[Elecraft] Time to Move On

[n2ey at aol.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: Darwin, Keith <Keith.Darwin at goodrich.com>

>My K2 was a kit.  I spent a month or so building it.  I've spent the
>last 18 months operating it.  Beauty of operation pays dividends long
>after the joy of building has ended.

>Like I say, I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around this one.

I think it has to do with how much of oneself goes into the process.

At one end of the spectrum would be a kit that was a box of parts, a 
schematic,
and maybe a layout drawing or two. Lots of soldering, coil-winding, 
etc. Maybe even require you to drill some holes.

On the other end would be a kit that involves mounting a couple of 
components and nothing else.

 From what I can see, the K3 requires a bit more assembly than building 
a PC. No soldering - same as a PC. And for the same reasons.

It would have been great if the K3 could have been built with all 
through-hole components on conventional boards that we could 
stuff'n'solder, just like the K2. I think if that were practical, it 
would have been done.

--

None of this is really new, though. Heathkit's famous SB line used 
prepackaged crystal filters, prepackaged LMOs in a "do not open" box, 
and a preadjusted first-IF bandpass transformer. And that was over 40 
years ago.

Even earlier, the Heath RX-1 "Mohawk" receiver came with a 
preassembled, prealigned front-end module that you just bolted onto the 
chassis and hooked up. Tuning cap & coils, bandswitch, several tubes, 
etc., all done for you.

73 de Jim, N2EY

(didn't we have this discussion before?)
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