[Elecraft] Another K1 goes live!

[Paul Cavnar]

Hi Scott -

> Well... all I can say is WHAT A GREAT KIT!
>
> It went together with only one glitch caused by yours truly. I managed to
> lift a pad on the filter board, then messed up the component trying to fix
> the problem. One email to elecraft got a replacement component on the
> way and instructions on how to fix the pad.

Congratulations!  My little K1 #1256, makes it first "public" appearance at
our local QRP club's table at the Reno Hamfest tomorrow.  It came to life
last week when all but 15m tuned up nicely.  I had a bad 29 MHz crystal
so 15m wasn't workable.  One e-mail to the support group at Elecraft and I
had a very prompt reply and a replacement on the way.  I must say that the
customer service at Elecraft is simply a "five-star" rating in my book.  I
had
asked to purchase the crystal since I couldn't say it was defective since I
may have caused the defect.  That didn't matter to them so long as they had
a satisfied customer.

> It's my first kit ever, and I'm just as pleased as can be!
>
> A am in a bit of trouble though.... I think I'm addicted!

There are a lot worse (and more expensive) things one could get hooked on
but, you have picked a good one.  Personally, I have found ham radio to be
the most rewarding and satisfying hobby that one could have.  Building
things
over the years has been a big portion of the "fun" and being involved in the
emergency work has been another satisfying part.

I think Elecraft has opened the door to some competition.  There are a lot
of other QRP kits out there but, there are only one or two that can come
close to the features that the K1 has all built in.  I do expect there to be
a
change in this hobby as I feel there will be others decide that this too is
"fun" and they don't need to shell out big bucks for the multi-kw amplifier
and 70-ft tower with ump-teen element multiband beam antenna and a receiver
that probably belongs in a lab somewhere.  Way back in high school, I felt
I was at the peak of satisfaction when I got to use my buddies DX40 and
HQ129X on 80m CW and talked to TEXAS of all places!  It's all become
rather "routine" but, the magic will always be there - especially running
5 watts.

73, Paul - NN7B
K1 #1256
Cold Springs, NV.