[Elecraft] PCB Board Traces - Redux and Finis

[Mike Morrow]

I wrote:
 > What I am hearing (reading) from several list postings is that the
> only reason PCB diagrams have never been supplied ...is that:
> (1) Someone besides Elecraft has to produce the images, and/or
> (2) It would make manual downloads too large, and/or
> (3) It would require more server capacity, and/or
> (4) it would require more bandwidth.
> BUT whatever happened to the idea of conveying the... information
>    ***** on a simple piece of paper with ink on it *****

Then Ron wrote:
> I can tell you from experience that a simple piece of paper with
> ink on it can be expensive.

and Jim Rogers wrote:
> The scanned board image is not going to show your cold solder joints
> and solder bridges. It might even delay your solution because I would
> just bet you will look at the origin and the destination

and Jim Larsen wrote:
> many of us simply do not need trace images.  While there are quite a
> few Elecraft owners that may like to cut into the traces on their
> equipment, I would bet that way over the majority of us owners do not.

To the last point, I'll say that the PCB trace information is not just
useful for cutting traces, but also for adding components, including those
that Elecraft subsequently adds to later versions of the kit.  For example,
when RF-C78 was added to late K1s, it wasn't easily observable on the PCB
where the best ground connection point for C78 would be for older K1 boards.
(An application note wasn't issued for this, even though Tech Support told
me
C78 should be added to older K1s for 80m operation.)

Nevertheless, I'll add all these to my ever-growing list of reasons why
Elecraft doesn't supply this information.  It makes me appreciate all the
more those kit makers who have overcome all of these serious technical,
logistical, organizational, economic, ergonomic, and sociological
challenges.  : - )   HOWEVER...

Elecraft's official stance has always been that they encourage modification
and experimentation with their products.  Such efforts, even on the simplest
scale, are often made very difficult in the absence of PCB trace
information.

I think the world of the quality of Elecraft engineering and customer
support in all other areas of operation.  The K1 remains by large margin,
for **my** purposes, the best portable QRP rig ever designed.  After using
mine for more than three years, I'm still amazed and impressed by how
capable, mature, and bug-free the design and implementation of even the
earliest K1s like mine were.  BUT...

IMHO, it is **not** optional whether a **kit** maker supplies PCB diagrams
with a kit, as part of the kit.  I've been mentioning this infrequently for
a few years now.  But I get the impression that some would not even agree
that a kit with this info would be better than a kit without.

After this post I'll probably get informed of several more hypothetical
obstacles, so I give up.  I surrender.  I'll never mention this again.
(Hooray, I hear!)  I'm just not enough of a "true believer" to overlook or
rationalize away this very longstanding documentation issue, but I will be
silent on it forevermore.

Dispite our obvious disagreement on this issue, best regards and 73,

Mike / KK5F