A couple of weeks ago, a fellow HAM in the local Amateur Radio Club had a mishap with his Elecraft KX3 and PX3 rig setup. It was a nice day, weather wise, so he called an impromptu “Hamming In The Park.” This is where a bunch of us grab our portable capable rigs, head to one of the parks in town, set up, and operate in the (usually sunny) outdoors.
He let the smoke out of his KX3, and here’s the story:
http://ae5nw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=54&limitstart=25
I personally am a huge fan of Elecraft. I own the KX3 (radio,) the PX3 (waterfall display and control,) and the KXPA100 (amplifier.) I use the KX3 on the amp at the house to get up to 110W of power (comparable to most non-amp HF rigs on the market.) It’s a sweet rig, but cheap is not part of its description. I’ll definitely be taking his experience to heart and making sure my setup doesn’t connect power until everything else is hooked up moving forward.