[Elecraft] New Builder

[Mychael Morohovich AA3WF]

Ryan KJ7OT wrote,"I'm thinking of getting a K1. I've never built anything
before, and I  was wondering if this is a good idea, or if I would be
wasting my time and money."

Welcome, Ryan-

Building a K-rig a waste of time and money?! Never!!!! This kit building
stuff is fun (as well as addictive) and could be considered neither a bad
pastime nor a way to squander away the savings.

From reading this list the past few years I have noted that more than a few
builders have gotten their start with an Elecraft product. With interest,
patience, and good attention to detail, I believe that anyone should be
successful in producing a working Elecraft radio from a kit. Though not
strictly necessary, a good temperature controlled solder station can be a
boon and provide some peace of mind by giving you one less thing to worry
about.

That said, I think that while the K1 would be an excellent first kit for an
aspiring builder,  perhaps it is not the best place to learn how to melt
solder. For a warm up, you can go to any Radio Shack and get some perf board
and a few resistors, caps, etc. and get a little practice working with the
solder iron. It couldn't hurt. I believe that some have found a noise
generator a helpful piece of test equipment; it would also make an
inexpensive and useful warm up project. I did not build one, but if you
express interest in this I am sure someone will supply the details.

Also, with this list and the excellent Elecraft tech support available to
you as resources, you really cannot go too far astray before someone sets
you right. The only trouble is that building radios is a lot like eating
potato chips. Once you start...

Mychael AA3WF
K2#1025