Everyone has their favorites. Last year I was within a week of buying a new
FT2000......until I saw W3ZZ's K3. K8GP had used W4XP's FT2000 and it was
very good, actually about as good as our beloved TS-850's with DEM
transverters, and a lot less wires and stuff. We used Chuck's FT2000 in the
CQ VHF test and it worked ok, until some button was hit, which we never
figured out which, and the radio changed and got into a mode we couldn't
use. Had to power cycle. This happened one other time while I was operating
and I couldn't figure out what we were doing. The other issue we had with
the FT2000 was it didn't drive my 8877 amp right. If you got the levels set
to get about 500w avg on a Bird, everyone complained it sounded bad. So away
it went, I understand that may have been fixed.
Enter the K3. I never had any dealings with Elecraft and when I saw the pix
of the K3 and read the specs, I didn't believe it. Then I got to assemble
Gene's. WOW, WOW, WOW. It was so nice to see an American company put out
such a nice piece of leading edge gear. Ok TenTec owners, don't get your
shorts in a knot. K3CB owns a pair of Orions, a 1 and a 2 and they are very
nice. I don't like the ergonomics and the way you have to go to the menu to
do everything. The last time I got excited about a radio was in 1985 when
the FT736 came out, a VHFer's dream! The rig is compact, not small, but it
"feels" like a big radio. There are enough knobs and buttons to do the
things you NEED to do while operating. All the buttons have a tap and hold
dual function and it is clearly laid out.
Most of us can't buy radios weekly or monthly, so I say before you commit to
a new rig, at least give the K3 a good look. I am thrilled with mine and
have spent more time on the air even in HF cw contests (and those who know
me know how much I just love cw :-( !! The folks at Elecraft release
firmware updates several times a month with new features, and, believe it or
not, you can actually trade emails with the owners and if you don't like
something or have a suggestion, they listen!!!! How many times has Y, K or I
done that??
The folks at Elecraft put out a general announcement on the Elecraft
reflector looking for someone to display a K3 at the Richmond frostfest on
the 7th. I volunteered to man a table which will have a pair of K3's, one
running and one open to see the business end. If you make the fest, stop by.
I get nothing from Elecraft to do this, but after you have dealt with them
for almost a year now, you don't mind doing it!
Terry
-----Original Message-----
From: vhfcontesting-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Bill W5WVO
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 6:56 PM
To: Paul N1BUG; vhfcontesting@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] UPDATE Re: Yaesu FT-2000 on 6 meters
The winner... over what? A K3? If so, I'd be interested to know why. Most
people I know who have compared them say the K3 is a far better radio. (I
own a K3, but have never used an FT-2000, so I can't comment. However, in
terms of bench metrics, there is no comparison. The K3 wins hands down.)
Bill W5WVO
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul N1BUG" <paul_n1bug@verizon.net>
To: <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 9:15 AM
Subject: [VHFcontesting] UPDATE Re: Yaesu FT-2000 on 6 meters
> All in all I find the rig to be much better now. If I were
making an
> informed purchasing decision today, the FT-2000 would probably
come
> out the winner despite its remaining performance shortfall.
YMMV, of
> course!
>
> 73,
> Paul N1BUG
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