[Elecraft] K3 no-soldering kit: response to several comments

[G3SJJ]

I agree 100% with every comment you made, Doug. I purchased my 
K2/100/160/SSB last year at Dayton and got immense pleasure and 
satisfaction out of building it. Receive performance is good but I am 
not convinced it is better than my FT1kMP with Inrad roofing filter and 
2nd & 3rd IF filters. I suspect the skirt selectivity tails off after 
60db down which causes problems in close-in contest working. I think the 
K2 is a fantastic rig for portable and dxpeditions but does lack some 
refinement for high-end contesting.

I went for the K3 for exactly the same reasons as you. I am completely 
confident that the design and manufacture will live up to the standard 
we have all come to expect. For me, I am sure it will enhance the K2 
performance plus provide those additional facilities I felt lacking, 
plus more and more and more.

I don't think assembly down to SMD level on such a complex piece of 
equipment is viable as Wayne points out, nor do I think it is necessary. 
I certainly look forward to having some involvement on its final 
assembly. I think the crew at Elecraft have done and continue to do a 
magnificent job.

Now having said all that ..... I am wondering if I can put my money 
where my mouth is!! At the end of July is the IOTA Contest, if I could 
get hold of my K3 before then I would be willing to invest a further 
$1000 for a trip to Guernsey and active GU8D (24 hr CW DXpedition 
category) as the first contest operation for the K3. (GU8D appeared in 
the top ten multi-op 1996 to 2005.)

Chris G3SJJ





Doug Person wrote:
> Speaking for myself, I'm very pleased with the approach you've taken.  
> While my soldering skills are excellent and I enjoy the building 
> process very much, SMD's are out of the question for me.  In the case 
> of the K3, I save a few hundred $ doing the mechanical assembly - 
> which is great - glad that option is available.
> However, I'm drawn to the K3 not for the kit-building experience, but 
> for its superb design and outstanding performance.  This is my chance 
> to own a truly high-performance rig in a price range I can afford.
>
> To me, the K2 and K3 are apples and oranges.  If you want to build - 
> buy a K2.  You will have a great kit-building experience and a great 
> rig when you're done.  If you want a radio with high-performance - and 
> that is your purchase criteria - then the K3 is for you.  And oh by 
> the way, you can save a few bucks if you do some of the mechanical 
> assembly work yourself.  A bonus feature.
>
> As I'm sure you've heard this over and over - great job on the K3.  
> Can't wait to get mine.  I'm sure you guys feel a great deal of 
> gratification and satisfaction from all of the positive feedback.  The 
> K3 may very well become the benchmark by which other rigs are measured.
>
> 73 es tnx,
>
> Doug -- K0DXV
>
> wayne burdick wrote:
>> We've had a few requests for a "full" K3 kit -- one where the builder 
>> installs all of the parts, including the SMDs (surface mount 
>> devices). Unfortunately this isn't practical for a project of this 
>> complexity. I realize that many of our customers are quite capable of 
>> doing SMD assembly, but many would have difficulty, too, since there 
>> are hundreds of SMDs, many with very fine pitch leads.
>>
>> In order to support a "full" kit, we'd have to stock and kit all of 
>> the SMDs for a small percentage of builders. This would represent a 
>> huge amount of added overhead, since at present the SMDs are shipped 
>> directly from vendors to our assembly facility. In addition, we'd 
>> need a lot of additional documentation and support staff to help with 
>> SMD-related assembly, testing, troubleshooting and repair. I consider 
>> myself a very capable SMD builder, but I occasionally mis-install a 
>> part or leave a joint unsoldered, and troubleshooting such problems 
>> can be very tedious even for the designer!
>>
>> The other request has been for a version of the K3 where the builder 
>> installs all the leaded parts. This, too, would create major 
>> difficulties for a product like the K3. Even if we pre-installed the 
>> SMDs, we wouldn't be able to fully test the PC boards if we didn't 
>> also install the leaded parts, including connectors. Nodal testing 
>> using custom fixtures for each board might get around this, but it 
>> could take another year of engineering time to complete. And we'd 
>> still have problems: a very expensive multilayer board with lots of 
>> SMDs that was damaged during customer assembly would be a serious 
>> liability both for us and the builder.
>>
>> The modular, no-soldering K3 kit will, we hope, be attractive to both 
>> our current customers and to new builders who would never have 
>> attempted to build their own transceiver before. With our 
>> encouragement (and yours), these new builders may go on to try their 
>> hand at our "full" kits. We plan to continue to offer all of our 
>> present kits and will add new ones in the future.
>>
>> 73,
>> Wayne
>> N6KR