Well I won’t be parting with my K2. But having heard that it is likely there will be an optional module to add low power 2m capability, I suspect my FT-817ND will be up for sale eventually.
Apparently Elecraft hopes to be shipping “by the end of the year”. I seem to remember that when the K3 was announced at Dayton a few years ago they hoped to start shipping by the end of that July but it was the end of the year before the first few K3s made it out of the factory. It was quite a lot longer than that before everything worked and all the promised modules were available. So start saving now but don’t be in too much of a hurry to sell anything unless you can manage without it for longer than you probably expected. Some people sold stuff to pay for their K3 and the long wait proved to be a major source of frustration.
I imagine this thing will soon be backordered well into 2012 so if you want to be one of the first you’d better get your order in as soon as they start taking them. Elecraft don’t take your money until they are ready to ship your order (except in the case of the K3 when they allowed a limited number of people to jump the queue by paying a 50% deposit, don’t know if they’ll do that with the KX3 or not but I bet they’d get a lot of takers.)
It’s always worth ordering these things as you can sell it at some profit straight away. The fact that people will be ordering to do this drives up the order delays and increases the immediate resale value as the eager beavers can’t wait to get their hands on the shiny shiny. Anyway, I learned a long time ago that you never want anything out of the 1st few production batches. You need to let some of the ever present design wrinkles get fixed before commiting your own money.
In reply to MM0FMF:
Well i suscribed to elecrafts reflector earlier on, there is some major hype about this product. Much speculation and many suggested improvements/features already.
In reply to DL4CW:
Today’ is relative I was buried and still sleep deprived yesterday
from Dayton. We also wanted to make sure all of the remaining Dayton
orders were properly entered into our system. Plus Lisa is out for a
much needed vacation.
Latest from the reflector. Having received quite a lot of feedback that 2m capability would be desirable, Elecraft is giving out strong hints that an optional 2m module will be offered. Having received further suggestions that 4m would be a popular option, Wayne has indicated that the transverter option could be for either VHF band, or both. The downside is that it would occupy the same position as the optional internal ATU. So you could not have both. But the KX3 will be able to use and remotely control an Elecraft T1 instead. (Which I just happen to have, so I’ve saved some money already!)
Wayne/N6KR of Elecraft frequently answers the many good questions that come up thereby providing some great information about this new product. Clearly a lot has to happen as Elecraft moves from a couple of prototypes shown at Dayton to the Beta Field Test units into the first (hopefully sizeable) first production run in order to meet a “late end of year” release.
In reply to K1YMI:
Yes, this page is to sign up for INFORMATION only about the KX3. It is not a signup to order listing. The order list will come at a later time. In the meantime, this INFO sheet gives Elecraft some feedback as to potential order demand.
So the signup is only to get on the mailing list. When Elecraft is ready to take orders, this mailing list will probably be the first to get the message. If you are an “early adopter” of first production run new products, you will want to get on the first order list. Otherwise it might be several (or more) calendar quarters before your order would be fulfilled. The Elecraft K3 is a good example of this where some guys waited more than a year after ordering!
From the prototypes I saw at Dayton, it’s going to be a fine /p rig!
Yeah, but I bet that $899 version is the KX3 without options. The missing options, knowing how Elecraft charge, being:
RF module (one per band needed)
IF module (one for wide IF, two or more for narrow IF)
AF module (one for speaker, one for headphones)
DSP module (lots of scope for software options here)
And you need at least one of each of them before you can use the radio.
That $899 price is for the case, display, speaker and connectors only!
In reply to MM0FMF:
The KX3 looks pretty good, but Elecraft is expensive stuff by the time it is on your doorstep, what with VAT and the dollar exchange rate etc.
By Elecraft’s own admission, the KX3 receiver is not of the same performance as the K3 receiver, which in turn (according to many Elecraft gurus) is not as good as the K2. I really want one, it looks a super piece of kit, but I’ll be sticking to my K1/K2 for portable ops,until they improve the receive and usual first production niggles on the KX3…and I win the lottery!
That $899 price is for the case, display, speaker and connectors only!
…and don’t forget the shipping cost, VAT and “VAT collection fee” for your neighbourhood postie.
This is all totally out of my league. I’d need to carry it up the summits in several layers of padded bags inside a crush resistant container. Under some of the WX conditions that I operate in, it just wouldn’t see the light of day - even the 857 is only allowed to poke just its face out into the outside world…
Maybe a must for those that use gold plated wire for their antennas, but not for me.