[Elecraft] Dare I say?

Sun Jan 11 17:53:00 2004

Hey John, Sorry to hear your dismay, Please let me say I'm advid builder of
'small' circuits and yes it's a pain to be constantly be flipping your work
180* - BUT using a PanaVise or small drill press vise to hold your board
seems to solve the prob. BUt in order to get circuits into small foot print
you gota go 3D. Making the case bigger is less desiable IMHO. I wished they
actually made it smaller and had more SMD parts for ME to install! Or packed
the components closer together to save space! I prefer the smallest rig I
can build - be it from scratch ot kit! Man, I'm talking shirt pocket radio
here friend! I know I should build a custom rig but time-wise the KX1 is
gonna come very close to meeting my needs. ANd beat anything I could sratch
together feature-wise!!

The true is I think E-craft did an admirable job considering the design
specs and keeping it kit friendly! They leveraged a lot of what they learned
from the K2/K1 into super small footprint. The features in this little KX1
are amazing! It drives like a big rig performance wise. As far as packaging
parts I'm sure if the parts were static sensitive they'd packed in the black
foam? Keeping the cost down so we stingy hams will buy their product is key
element to their success and Price/Quality/Service formula. That's what the
free-market dictates. I'd say they're doing a good job at it from my
perspective. YMMV & MHO ~ Steve/n0tu (owner/builder of K2/K1/KX1)

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Mori" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2004 2:29 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Dare I say?

> Hello to all:
>
> I am in the process of building the KX1. I have previously built a K1, a
> K2, and repaired and finished a K2 for an elderly friend. Dare I say that
I
> am not as satisfied with this kit as with the others. Why?
>
> 1. I was not happy with the packaging. I really don't like the power
> transistor and other transistors thrown in the bag with the general
> hardware.  What happened to the careful packaging I remember? You have an
> envelope for the serial number sticker but none for the final transistor?
>
> 2. I find the construction "clunky".  I find that I am spending a lot of
> time worrying about the height of the components when it seems that a
> slightly larger case would have solved all the problems. I don't think a
> slightly taller case would have resulted in less sales.
>
> 3. The board needs to be flopped constantly to install the components. It
> is worse than a fish flopping on the bottom of a boat.
>
> 4. It is not a joy to have the board constantly pivoting on the encoder
> shaft.  Many of the solder joints are made at a 45 degree angle. Nothing
> wrong with it I guess, just "clunky".
>
> 5. Finally, I scratch my head at the sequencing of some of the parts in
> terms of room to move the solder iron around.
>
> I have read on this forum that some consider this a good kit for someone's
> first try at kit building. I would rather build a K1 than the KX1.
>
> I have worked one ham who had the KX1 and it did sound great. Maybe that
is
> the final reward. However, sometimes small is not better, it is just
> smaller, and "clunkier".
>
> John
> N8TA
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list: [email protected]
> You must be subscribed to post to the list.
> To subscribe or unsubscribe see:
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Elecraft Web Page: http://www.elecraft.com
> Also see: http://www.elecraft.com/elecraft_list_guidelines.htm
>