[Elecraft] New Ham & First Time Builder

[George Winship]

Hi Dan,

    After 20+ years of not soldering any thing more difficult than a
PL-259, my family surprised me with a K2 for my half century birthday.
    Reading many of the helpful articles on the builder resources page
on the Elecraft web site were a tremendous help to get me ready to
build. Especially helpful was Tom's, N0SS, soldering tutorial article.
And there are other articles that are helpful on deciding what tools
that you might need along with construction tips.Zipping through the
reflector archives by subject was also helpful. And solder practice
was a must.
    Here are some things that I found that made my kit-building
experience successful;
    A workplace, well lit, and not needed for anything else, so you
can leave your kit out.
    Some way to keep the parts cataloged for the board you are working
on. I used the bottom half of cardboard egg cartons and labeled each
egg socket with freezer tape. Then when I started a new board I could
put new tape on and reuse the carton.
    A good temp. controlled soldering iron.
    A good solder such as Kester #44
    A wrist ground strap and/or an anti-static mat.
    A good pair of needle nose pliers.
    A good pair of wire nippers to nip those component leads.
    Some sort of magnification. I used an optivisor as it left both
hands free.
    A DVM.
    Patience!!!!
    Check, double check everything.
    Knowing when to quit. Two hours at a time was about my limit.

    I have probably left something important out, but others on the
list will fill you in, I am sure. I found that the boards that came
with the kit were many times easier to solder than the ones I
practiced on.
    Dan, this is the most fun that I have had in ham radio in years.
My K2 just celebrated its first B'Day and it has never given me a
single problem. It was a joy to build and is great fun to operate.
    If you decide to build and you should happen to have a problem,
even if it is just not understanding something in the instuction
manual, there are many talented hams on this reflector who will help
you with whatever you need. And the Elecraft support staff are
wonderful.

    Hoping to hear you on soon with your new Elecraft.

    73,
George, NC5G  K2-2217