[Elecraft] K1 # 690 under construction

[BobDobson@aol.com]

I'm posting this in praise of everyone at Elecraft who is
responsible for creating, marketing, and supporting the K1
product.  I've left out the K2 only because I haven't built one
yet, but I suspect I'll have similar opinions of that radio.

I bought my K1 with all the trimmings late last year, but 
<sniffle> could not find the time to actually sit down and 
build the bloody thing.  Little did I know what I was missing.

Unemployment has a liberating effect.

Like so many others, I have recently had the responsibility
of going to work (involuntarily) lifted from my shoulders,
thereby freeing me up for what is really important in life;
ham radio.  

I dusted off the K1 box and those of its brethren and proceeded 
to start.  So far, I have completed the KNB1 Noise Blanker,
and have just started the K1 itself.  Yes, I wimped out and built 
the easy one first.  Since I hadn't built a kit since the demise 
of Heath, I decided to start slowly.  

The manuals are written so that if you just sit down and exercise
some patience, you will be able to build a radio and have a ball
doing it.  I would like to stress the following points which are 
brought out more than once on the Elecraft web site:

       - Use a fine tip on the soldering iron.  It makes life easier.

       - Get 25 gauge solder.  You will be able to control the solder
         flow MUCH better, given the small pad areas on the boards.

       - Get a pair of the "flush-cut" diagonal pliers.  These will hack
         off the leads almost flush to the board and give your work a
         really professional appearance.  Trust me.

       - Invest in a static mat and wrist strap; they will give you a
         peace of mind that usually can only be attained via Zen 
         or alcohol.

       - If you are like me and left the 29th birthday in the dust long
         ago, get a good work lamp.  Don't be afraid to go to the local
         drug store and shell out the $12 for a pair of reading glasses.
         You'll feel like Superman with X-ray vision when you inspect 
         your work.

       - Go to the local sewing / arts and crafts store and buy at least
         one of those sewing boxes with the little plastic compartments.
         Yeah, the manly hardware store have them too, but they cost
         more.  These work incredibly well for holding the components.
         I use cut-up Post-its as labels in the compartments for quick
         parts identification.

The only part of building the kit that anyone might construe as
"scary" is winding toroids.  Like the rest of the kit, if you go 
slowly and meticulously, you will be able to wind them without
any trouble.  I actually look forward to playing "thread the needle"
now.

I'll keep everyone posted regarding the progress of the kit.  From
what I have seen, there is no shortage of great people on the
mailing list who are willing to offer help.  It's gratifying to see that
kit building is far from dead.  I also think that Elecraft could be the
next Collins (or at least the next Heathkit) in terms of popular
appeal and product strength.

73 for now,

Bob  WA4FOM




--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---