[Elecraft] New K2 kit

Wed Apr 28 18:41:04 2004

 As a variation on that, I get several sheets of printer paper and write
each type of item I'm going to be looking for (from the inventory list).  I
put all the resisters on one sheet (or more if needed), all the caps on
another etc.

Then as I inventory, I put them all on their respective piles like you said.
But when I'm done with the inventory, I count each pile to see how many I
have vs how many I should have.  So using your example, my 68 pf pile will
be short and my 680 pf pile will be long.

THEN I carefully tape each pile to the paper.  I tape it in such a way that
I can pull out one when I'm ready for it.

The disadvantage is that I sometimes have several sheets of paper.  (I can't
imagine how many with the K2 kit <grin>.)

The advantage is that 1) you get them sorted, 2) you get them inventoried,
3) you know where you are short early on, 4) if you can only work for short
periods of time and then you have to pick up the building session and put it
way (to please the XYL/SWMBO (SWMBO= She Who Must Be Obeyed), you can
carefully stack the sheets and put the stack in a safe box ready to pulled
the next evening you can work, and 4) if all your pages or empty when you
get done, you have not missed anything.  Well, in theory anyway.

Have done this with numerous kits.  Have NOT done it with a K2 yet.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] 
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John R. Lonigro
> Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 5:28 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] New K2 kit
> 
> Greetings, fellow Elecraft builders:
> 
> Say you have a large pile of small unsorted parts and need a 
> 68 pfd capacitor (for example). You have to search those tiny 
> parts for the right one, which might take some time 
> considering the hundreds of parts involved. Then say you need 
> a 680 pfd capacitor. You might have seen that one while 
> looking for the 68, but now you have to dig through the pile 
> again to find it. Each time you find a part, the pile gets 
> smaller, but think of the time wasted doing it this way. 
> Rather than do that, just grab a part at random, read its 
> value, and put it in a pile with identical parts. You've 
> looked at each part just once and they are all sorted. Count 
> them and check off the inventory. When a part is called for, 
> grab one from the correct pile, double check it is the 
> correct one, and install it. This has got to save time. After 
> the first few nights, you may not have even plugged in your 
> soldering station, but you have made significant progress.
> 
> Another benefit to sorting and inventorying: Assume you have 
> four 68 pfd capacitors and three 680 pfd capacitors. If you 
> make a mistake and install a 680 where a 68 belongs, you will 
> eventually come up short a 680 pfd. This will be obvious if 
> you sorted them in advance. If you didn't you may search the 
> pile of unsorted parts several times before you realize the 
> correct part is not there. Then you have to ask yourself, 
> "Did I install one wrong or was the part missing all along?" 
> If you took inventory, you'd know the answer.
> 
> FWIW
> 
> John AA0VE
> 
> > Sverre Holm wrote:
> >
> >> Am I abnormal here on this list? A K2, K1 or KX1 can actually be 
> >> built without doing inventory first. The resistors have even been 
> >> sorted from the factory, so if you inventory them by removing them 
> >> from the straps you create a lot of extra work.
> >
> >
> > I agree that you shouldn't remove the resistors from the 
> tape (in the 
> > case of those kits in which the tape is provided). But 
> otherwise, the 
> > inventory does not waste time, it SAVES time! That is because, at 
> > least in my case, assembly goes much more smoothly when I can just 
> > pick the part I need without having to search for it. This 
> more than 
> > makes up for the time taken in the inventory process. I use a 
> > combination of muffin tins (for hardware, capacitors of 
> similar value, 
> > etc.), and foam to hold parts.
> >
> 
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