[Elecraft] K3 Deposit Clarification - just curious

[Ed Muns]

> Just curious - other than placing an order early to get 
> earlier delivery, from whence cometh the obsession with a low 
> S/N?  The guy who flies the S/N 0001 aircraft is called a 
> "Test Pilot" and generally makes more money than a vanilla 
> "Pilot," for good reasons.  I ordered my K3 last month, and 
> with all the reflector traffic about firmware revisions, 
> downloading, and version control, I'm hoping my S/N will be 
> high enough that things Aptos-wise will have stabilized some. 
>  Am I missing something important here?

Some people place an emotional value on a low serial number.  It identifies
them as an early adopter.  Others abhor the "early adopter" scenario and
want a product already wrung out by the company and its early adopters.
Some people are just eager to get their hands on a great radio and USE it!

With the K3 and Elecraft in general, I have little worry about the integrity
of early serial numbers.  Field test hardware changes were very few and
minor.  Hardware changes since production shipments have been negligible if
at all.  Since the K3 is so heavily firmware-based, that's where the most
changes occur and will continue to occur.  The "hassle" is 2-3 minutes of
downloading, hardly a concern.**  I see no reason to wait for firmware to
"stabilize" or to somehow be more interested in a future K3 than in a
current one.

73,
Ed - W0YK

**  Recent reflector traffic regarding the Loader applet and firmware
revisions can all be ignored if one simply makes sure he is using the latest
Loader on the Elecraft web site.  The Loader automatically manages the
firmware revisions, reading the K3 and downloading the latest versions.
Going back to prior revisions is a few more steps, but easy to do if
desired.