[Elecraft] Re: Dare I say? [KX1 builder observations]

[Wayne Burdick]

Hi John,

We work hard to improve our kits over time, and I really appreciate your input.
As a brand-new product, the KX1 will benefit from "shake-down" through its first
few production runs, but only if customers let us know what they'd like to see changed.

On packing: 

We package the kits as required to both protect the parts and prevent
mis-identification. There are far fewer parts in a KX1 than in the K2 or K1,
leading to some reasonable simplifications. But we certainly don't want this to
result in lost or damaged parts. Eric and I will review the way the KX1 is
packed and see if changes are warranted. 

On case height: 

The KX1's dimensions are a careful compromise between portability, ease of
operation, and ease of construction. I wish we could have made it still, but its
present height is the minimum possible given the needs of the builder. Some 300
of the kits have been successfully built, so I feel we've achieved the right
balance. 

On PCB board top/bottom mounting steps:

Ron D'Eau Claire, the author of the KX1 manual, covered this well in his reply.
I believe that once you've completed the unit, you'll find that the small size
justifies the somewhat more labor-intensive assembly and incremental-test
process. When documenging a unit of this type, we err on the side of accurate
assembly to minimize the possibility that any troubleshooting will be required.

That said, we're definitely open to improving specific assembly steps. Please
send me your suggestions.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

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http://www.elecraft.com