For the past three or four years, I’ve been threatening to buy a new radio to replace my ICOM IC-746PRO. The IC-746PRO is a great radio, though, and I’ve had trouble pulling the trigger on a $3k – $5k or more purchase. The radio that I’ve had my eye on is the Elecraft K3, and without a doubt it’s a better rig than the 746PRO, but the question I keep asking myself is, “Am I going to have $5,000 more fun with a K3?”
To put it another way, the question is, assuming that I have a $5,000 budget to spend on amateur radio gear over the next year or two or three, what’s the best way to spend it? How can I maximize my purchases so that I have the most fun?
At this point, I think that I’ve decided not to buy that new rig and instead buy equipment that will help me make my own rigs. Some of the items that I have my eye on include:
- Aoyue 968A+ SMD Digital Hot Air Rework Station (already on order)
- Rigol DS1102E 100MHz, Dual Channel, 1 GSa/s Digital Oscilloscope
- Rigol DSA815-TG Spectrum Analyzer
- Peaberry SDR V2 Kit
- More keys! I’d love to get a fancier Begali and the other day someone told me about the UR5CDX keys, which look like great deals.
This will, of course, mean less time operating and more time tinkering, but that should be just as much fun, or even more fun than I’m having now. It also means that I’ll be going to Dayton with a much different mindset than I have the past couple of years.
What do you think? Am I crazy? If you don’t think that I’m crazy, what kind of kits or projects should be thinking about?
UPDATE 4/24/15: My Aoyue 968A+ SMD Digital Hot Air Rework Station just arrived. I’ll do another post on the “unboxing.” Maybe I’ll even attempt a video.
H Garcia says
:) SteppIR 20m-6m 3el antenna.
Dan KB6NU says
Unfortunately, there’s no way that I can put up a tower at this QTH.
Luke Williams - AE5AU says
You are not crazy at all. I enjoy building and tinkering as much (or more, really) than operating. Over the past few years, I’ve gotten into RC airplanes and multirotors (commonly called drones, these days). I find that this holds true for me with that hobby, too. I really enjoy flying, but I’m always tweaking my builds or planning my next project.
Matt KC4YLV says
I completely agree! And would definitely suggest investing in some good test equipment – not to mention parts and shop stock. I have gone on ebay ‘window shopping’ sessions and pieced together months of supplies for just a couple hundred bucks – I can’t help but think that it’d be amazing to spend $2-3000 on some test equipment, $1000 on parts stock and tools, and maybe throw a thousand bucks at a second radio. Heck, you can pick up another 746 for under a grand now – matching pair? :)
Razvan YO9IRF says
Flex-6300.
Jonathan KA8KPN says
Wow, your list looks a lot like mine. I mean I got the Aoyue 968 (not the A+ version, but the one without the digital iron temperature display) and I’m about 2/3 of the way through building my Peaberry, but I got an Owon SDS7102V instead of the Rigol, mostly because it’s got an Ethernet port on it.
I don’t have any real desire to get the keys you talk about, but I’ve been casting longing glances at the N3ZN keys, especially the ZN-9H.
About the only thing I would criticize would be the choice of spectrum analyzer. I think maybe because you’ve already got a bench power supply, signal generator, and DMM, some things that I have yet to get.
Dan KB6NU says
It does sound like we’re on the same track here. :)
I haven’t heard about the Owon scopes. How do you like yours?
I should have mentioned the N3ZN keys. I’ve talked with several folks who have them and really enjoy using them. I’m going to have a look at them at Dayton.
Finally, yes, I already do have a bench power supply (a Heathkit nonetheless!!) and a really fancy Keithley bench DMM I splurged on about a year ago. As far as a signal generator goes, I have a kind of crappy 2 MHz function generator, but I’m thinking about building an RF signal generator from a BeagleBone or Raspberry Pi and a DDS board.
Jonathan KA8KPN says
I like the Owon scope well enough. I should point out that even though I bought it because it had an Ethernet port, I’ve never have actually used that port. Maybe someday. Up until six or so months ago, I didn’t have any wired Ethernet in the room I use as a shack and a lab.
As far as the signal generator goes, well, therein hangs a tale. Several years ago, I came across some articles talking about something called a Nimblesig III. It’s a DDS-based signal generator good up to about 400 MHz. It’s not a kit, but if you contact the guy who wrote the articles, he can send you a BOM and a bare board. I wrote him myself, but he suggested that it not be my first SMD project. I figure that once I finish the Peaberry, which is my fourth SMD project, I’ll be about ready.
I have a microscope for SMD, but the Peaberry parts are mostly large enough that I use my head-mounted magnifier for construction and only used the microscope to inspect the soldering job I did on the microcontroller.
Anyway, right now I’m thinking I probably want to acquire an actual bench before getting the DMM and the power supply. I’m using these plastic folding tables and the results are suboptimal.
Dan KB6NU says
Aha! A real workbench would be a great addition to this list. I’m currently using a folding table, and while that works OK, a real workbench would be better.
What head-mounted magnifier do you have?
Jonathan KA8KPN says
I think it’s the SE MH1047L. It’s got a light, which I have to remember not to leave on, but I don’t use that very often. I bought mine from Amazon a long time ago.
John M says
In today’s day and age why does an HF radio cost $5K? Is it to recoup the engineering costs for a product that is not going to sell that many units? I’m not saying that an HF radio should cost what some of crap that comes out of China costs, but $5K???
Dan KB6NU says
It costs that much mainly because of the engineering costs, but also because of the customer support they provide. I think $5k is a real bargain.
Dave, N8SBE says
You don’t have to start on a K-3 setup with the deluxe no-holds barred station. The base 10W radio with 2.7 kHz roofing filter sells for a lot less (even less for $1599.95 if you pick up the no-solder kit, which goes together in a very few hours). The 100W no-solder kit goes for $2149.95 and you can upgrade a 10W radio to 100W anytime.
This gets you a very capable radio that can run CW, SSB, and a plethora of digital modes. The DSP bandpass can be tuned down to as little as 50 Hz, and the radio will natively decode PSK31, RTTY, and CW, and other digital modes are easily done using a sound card based program on your computer. The isolation transformers are built in, so no external sound card interface is required. Just plug the audio cables directly between the K3 and your computer.
Everything else can be added later, as you discover new modes or other things you want to experiment with. Likely the single most expensive option would be the sub-receiver, which is fine for experimenting with diversity reception, or for use in cracking pileups where the DX station is working split, and you want to listen to him in one ear, and the pileup (and your transmit frequency) in the other.
The next most expensive option would be to fill both the main and sub receiver with roofing filters at $125 each. For a total of eight additional filters (four in each receiver), that adds $1000 just in filters. But, you can get along without them if you don’t operate in close proximity (within a couple of kHz) to really loud stations during contests.
The K3 is a kick-butt CW radio, and high-speed QSK has gotten even better with the new synthesizer boards that are now shipping (previous owners can upgraded easily). It’s really impressive to operate 30-35 WPM (or higher) QSK with no intermodulation artifacts from the high speed transmit/receive switching.
The K3 is a firmware-defined radio, and is considered a hybrid design, using hardware in the front end where it is needed to give you a bullet-proof front end, and digital signal processing (DSP) where it can be used to great advantage for brick-wall bandpass filtering, and noise reduction.
You seem interested in possibly small/light considering the Peaberry on your wish list. Maybe you’d rather start with the KX3, which is a much smaller form factor than the K3. The 100W option for the KX3 is external, and the design is more similar to a direct-conversion receiver, but it has received very good marks on the Sherwood Engineering site, placing it in the top 5.
Dan KB6NU says
You’re right, a “starter” K3 doesn’t have to cost $5k, but it would get to be that much by the time I added all the options. The main point, though, is not how much the rig costs, but that I think I’d have more fun spending the money on the tools and test equipment and building my own stuff than just buying a K3.
Wilson Lamb says
The K-3 crowd loves company. Ask how many more contacts the K-3 could make and if they would be “more fun” than what you already do. It’s a great radio and I’m thinking seriously of getting one, just to see how it does in my shack. But really, if you aren’t contesting or working a LOT of weak signals in QRM, it’s not a big deal!
Same for artsy fartsy keys. In 60 yr of sending, I’ve never seen anything better than a J-38! And the $5 Radio Shack plastic ones are nearly as good. Far more important than the fancy stuff is how high the button is (should be as low as the J-38) and how well your operating position supports your arm. If you can’t comfortably rest your arm on the elbow and spring at your wrist, you’ll never achieve speed, accuracy, and comfort! The alltime best sending platform is an old Morris chair with a flat arm to hold the key and your elbow in a natural position.
No input on paddles, don’t use ’em, but simple is likely best. Plating and machine work are decoration, once the basic mechanism is there. I expect you could build a fine one from a hacksaw blade, known as a strap key.
WL
Dan KB6NU says
Sorry, but I don’t use straight keys anymore. My fist with a straight key was never very good, and imho, it’s just not worth the effort it would require to improve it now that affordable paddles and keyers are readily available. I’ve been told that I have a pretty good fist with a paddle, so I’m sticking with it.
Not only that, I love using my “artsy fartsy” Begali paddle. It not only works great, it looks great. You really should try switching over to a paddle. I think you’d be pleasantly surprised.
Tom WB8COX says
I wanted to comment on your plight.
I am still drooling over a K3 but it has been out long enough that I am sort of tempted to wait and see what they come out with next. I couldn’t afford the K3, even at 10W, by the time I got it with the transverter interfaces and the filter so that I could take it into high RF environments, I was well over $2K.
I think your idea of adding to your list of test equipment is a good idea. You might want to consider a slightly faster scope that will get you to 200MHz. My digital scope only goes to 100MHz and I keep finding that it isn’t quite fast enough. Things like transverter oscillators and such are all over 100MHz. If you can view above the 2M band you pretty much have everything covered you need a scope for. My scope on my desk at work is a 4 channel 200MHz Tektronics, and it is good for almost 95% of all the measurements I need to do.
If you like to play with antennas or build RF circuits, I also recommend one of the less expensive 2 port VNA products. Having both sign and magnitude related to frequency is a good thing. The less expensive ones won’t do S12 or S22 (port 2 -> 1 and port 2 -> 2) but you can get around the by reversing the port connections on the analyzer if you need it. No the MFJ analyzer won’t quite do all this but they may get there at some point.
The other option is to get a KX3 if you want a really good receiver. The only down side I have found with my KX3 is that if you heat it up real fast, like running PSK31 or WSPR at 5W or more, there may be some minor frequency stability issues, although these are pretty much limited to 6M and 2M, if you have 2M option in it. Elecraft can explain the reasons and they have a temperature compensation process that helps but 2M it still isn’t great for digital modes.
The KX3 also makes a dynamite battery operated portable field radio and with the antenna tuner will essentially tune a wet string if needed. The KX3 can be optioned either when you order it, in which case the parts are pre-aligned to work with the radio, or if purchased separately there may be a fairly simple alignment steps. For enjoyment, I would go for the KX3.
Dan KB6NU says
Good point about going for a 200 MHz scope. I’m not really a VHF/UHF guy at this point, but who knows? Would probably be a better idea to spend a little bit more now to meet my needs in the future.
David KB8XG says
It has been said that in order to keep the mind & body properly interested in living, one needs to develop a new hobby about every 5-10 years. In one sense, that is what you are contemplating. Rather than going a whole new direction to, say basket weaving, you have chosen to add an aspect of something you already are familiar with, Ham Radio & Electronics. Personally, I like tinkering better than operating, but I have been told that I march to a different drummer & no one else can hear it.
All of the purchases you list would certainly get you into a different aspect of our hobby. What that really means is that you need to learn a bunch of new stuff. Learning new stuff is one of the things that keep humans vibrant & alive as time passes.
You would still have the option of tinkering some of the time and operating some of the time. More ways to play!!!
It doesn’t really matter what aspects of the hobby you get into. Some you will like & some, well, not so much. If you don’t try new things, I think your brain rots. That’s not a good thing IMHO. Besides, how will you find out what is fun for you if you don’t try new things?
No one can really tell you what you want to do. You have to figure that one out yourself.
On the other hand, if you don’t try new things, how will you ever really understand what you really like to do? Remember, this is “just” a hobby.
My suggestion would be to go for it. Even if it doesn’t work out, you have learned something.