Well done video on the K4. I don't have the K4 nor even the K3 but have the KX3 and have to say it is a beautiful and very easy and user friendly rig. The transceiver is well thought out and very intuitive and a pleasure to use. I look forward to getting the K4 at some point in time!
Thank you. I have a K3 (loaded) & P3 which I love. Some day I hope to have a K4. Last field day (2022) I got to work with a K4, what a joy, it is one hell of a Rig. Wes Larson - KF7BWS
Thanks Peter for explaining the practical functions of this radio and its flexibility. I really am becoming tempted 🤔. Now you've got me thinking over Xmas!!! Have a happy Xmas and I really mean stay safe!, and thank you so much for putting such hard work into your excellent videos over the year and explaining everything in such a measured and concise manner. 73 de GI8WFA.
I expect that they will sell quite a few, but I have to say that I would be driven to distraction by the slightly twisted rectangular LEDs above the tuning knob. I also wonder when we can expect an ADC in the receiver that can cope with higher input signals, that's where a hybrid superhet wins. Not easy to achieve in an ADC I will grant but I don't know how else to achieve the very best performance even if direct sampling does perform well. But competition is good and if the K4 has improved Tx IMD performance then that will be a decent plus.
Thank you for the introduction. I’ve lusted after a K4 since getting back into radio early this yearafter 40 years away. If they had just released it a bit earlier there would be one sitting on my desk today. But alas, it’s an ic7300. The 7300 is quite a nice machine but not an Elecraft! Someday… In the meantime, guess what showed up at the Post Office today… My brand new KX2!!! So I’ll have an itty bitty taste of Elecraft until (if ever) I can justify a K4.
I like the idea that Elecraft kit has a long lifespan....but as a K3S (and K2) owner, I feel it isn't true. I can't obtain ANY of the "extras" that I have not already bought.... no warning, they just dissappeared . Glad I got the panadaptor when I did
Hi Rob. I think they managed the stock levels of the accessories pretty well but in turn, that meant there was no buffer stock, and re-runs would have been expensive. Either way it is a problem I agree - particularly the ATU. 73 Peter.
Having used the #158, I can certainly confirm the same impressions, as specified on my eHam review, just to be fair, the APF effect was so noticeable because the BW was set at 1kHz, which is not what you would normally use on CW, BW on that mode, can go down as much as 50Hz without any side effect (ringing, etc.), APF has two settings at 30Hz and 50Hz. 73, Clay I4LEC
Thanks Peter for a good overview. I notice the TX sampling input, so I presume they will be the second company to use TX linearisation for the TX chain. Also you mentioned Panadaptor sensitivity can be changed?. This has been an annoyance for me on most modern radio, no Y gain.. It would seem quite easy to allow this also as an automatic mode that scales the Y depending on the strongest signal on the display to 80% amplitude. This gives the best chance of seeing that small dx signal on the display. On turning the AGC off, should allow manual gain setting.. Obviously zooming in to show the signal or area of interest would be needed. It also has HDMI out….hooray, at last we have this instead of DVI… so no need for an adaptor.☺️ Good to see that RF gain adjustment doesn’t screw up S meter reading as well. Nice thing about Elecraft as I believe you allude to is that they actually use their customers as part if their R&D. There are lots of clever folk in the ham radio hobby, why not use their input to fine tune you product to closely fit what your customers or potential customers want… worked very well on their other products. You can also have both full sdr and Superhet in the same radio.. in vfo A & B…best of both worlds.. Also FPGA can be upgraded in the future when higher speed chips become more affordable, giving yet another upgrade path for you radio. Never seen this on any other manufacture . As for flexibility… only other radio to approach this I would suggest is the Kenwood TS-990. ( I may be biased as I have on) ☺️ Another massive winner for Elecraft… their struggle to develop this will bear fruit I believe.. 73, M0MWS
Hi Peter, I wonder if you have ever tried one of the WMD-50 mini disccone antennas, W&S sell? I received one today, and one installing it fed with LMR-400 feeder, I then tested it with an old MFJ 259B What shock I got, it did not show a match on 6/2 meters or 70cms. I thought I must have a fault cable/connector, but on putting my Bird 50 ohm load on the antenna end of the feeder, it showed no problems, maybe it was the MFJ, playing up so this time I tested it using my Minivna, and the that confirmed I had a "bit of wet string" on the end of my feeder! I have to say the antenna plastic package had been opened, and the elements tied with elastic band, so maybe I got a faulty return by mistake. I have contacted W&S today and asked for them to arrange collection and refund my payment in full. This not meant in any way to be disrespectful toward you or your company. I think next week I get off my back side, dust off my trusty lathe and make my own discone antenna. Len G8LXI.
Would be interested in a comparison to a Flex 6600. Can you transmit using a separate antenna on a different band at the same time? E.g. 20m using ANT1 and 15m using ANT2.
You can program antenna per band as well as different antennas for rx and tx. You cannot transmit on two bands at the same time but I dont think that is what yiu were asking? 73 Peter.
@@watersstanton yeah I'm thinking for SO2R can you switch between VFOA on 1 band and the sub band on another bit on different antennas, and operate between the 2 alternatively.
I am blind and I have heard that this is one of the better radios because it does have some embedded speech! Meaning that it will tell me it’s settings! Am I correct in this? What would be the best HF radio for a totally blind person? Is it radio out there without a screen as I would have no use for one?
@@nigelbrooks6756 thank you I will have to figure out what radios that works with I’ve seen a demo of that somewhere but not necessarily for the blind. But it looks very useful
why on earth every sdr receiver has selected frequency displayed off center? don't we all agree that it has to be on center? is it really that hard to do it right?
The same orange that Elecraft used for years on their original KX2 and KX3. Icom’s 718 and 2300 have similar orange displays. Plus Kenwood’s premium TS-890/990S have full color displays. Of my 30+ radios, love my dual color display KW 990 the most.
If it was not a Touch Screen I would have considered it as a replacement for my ICOM 7600 but it’s not going to be now that I know that.I would not take one for FREE.👎🏻
