Field notes · Elecraft KX3 · 7 min
The KX3 already travels light. The logger should too.
Elecraft built a complete HF station that fits in a hill bag. Then a lot of KX3 owners still packed a netbook for CAT and logging. Phone CAT and an offline log are the weight you can actually afford on a 10-pointer.
2026-09-30 UTC
QRP is a path problem, not a software problem
Five or ten watts on a summit is greyline, K-index, and a wire that is high enough. A logger that also watches space weather is useful. A logger that needs a shack PC is a rock in the pack.
KX3 CAT without a shack PC: VFO, mode, power in the log. PX3 and KXPA100 operators still get one QSO stream.
CW-first rate
The KX3 is a CW instrument. Call entry and DUPE have to keep up with a paddle. If the UI was designed for a microphone club meeting, you will feel it on 40 at 18 wpm with gloves on.
- Large call field, UTC already running.
- Summit reference loaded before the climb.
- Write the QSO before you pack the KX3.
Snapshots survive the descent
Phones die in cold. Packs get dropped. The activation has to restore. Then you submit to SOTA like everyone else. The logger is not the program. It is how you stop losing the run you already made.
Field trial
Log73’s Elecraft portable profile is for KX2 and KX3 field stations. Request a slot if you already hike with one and are done carrying a second computer.
Questions
Is the KX2 supported the same way as the KX3?
Yes. Both are Elecraft portables with CAT. The log should not care which one is in the bag as long as VFO and mode land in the QSO.
Can I log while running a KX3 macro?
CAT follows the radio. You operate; the logger records. Macros are an operating aid, not a second log.
Log73 is in field trial.
Request a slot. Bring a radio.