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Big money

Congrats on the purchase keep us updated on your likes/dislikes.
I Had a long talk at lunch over the weekend with a friend who works there and he helped me make up my mind after being on the fence with my short 3 transceiver list.
I will be picking mine up in 2 weeks and can't wait. ( I live about 10 mins away)
We are talking 5 pole (2.7) vs 8 pole (2.8) filters here.The 8 pole will out perform it on crowded bands with strong adjacent signals.

Hell, I'm not famous and am the farthest thing from rich! But if you want to help with either, I'm all ears. I've been saving for quite a while for a new rig...so it feels good to finally be able to order it.

According to the ARRL test report, the difference in Blocking Gain Compression between the 2.7kHz 5 pole filter and 2.8kHz 8 pole filter is fairly significant when the stations are within a few kHz of you. Here is the key data:

2.7 kHz Filter @ 2kHz above/below - 115/85 db at minimum detected signal
2.8 Khz Filter @ 2kHz above/below - 134/86 db at minimum detected signal
2.7 kHz Filter @ 1kHz above/below - 93/83 db at minimum detected signal
2.8 kHz Filter @ 1kHz above/below - 113/84 at minimum detected signal

IMD is also a bit better with the 8 pole filter. Remember, in the K3, these are true roofing filters and you can still adjust the filter width and shape additionally through DSP.

See above paragraph. By using both roofing and DSP filtering, you get the best of both worlds without degrading IMD and Blocking Dynamic range. Here's an interesting article that discusses Elecraft's approach: Roofing Filters.

Remember the Elecrafts are also Software Defined Radios...they just don't require a PC to run the radio at all times. They're similar to the TenTec in that as new features are introduced (or bugs fixed), you can apply the latest firmware. I also like that this radio will transmit with supply voltage all the way down to 10 volts. That's pretty neat for portable use. There are a few other factors that swayed me this way as well. I hope I'm still convinced after I've used it for a while!

Congrats on new fancy box there Mo. I've heard many good things about these SDR's. Do give us a complete rundown on how you like the thing after serveral weeks use and when you get a chance. Enjoy !!

Congratulations! I love my K3 and had it for about two years already. I never get tired of it and get great audio reports. Sounds like you have the same stuff. I think I did a little over kill. I have the sub receiver but hardly use it. This radio is great. A few days ago, I talked to Moscow on it. I could hardly hear the station because of all the noise but once I started playing with all the filters, I was able to pull him through the static. Elecraft has a message board where K3 users help each other.
Here is the link

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