Elecraft KX3

Received my Elecraft KX3 S/N 196 today.


Initial impressions, a bit bigger than I had imagined, the accompanying paddle had connection-issues and there some BC intermod present. Also there is a high frequency whining present in the audio at all times (noticeable only on high quality speakers/phones).  Other than that a excellent radio, at least as good as my IC7700 (bar the TX power). Compared to my IC7700 it seems equally sensitive, the audio is silky smooth. The IC7700 has a bullet-proof front end, but other than that the KX3 is quite en par. There are a few fimware issues, but they will probably be ironed out shortly.




It will not replace my Elecraft KX1 for extreme portable use, but probably for everything else. See the images for a size comparison between the KX3, KX1, Elecraft T1 and a old android phone.

I have also tested running PSK31 and RTTY using the built in encoder/decoder and a paddle. It works surprisingly well. I am a CW guy, to sending via the paddle is second nature to me, it might be a bit more fiddly for those not accustomed to sending via a paddle.