2m!

At half the price maybe, but certainly out of the question here in the UK when shipping, import duty and VAT have to be added. I am able to get lots of fun from our hobby spending just a small fraction of the cost. There will always be people who will pay these prices and buy a tower and a big beam. Sorry, but this is not for me. I wish Elecraft well but feel they will need to slash prices soon to compete with the Chinese. An alternative is for Elecraft kits to be shipped from China. Sorry, but this may be the only way they will be able to compete in the future.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...: I disagree. Many (including the Chinese) buy high value rigs as a prestige status thing ( a bit like swiss watches and Bang and Olufsen). Sure it looks nice, but it is also reassuringly expensive- enough to ensure good boast value.
Most European goods are relying on this, from Jaguar, Miele, Porsche etc.. (list endless). Whether it actually WORKS better is irrelevant (Swiss mechanical watches for an extreme example have long been far outclassed in timekeeping by cheap quartz ones).. just my view G6AIG Hugh.; Thu May 14, 09:09:00 pm GMT+1
Roger G3XBM said...: Hugh, we live in a free society and you are free to spend your money as you wish. Elecraft make excellent radios. All I am saying is the KX3, K3 and K3S appear out of the price range I (personally) would be prepared to pay. I make no judgement on how you should enjoy the hobby but will point out that as much fun can be had with £50 spend.; Thu May 14, 09:42:00 pm GMT+1
Dick said...: Merely more amateur radio snob-ism. I think that was, essentially, the point of the "anonymous" comment. Not necessarily relegated exclusively to Chinese and Russian oligarchs. It is unfortunate that some prospective hams feel that a 10,000 euro/dollar outlay is required to participate in the hobby, and so, pass it by in favor of internet chat on their 500 euro/dollar laptop.; Fri May 15, 05:49:00 am GMT+1
Anonymous said...: Well, I reckon you're both right to some extent. I think the ham radio market is maturing (i.e. we're all getting older) and as we get older, some of us decide to buy things we couldn't afford when we were younger. Equipment like the K3S slots right in there.

To me, it's a product, like the Kenwood TS-990 and top of the line Yaesu and Icom rigs, that almost solely exists to provide the opportunity for a few folk to spend that sort of money. Are such radios necessary? To the extent that they meet a market demand, sure. Is it a big demand? Nope, but then little in amateur radio now is like that.

Also, I have practical doubts about such radios given most features on them are not only hard to access (Look how large the manuals are getting on these radios, and think, can I remember how to access feature 43 through menu 7 using knob 5 and switches 3, 7 and 17? I think not) and hard, I think, to use. I firmly believe, many of the features like most things in a feature-rich environment, are probably seldom used for the most part, or simply largely unnoticed, like that last extra 6dB of dynamic range. If that's the case, why bother? You have to say, mostly for the brag rights. Fine, but not for me, thanks.

The Chinese manufacturers will definitely play an increasing role in this market, but only to a limited extent. See, Chinese production and pricing benefits are only seen in volume production. With a reducing ham population, and a hobby of limited interest to most, that's not a good match. Yes, we will see more Chinese radios, but probably not like the K3S. They'll probably make stuff using a mix of increasingly capable and smaller DSP, DDS and microprocessors coupled with cheap large LCDs made by integrating high volume modules made possible by other industries like cellular and personal computing. They will look flashy, have moderate performance, firmware that kinda works mostly, and be as cheap as chips.

Designs like M0XPD's wonderful Occam's Razor series show this direction well. Hardware simplicity coupled with moderate amounts of firmware to deliver more than adequate performance for a low price.

In my case, I won't be buying a K3S or TS-990. The IC-7000 I do own will likely be sold because I rarely use it, and it's not as easy to use as I would like, IMHO. Instead, I'll continue to design and build my own simple equipment, or get some more kits like the stuff I've built from Tim Walford G3PCJ or like the MKARS80 SSB rig, all of which I use far more than the Icom. Frankly, it's way more entertaining and I reckon I can buy, oh, anywhere from 50 to 250 times as many kits and kaboodle with the same money as could be spent on stuff like this.; Fri May 15, 06:09:00 am GMT+1
Anonymous said...: Roger, I was not trying to justify the ethics of expensive radios.. I agree with you entirely that best fun can be had with a handful of components blobbed together (and I do!).. only that the European market simply cannot compete globally on price alone. They must appear superior in quality. This goes for radios as well as shoes or clothes. There are good reasons Kasuga Radio Co. changed to Trio and finally Kenwood.. a name that sounded re-assuredly "woody" (to quote monty python).. image matters.. even to the Japanese now. Hugh G6AIG; Fri May 15, 09:36:00 am GMT+1
Roger G3XBM said...: Hugh, understand. Actually I'd quite like a KX3 or K3S but really cannot justify the outlay. I have to say that by far my greatest pleasure has been making QSOs with simple homemade gear. Sadly my poor health has rather put an end to this for now generally, although I did manage a 40m Pixie recently.; Fri May 15, 12:09:00 pm GMT+1
Todd Dugdale said...: I agree with Roger here.
I've noted an inverse relationship between the quality of the rig, cost, power and the actual enjoyment by the operator. When things get too easy, the excitement and challenge diminishes. People get jaded, snobbish, bored and boring.; Fri May 15, 12:43:00 pm GMT+1
Unknown said...: HI guys new foundation holder couple of months, and just bought a K3S.

Will not arrive for another 8 weeks.

I wear a swiss tag watch, I use a mac not a PC.

I am starting to get a hint of inverted snobbery for the amateur radio world and this is sad.

I intend to build up my K3S over a number of years as my knowledge and skills increase, I don't want to get into the buying and selling of radios if i did id have bought a radio shop. Im not an electronics enginner so the lego building skills needed for Elecraft Kit will suit me fine. I can solder on a connector and do the basic tests I need. I will do my experamenting with anttena with the back up of great club mates as i progeress through my intermediate and full licence.

I appreciate the skills and knowledge of the guys in the club who can QRP America on their 817 drinking coffee on a wet cold Scottish hill top or the CW op who builds and uses kits to communicate all over the world.

I know I'm lucky to be able to buy this radio but I work hard and saved up the money so what.

I wish you all happiness bodging away.; Mon Jun 08, 09:04:00 pm GMT+1
Anonymous said...: I'm weighing heavily on buying a K3S soon.
The Pros:
1. Minimal obsolescence - modular design and company dedication to providing upgraded modules extend the total life of the rig. Instead of needing to purchase a new rig I can update only what I need on the original one.
2. State of the art technology - The design goes back with common sense on what we know works, works well, and is cost effective. Example: Using a lower frequency for the first IF to allow less expensive and higher effective filtering. DSP at what is effectively the 2nd IF rather than using audio DSP. This is leveraging the strengths of DSP and ADC while making it easier to filter the signal because it's not at the lower audio frequencies.
3. Specs vs cost - Not sure how many current production radios in this price range or cheaper come close. Refer to 1 and 2.
4. All the bang is in the technology and design. Many major manf. Offerings are fancy with all of the trimmings but don't have the overall quality in design and operation of the K3s.
5. Fanatical fan/community support base. This tends to ensure a product is supported well beyond the company if something happens to it.

The Cons:
1. Expensive - at least $1800 more when comparably equipped to the radio I compared it to. The Kenwood TS-590SG. From what I read around the net Kenwood makes a fine radio but their support is expensive and really hit/miss depending on WHO you send it to.
2. Left Coast - If you have to ship anything it's a long and expensive trip so you had better make sure you really need to send something back before you do. As stated in the Pros their support is fanatically good.
3. Limited flash - The radio is attractive in a utility sense but small things like plastic knobs, monochrome display..etc.. At this price point you'd expect the small things would be nicer. If you're looking for cool factor buy something else.
4. Hard to know if you really need that much state of the art technology or not. The design is well suited for contesting, low signal moon bounces..etc... I'm not sure what you CAN'T do with the rig.

Overall, until I speak with my elmer, I'm working my tail off to buy one. Fully stuffed and equipped it's just over $7000. Entry for the base 100w rig with no ps/mic/atu/filters is $2700 as a kit. I'm still fighting with myself to justify the cost. The pros for the argument are strong...; Mon Aug 10, 01:49:00 pm GMT+1