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Well the news is out!
17 May 2019 | by Elecraft has added some “eye candy” to Dayton the Elecraft K4! My email inbox has gone from an average daily count of about 25 emails to a new high of 80 to 100! The Elecraft reflector being the new leader for my inbox. I’m not going to get into the specifics as that has been all over the internet and blogs. It’s nice to see Elecraft enter this new phase in their product line.....am I going to rush out and purchase a K4.......nope. I am happy with my Elecraft KX3 and the Icom7610. For those of you out there who were considering an Elecraft rig now may be the time as I assume there are going to be those who are selling their K3 or K3S to get cash for a nice new shiny Elecraft K4.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].4 Responses to “Well the news is out!”
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I “casually” mentioned to my XYL yesterday that Elecraft had announced the new K4 at Dayton/Xenia yesterday and that by all appearances it will be a great rig adding to the stable of products Elecraft has.
She (without one moment’s hesitation) reminded me that I was enjoying and doing just fine with my K3.
(BTW – I got my K3 barely 2-3 weeks before the K3S was announced a few years ago. Elecraft was very gracious and provided me with some upgrades to make my K3 “almost” a K3S as I did comment about timing for my order that ‘could’ have been flagged and held. As I noted Elecraft went way beyond to accommodate my ordering time and updated a number of items.)
Back to my XYL’s comments: She said my current K3 was and will be my retirement rig (yes, I’m already retired) and it will suit my needs just fine. Mostly it is paid for and a new K4 just is not in our limited retirement budget.
Nice to dream however.
73 – KI5IO
Good afternoon Nolan, very nice to hear from you and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Funny thing you should mention that you spoke to your wife regarding the K4. My wife is away in Europe at the moment but we text all the time. I did say to her that Elecraft has just released a K4…..her text back was “so what are you saying” Well I am happy with what I have now. I too had the K3 but way before a K3S was introduced and it’s so true that Elecraft is an amazing company. It was nice to read how they went out of their way to help you with some upgrades to your K3. I have had the KX1, K2x2 and the K3 all have been sold but I still have my KX3 and my Icom IC 7610 as mentioned in my post. My Icom rig was my retirement rig (retiring in Feb 2020) Now I have had the Icom for just over 6 months BUT if I knew Elecraft would be out with a K4 I would of held off and went for that rig. Don’t get me wrong the Icom is a great rig and for sure is a keeper.
Thanks for stopping by Nolan and have a great weekend.
73,
Mike
Elecraft had to make an SDR to remain competitive. But why only 16 bits? That only gives a theoretical 96 dB dynamic range (less in practice). No wonder they need the analog superhet option (K4HD). I like Elecraft (I have two of their rigs) but this one seems to me is a bit of a mess.
Good afternoon Elwood and very nice to hear from you, I have not as of yet had time to check over the spec’s on the K4. That is a very good point you bring out and I am sure you will not be the last once the frenzy calms down regarding the release. I did notice on your QST page that you have the MFJ 1788 I have the same antenna for about 6 years now and am very happy with it.
73,
Mike