[Elecraft] The K3 and "homebrew": view from the E-lab

[Gary Krause]

Good point, Wayne.  I would also like to add that a lot of us build our 
own computers which are also modular and we still get a sense of 
achievement and pride as well as learning how they work.   The world is 
dynamic and things change.

Gary, N7HTS

wayne burdick wrote:
> First, let me say that I like Jim's sliding scale of what constitutes 
> "homebrew" (reproduced at the end of this email from his recent QRP-L 
> posting). Translating that into contest multipliers and 
> building-contest rules is another story.
>
> I've been engaged in "building" at every level of the N2EY Scale. I've 
> designed a lot from scratch (including--with a lot of help from my 
> friends--the K3/K2/K1/KX1/Sierra/SST/NC40A). I've built PCs from 
> modules, built Heathkits, borrowed circuits from Hayward and DeMaw, 
> and tried everything in between, sometimes with comical results. I had 
> *no* clue what I was doing -- at first. The important thing is this: 
> Every level of building is rewarding in its own way, because you have 
> to learn something to do it well.
>
> I have no qualms at all when I see the K3 at #6 on the scale. Skill is 
> still involved: using tools, aligning hardware and panels by eye, 
> calibrating trim-caps, reading instructions. A modular K3 is, clearly, 
> not what you'd think of as homebrew, but it certainly is a kit, and 
> will still take considerable time to complete. I'm content to have the 
> subject debated by the many enthusiastic builders on this list, and 
> will accept your judgment.
>
> But I'll leave you with an interesting story. Once, at a wireless 
> seminar, I had the opportunity to show one of my little projects 
> (NorCal Sierra prototype) to Wes Hayward, W7ZOI. Wes is the famous 
> co-author of Solid State Design, EMRFD, and other books, and was a 
> mentor of mine, though he didn't realize it. At first he tossed a few 
> compliments my way. But then he firmly chided me for having 
> single-handedly stunted the intellectual growth of a generation of 
> potential engineers -- by offering PC boards pre-made!
>
> I countered that I might just have *helped* some future engineers by 
> giving them something cool to start on. Something to stimulate their 
> imagination. And over the years this has proven to be true: I've been 
> contacted by many hams who hadn't built a thing until they'd 
> encountered a kit (one of Doug's, or mine and Eric's, or Bob Dyer's, 
> or Dave Benson's), and had then moved successively higher up the rungs 
> on N2EY's hierarchy.
>
> So when I think about the K3 and its pre-tested, no-soldering modules, 
> I don't see a swath of destruction in the ranks of the technically 
> inclined. I don't see a impending precipitous drop in IQ. Instead, I 
> see hundreds of ordinary folks -- who might never have touched a 
> soldering iron or even a screwdriver -- take their first tentative 
> steps towards learning the skill of building.
>
> With our help (and yours), some of them will make that same leap of 
> faith that we did. They'll modify something. Or fix something. And 
> before you know it, they'll be slapping 0402's on hand-etched 
> microstrips   ;)
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
> * * *
>
> N2EY's homebrew/kit scale:
>
> 1) Homebrew (scratch built): Original unit, designed and built by the 
> ham,
> including circuit design, mechanical layout, coil winding, etc.
>
> 2) Homebrew (article project): More-or-less copy of a project designed 
> and
> documented by others, such as an HBR receiver.
>
> 3) Surplus conversion: Adaptation of an electronic unit meant for one 
> purpose
> to a new purpose, but not a completely new design. Usually applied to WW2
> military surplus but really applies to almost anything, such as 
> land-mobile VHF
> FM rigs converted to ham use.
>
> 4) Semi-kit: Construction of a kit that requires more than electronic
> assembly, such as a QRP rig that consists of a PCB and most parts but 
> leaves the
> chassis and some other details up to the builder. Limited instructions 
> are part of
> the semi-kit class.
>
> 5) Heath-kit: Construction of a kit that requires only electronic 
> assembly
> (and possibly coil winding) from components. Extensive instructions, 
> as in most
> Heathkit and Elecraft products.
>
> 6) PC-kit: Construction of a kit from modules rather than components. 
> Similar
> to building a computer from a pile of goodies, hence the name. 
> Elecraft K3.
>
>
> ---
>
> http://www.elecraft.com
>
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