I have not owned a Omni 7, but I have owned two K3s over the past 12 months.
I sold the first K3 after trying to figure out how to use it. Probably had it
about two weeks.
The Second K3 was fully loaded and a late serial number. This radio blew a
speaker audio chip, and had to be sent back to Aptos for repair. I probably
had this one about a month.
Both were bought used for a good price so did not lose a lot on resale.
However, the second rig if bought at todays prices would cost over $5,000,
so it is not really a low priced rig if fully featured....and in fact can be
very expensive.
I tend to agree with Carl, N4PY, if you are not going to do serious
contesting, or operate diversity receive, it would be best to get something
more appropriate for what your style of operating is. This rig is not easy to
set up and learn, and will take a number of weeks plus several phone calls to
Elecraft to get you out of messes you get yourself into.
After about a month, you should have every thing in the menus set up and
operation should be easier. However, if you only operate the rig for a day
or so every now and then, you will forget how some things worked.
MY biggest complaint with the K3 is there are no dedicated band buttons, or
band stacking registers, and you are forced to work from the memories.
I don't want to be negative, as Elecraft rapidly over a two year period, has
implemented the full feature set as originally advertised two years ago. They
have been good to their word with the feature set, and keep in touch with
their customers via their website and reflectors. Updates come along
frequently and the firmware has few bugs. Bugs are fixed very quickly.
Elecraft is on a roll and moving along with an excellent rig. However, if you
are a rag chewer and not into contesting, or you are just a casual operator, I
think it would be best to choose a rig that is more intuitive and easier to
operate.
Toby W4CAK
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