KXPA100

[KB3LAZ]

After looking at the Elecraft site I noticed that the KXPA100 (100w amp for the KX3) finally is on the order page or rather its own. It comes with a hefty price tag too. Factory assembled with tuner and control cable you are looking at nearly 1200$. Add that to the cost of the KX3 and you are at the price range of a basic K3/100 or K3/10 with tuner. I suppose this is one of those to each their own situations but I just cant see spending the $$ for the pair.

The current drain is much higher than I would use for portable. The cost isnt (IMO) justified for desktop use. I suppose that leaves mobile operations. I mean, ignoring the current drain, with the added weight, you may as well carry the K3 with you. Now, I realize the current drain is typical if you are going to run 100w so that may or may not be an issue for some. So, I guess it fits into a niche category. A desktop accessory for the portable QRP OP that wants to run 100w at his home station.

That being said, options for 100w all band HF amps are slim. Having an internal tuner option is an advantage even if it is 3x more expensive than the average external tuner. And it shows that Elecraft once again has showed a desire to continuously add accessories for their products. When all is said and done, I bet they sell more than a few.

Any thoughts?

[PA5COR]

Depends on what you want to spend, your needs, and wwhat benefits the Elecraft combo has.
Get a FT 817 ND for 5 watts low energy use, a 100 watt P.A. from RM italy with bandfilters and outboard tuner manual or auto will set you bach a lot less as the Elecrraft solution and you will work just as many stations as with the Elecraft stuff.

Lots of people buy transceivers based on the Sherwood list, i didn't i bought the FT 2000 - D and work as much stations as with a FT 5000 or any of the top ranges of his list.
I like the erginomics of the 2000, the 225 watt output that makes me use the Heathkit SB-1000 less, the reciever is good, and i don't make more qso's as with the FT 847 with Collins filters it replaced.

I don't use the internal tuner, i use the MFJ 993-B or MFJ 998 legal limit auto tuners.
I rather spend money and effort n building a bunch of good antenna's which will do much more for my station as the best transceiver ever will do, and i don't do bragging here, i'm fully satsfied with the FT 2000 - D.

Mobile i have the FT 100 here small package uses not to much power which i can set back from 5 to 100 watts.
Build in the AM Xfilter, so it does quite fine.

You make the choice on what your idea's are, don't just base it of the Sherwood list too much.
In reality that is only importantwhen you have a field day lots of power lots of stations all working at the same time cramped together.
Elecraft makes some good stuff, but i can't see how i could justify 1200 bucks for a 100 watt P.A. even with autotuner build in, for that price i can buy a complete radio with 100 watts with autotuner.

Just to be able to brag about having a Elecraft is not my choice.
If i still had the TS 430s Line or the FT 757 GXii i would work the same amount of stations i do now.
DSP and noise reduction became better, but in reality the best filters are in our head, all recievers are more then sensitive enough to dig out the signals out of the high noisefloor.
Never used a pre amp here, i DO use the ATT here... as well R.F. gain.

At the end of the day it will be your decission your gear and your money spend.
Make choices on your own, don't let Sherwood lists and other people's advise get in the way ;)

[KB3LAZ]

Depends on what you want to spend, your needs, and wwhat benefits the Elecraft combo has.
Get a FT 817 ND for 5 watts low energy use, a 100 watt P.A. from RM italy with bandfilters and outboard tuner manual or auto will set you bach a lot less as the Elecrraft solution and you will work just as many stations as with the Elecraft stuff.

Lots of people buy transceivers based on the Sherwood list, i didn't i bought the FT 2000 - D and work as much stations as with a FT 5000 or any of the top ranges of his list.
I like the erginomics of the 2000, the 225 watt output that makes me use the Heathkit SB-1000 less, the reciever is good, and i don't make more qso's as with the FT 847 with Collins filters it replaced.

I don't use the internal tuner, i use the MFJ 993-B or MFJ 998 legal limit auto tuners.
I rather spend money and effort n building a bunch of good antenna's which will do much more for my station as the best transceiver ever will do, and i don't do bragging here, i'm fully satsfied with the FT 2000 - D.

Mobile i have the FT 100 here small package uses not to much power which i can set back from 5 to 100 watts.
Build in the AM Xfilter, so it does quite fine.

You make the choice on what your idea's are, don't just base it of the Sherwood list too much.
In reality that is only importantwhen you have a field day lots of power lots of stations all working at the same time cramped together.
Elecraft makes some good stuff, but i can't see how i could justify 1200 bucks for a 100 watt P.A. even with autotuner build in, for that price i can buy a complete radio with 100 watts with autotuner.

Just to be able to brag about having a Elecraft is not my choice.
If i still had the TS 430s Line or the FT 757 GXii i would work the same amount of stations i do now.
DSP and noise reduction became better, but in reality the best filters are in our head, all recievers are more then sensitive enough to dig out the signals out of the high noisefloor.
Never used a pre amp here, i DO use the ATT here... as well R.F. gain.

At the end of the day it will be your decission your gear and your money spend.
Make choices on your own, don't let Sherwood lists and other people's advise get in the way ;)

I'm just curious about what others think of the price of the little thing verses its use. No 100w amps for me. That's why they make 100w radios. Interestingly, if I could only have 1 radio I think I would go with the TT Argonaut V because its 20w. Dedicated for QRP but could add a little punch if need be, can pair it with a KPA500 and get about 350-400w out, could run it mobile/portable easy.

As it stands now, my interests for radios is split between a few radios but for different reasons. The K3 is a nice alternative to the jackknife radios. As many filters as one could ever wish for, dual RX, 2m option, etc. So its between one of the monstrosity radios and one of the do all radios.

For ragchew the O-II is quite tempting the its little brother the Eagle is as well. It has a few quirks but none are deal breakers. However, I am interested to see what they will come out with in the next year or so while I transition back to the states. Both the Omni VII and the Orion II are getting a little long in the tooth. It will be interesting to see of the lineage of the Omni series lives on or if they go a new route.

For QRP there are many options for many people these days. However QRP seems to be quite a diverse crowed. No Altoids can radio for me. I'm a desktop op. The K3/10 is a lot of radio for QRP IMO but if you are strictly a QRP contester I think this would be the way to go. The KX3 and new TT Argo VI are also logical options both for portable or desktop use but both do have a few major shortcomings. Being mostly an SSB op and having owned the 817 I would not go that route again. Unless it was dedicated for VHF/UHF SSB work.

Again, I'm just curious to see what everyone thinks of this new little toy and where it will fit into the shack of most that use it. I am glad to see that both TT and Elecraft take pride in their work and release things to the niche market.

[KG4NEL]

Depends on what you want to spend, your needs, and wwhat benefits the Elecraft combo has.
Get a FT 817 ND for 5 watts low energy use, a 100 watt P.A. from RM italy with bandfilters and outboard tuner manual or auto will set you bach a lot less as the Elecrraft solution and you will work just as many stations as with the Elecraft stuff.

I owned a K2 for a while, and have used a K3 in multi-multi environments for a few years now. In those situations, there really is no faking it - phase noise and spectral purity do matter. I found myself wishing for the K3's DSP using a Kenwood TS-570 this weekend, even though it's a perfectly competent rig.

Personally, $1200 for a 100W PA puts the KX3 out of my list for a home rig. If Elecraft made a K3 440 module capable of handling FM at typical duty cycles, it'd be all I'd need for a "shack in a box".

[KB3LAZ]

Personally, $1200 for a 100W PA puts the KX3 out of my list for a home rig. If Elecraft made a K3 440 module capable of handling FM at typical duty cycles, it'd be all I'd need for a "shack in a box".



I have had that same thought many times. Though, the K3 is still on my short list and has been for quite some time. However, I really would like to have the chance to play with it alongside a few other radios when I get back stateside.

[W3WN]

I owned a K2 for a while, and have used a K3 in multi-multi environments for a few years now. In those situations, there really is no faking it - phase noise and spectral purity do matter. I found myself wishing for the K3's DSP using a Kenwood TS-570 this weekend, even though it's a perfectly competent rig.

Personally, $1200 for a 100W PA puts the KX3 out of my list for a home rig. If Elecraft made a K3 440 module capable of handling FM at typical duty cycles, it'd be all I'd need for a "shack in a box".
The Elecraft folks seem to have a knack for knowing when to put out a new product, including the add-on modules.

I'm sure that if there is sufficient demand, a 440 module would be forthcoming.

[KB3LAZ]

The Elecraft folks seem to have a knack for knowing when to put out a new product, including the add-on modules.

I'm sure that if there is sufficient demand, a 440 module would be forthcoming.

It has been addressed on the reflector a few times. The answer that has been given is "We sell nice transverters".

That being said, a 440 module isnt a necessity for me. For that matter neither is the 2m. Nice additions but nothing more.

[NQ6U]

Traded some work for a fellow club member for an IC-476PRO. Nothing comparable to a K3, of course, but a big step up from my trusty but aging IC-736. It's even got that DSP thing everyone is talking about these days and now that I finally have the 2m all mode rig I've wanted for some time, maybe I can get some VHF DX via our late-summer tropo ducting phenomenon to Hawaii.

I'm keeping the 736 for digital work because the analog meter is an advantage there, plus it's nice to have a secondary receiver sometimes.

[KG4NEL]

It has been addressed on the reflector a few times. The answer that has been given is "We sell nice transverters".

That being said, a 440 module isnt a necessity for me. For that matter neither is the 2m. Nice additions but nothing more.

For serious VHF/UHF, I definitely can understand that response - but there's an untapped market there, I think, for people who would like to try the SSB aspect without going whole-hog on something that might not work out for them. As old as it is, I'm giving the Yaesu FT-847 some strong consideration, even though it's been almost ten years since I've last owned one, nevermind when they were made. It's a "full-size" radio that does everything I want to do at least reasonably well.

[KB3LAZ]

For serious VHF/UHF, I definitely can understand that response - but there's an untapped market there, I think, for people who would like to try the SSB aspect without going whole-hog on something that might not work out for them. As old as it is, I'm giving the Yaesu FT-847 some strong consideration, even though it's been almost ten years since I've last owned one, nevermind when they were made. It's a "full-size" radio that does everything I want to do at least reasonably well.

Going all out with VHF/UHF can get quite costly. Transverters and accessories arent cheap. Towers to stack your beams. And we cant forget amps. Ofc there are other accs as well.

Personally, I like to do a little local VHF SSB work. Aside from that I play mostly on HF and would fit into that category. Id buy an internal 70cm mod. However, I dont see it happening.

That being said, maybe on the next round. It has been said that the K3 will not be replaced unless it is by a game changer. However, it is starting to get a little long in the tooth. I suppose they should easily be able to squeeze another four years out of it to round off the decade. But I know a lot of elecraft fans would like to see something new hit the shelves. Not to say that the K3 has to go anywhere. Hell they still sell the K2.

Something a bit bigger for the desktop would be nice. A lot of people comment that they would like to see an integrated pan but meh. Larger with more band modules would be nice. Icom and Kenwood both have their HF/2m/70cm rigs with optional 1.2g. I know a lot of people would like to see elecraft do the same and maybe throw in an optional 220. Or rather VHF+ all being optional. Again, I dont see it happening but who knows.