[Elecraft] Surface Mount tech et. al.

[Morrow, Michael A.]

-----Original Message-----
From: tlogan7@cox.net

> Could this mean  that the next level of Elecraft evolution 
> could be based on SM technology and utilize some of the Orion
> type concepts? 

I would really *like* to see the introduction of kits with many
surface mount parts AS LONG AS THOSE PARTS ARE PRE-ASSEMBLED
on the PCB.  SM parts are not designed for Human installation
except in the most limited and (to me) trying of circumstances.
Pre-assembled SM parts would make the kit parts inventory process
easier, reduce the amount of time spent in the (to me) mind-numbing
process of sticking fixed-value resistors and capacitors on a
PCB for hours at a time, reduce the opportunity for builder error,
and result in a product that would likely be more reliable.

The MFJ Cub is the only kit available that has (to me) a nearly
ideal proportion of parts that are pre-assembled to parts that
must be assembled to the PCB.  The driver transistor and a few
other parts should not have been SM components, but overall the
hybrid concept is pretty good in the MFJ Cub.

Were only a few SM parts required to be assembled, as on the
S.W.L. DSW or Rock-Mite, that would be OK.  But any kit that
would require more than that would definitely NOT be a kit in
which I'd be interested.

Mike / KK5F