| Elecraft Inc. | |
| Type: | Amateur radio manufacturer |
| Foundation: | 1998 |
| Location: | Watsonville, California, U.S.A |
| Industry: | Amateur radio |
| Homepage: | http://www.elecraft.com/ |
Elecraft, Inc. is an American manufacturer of amateur radio equipment and kits that is based in Watsonville, California. It was founded in 1998 by Wayne Burdick and Eric Swartz.[1] The company's first product was the K2 transceiver; first prototyped in October, 1997.[2]
The company is most notable for the Elecraft K3 high-performance HF transceiver, a 32-bit DSP based radio covering HF plus the 6-meter VHF band and the 160-meter MF band, introduced in 2008. The reception of the K3 was positive.[3] At the time of its introduction, the K3 received the highest Sherwood Engineering ranking of any amateur radio receiver.[4] [5]
Elecraft's product lineup includes a range of QRP CW transceivers, the K2 and K3 all-mode 100W transceiver, KX2 (80m-10m) and KX3 (160m–2m) portable transceivers, linear power amplifiers, two panadapters, and a range of accessories including antenna tuners and signal generators.
Elecraft introduced "mechanical assembly only" (or "no solder") kits with the K3 line of products, allowing enthusiasts to introduce new electronic elements to augment "preassembled printed circuit boards", albeit construction of the kits was by no means trivial.[6] Prior to the K3, models were available as solder-needed assembly kits.[7]
The KX3 transceiver is a portable software-defined radio (SDR) transceiver with a full-featured knob-and-button interface. Although it is an SDR transceiver, it does not require a computer connection.[8]
The company's well regarded "K-Line" consists of the K3 transceiver, the KPA500 500W solid-state power amplifier, the KAT500 automatic antenna tuner, and the P3 panadapter.[9] Also, the P3SVGA add-on to the P3 to displays the panadapter data on a large screen and the W2 HF/VHF/UHF wattmeter are sometimes considered part of the K-Line. Most recently, Elecraft has introduced the "KX-Line" consisting of the KX2 and KX3 transceivers, the PX3 panadapter, and the KXPA100 100W power amplifier.[10]
In 2015, Elecraft introduced the K3S Transceiver as a direct replacement for the K3 Transceiver. The K3S is a redesign of the K3 with new or upgraded features, most of which can be backed fitted to an older K3.[11]
The K3S is currently ranked 4th in overall performance by Sherwood Engineering company.[12]
In 2017 Elecraft introduced the KPA1500, a 1500 watt (full legal limit) amplifier. The KPA1500 covers the 160 through 6 meter bands. Its most notable feature is a built-in wide-range antenna tuning unit (ATU). The amplifier's power supply is housed in a separate enclosure, allowing the RF deck/control unit to be quite small relative to other full legal limit amplifiers.
The K4 transceiver was the successor to the K3 and first displayed publicly in 2019.[13] Shipment was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but began in early 2021, at which time the functions of the unit were not yet fully implemented and firmware updates were relatively frequent.[14] Sound quality of the K4 was superior to the K3, consistent with continuing incremental improvements across models. Controls for band and mode settings were redesigned for the K4 versus K3 model, the formerly separate P3 multi-band panning module (Panadapter) has been integrated into the K4 model. The K4 model also introduced touchscreen functionality was described as having "state-of-the-art technology".