K4FW
Barry VK2BJ
On Fri, 24 May 2019 at 18:58, Jim Brown <k9yc@audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:
> On 5/21/2019 9:23 AM, Rick@dj0ip.de wrote:
> > 1x OM7+ = 3x IC-7300
> >
> > or
> >
> > 1x OM7+ = IC-7300 + Linear Amp + Beam
>
> I like your arithmetic -- Mom and Dad were both accountants, and made
> sure I knew how to add and subtract. The Kenwood TS590S and SG are very
> nice radios at a very nice price. I know serious contesters who use
> them. Elecraft showed a very pre-preduction K4 with very nice features
> and specs, for delivery in early 2020. It's a very high quality SDR,
> going after Flex, and in the Orion price class.
>
> The three K3s and a KPA500 are the only radios I've bought new since an
> Omni A Series D in 1980; the K3s, bought in 2008 and upgraded in 2015
> with new synth boards are still state of the art. I gave that Omni A to
> a newly licensed ham around 2003. I replaced my Titan 425's (bought used
> around 2005) with 87As a few years ago, also bought used. Both were
> designed by K4XU (for the 87A, RF only, not the logic and control).
>
> The K4 radios (three versions) look good, with very nice features but
> I'm not tempted to buy one. A MAJOR virtue of the Elecraft rigs is their
> upgradeability as a result of their modularity. It cost me about $700
> each to upgrade the dual-RX K3s (new in 2008) to 90% of the performance
> of the K3S, introduced in 2016. With any other brand, you get to buy a
> new radio.
>
> Oh yeah -- Elecraft is very well managed, and likely to be in biz 10-15
> years from now when you need something. Like Mom and Dad, they know how
> to add and subtract. :)
>
> IMO, Elecraft is the worthy successor to Ten Tec. I worked Al Kahn,
> principal of Ten Tec, using one of his radios when I was operating
> mobile CW in the '70s.40 years later, don't remember his call. I've
> worked N6KR, principal EE of Elecraft, running CW, him always QRP, most
> recently two weeks ago, and every time I was using one of his radios. I
> work Eric, WA6HHQ, on 2M, because we're locals. I know a half dozen or
> so of Elecraft's engineers. Some work out of the factory, some at home.
> The guys I know are active hams. K6XX is a world class contester, WRTC
> competitor, a production engineer for their power amps. They USE their
> radios!
>
> Elecraft maintains a presence on their email reflector -- both
> principals, N6KR and WA6HHQ, read it every day. They get input from
> users that show up in design, and they respond to problems. Both were in
> their booth in Dayton and in Visalia a month earlier. Contrast that to
> ANY other mfr of ham rigs. Will you EVER have the chance to meet Mr
> Yaesu, Mr ICOM, or Mr Ten Tec?
>
> Al Kahn, the principal founder of Ten Tec, and long before that, of
> Electro-Voice, a pro audio company at least as great as Ten Tec, is one
> of my heroes. In addition to Ten Tec and EV, he did a lot to keep ARRL
> afloat during and after WWII. But Al's long gone, and so is the company
> he founded.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
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