[Elecraft] Don, you're a genius! (Poor soldering)

[Bill Coleman]

On Feb 28, 2006, at 12:31 PM, Darwin, Keith wrote:

> What a great idea.  I should have thought of that.  Time to place an
> order for a mini kit!  That will help me answer questions such as  
> "do I
> really want to try to build a K2/100 or not".

While the economies of automated manufacturing have all but  
eliminated the electronic kit manufacturing industry, there is  
another kit industry that is doing quite well -- kit aircraft.

In this industry, it is extremely common for manufacturers to offer  
"start" kits. Van's Aircraft, for example, offers "tail" kits for a  
number of their aircraft. That way, you can get a component, learn  
the construction techniques and see if you think you can actually  
build the thing without having to spring $10-25,000 for an entire  
kit. And, if you decide to continue, what you've built is a useful  
part of the final product. Typical "start" kits like this are 5-10%  
the price of the whole deal.

Elecraft kits are a lot smaller investment, so there's probably not  
the similar incentive. The mini-kits are a good start choice,  
although they aren't part of the final unit.


Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901