[Elecraft] Very Dissatisfied With Elecraft Support

[Jon Perelstein]

I ordered a K1 based that “They all 
 have built-in test equipment to simplify alignment and
testing” (from the Elecraft web site).  Now -- according to Elecraft support -- I have to source
obsolete parts from China, buy drill equipment and copper bathroom pipe, and rip apart my
television (or my computer) to cannibalize printed circuit boards.

Either that or buy an oscilloscope that would cost me more than the K1.

I’m building a 2 band K1 -- 40 meters (band 1) and 20 meters (band 2).  During receiver alignment,
Band 1 (40 meters) seems to be working fine.  Band 2 (20 meters) however, does nothing.  

The support guys are telling me that I have to build an RF probe for further testing, and they’ve
pointed me to a schematic in the K1 user manual and told me to go build the probe from scratch. 
That's about as useful to me as pointing me to the schematic of the K1 and telling me to go build
the K1 from scratch. 

I'm a new ham (March, 2008).  I'm not a home electronic hobbyist.  I don't have test equipment.  I
have no experience at homebrew, nor do I have the knowledge to do so. I bought the K1 as a starter
to get my feet wet in working electronics.
  
After a number of emails with support about how to build an RF probe (a question that was
repeatedly ignored), I was finally referred to a couple of different web sites:

-  The first site starts out with “
 using an old piece of double-sided printed circuit board that
you have in your junk bin 
”.

Where exactly do I have double-sided printed circuit board sitting around?  Do I hacksaw off a
hunk from my television or from my computer?  Radio Shack doesn’t sell it, nor does Mouser.

-  The next site also wants me to use double-sided printed circuit board, plus they want me to
insert it into a copper pipe and drill holes through the pipe.

Riiiight 
 so in other words I have to go out and buy a drill that’s capable of drilling through
copper.  And I have to buy the copper pipe and end caps.  Will I have to get the pipe threaded in
order to mount the end caps?

-  Then there’s the site that built the RF probe inside a ball-point pen.  The author of that site
admitted that it took him a number of tries before he was able to build it without breaking the
diode, and that this is a project for the more advanced hobbyist.

It also turns out that nobody carries the diode specified by the schematic (1N34A).  According to
Mouser, it’s obsolete and out of stock, but if I want to pay a couple of hundred bucks, they’ll
gladly source it from China.  Mouser will sell me something that they claim is a replacement for
the 1N34A, but all of the web sites I've been referred to tell me not to use that specific
replacement.

I bought a kit because it comes with all the parts, has a pre-built chassis, has pre-drilled
holes, and includes complete and well-thought out instructions on how to mount everything  -- as
well as a commitment to provide support during the construction process.

Maybe in two or three years I'll have the experience to build my own RF probe, but in the meantime
I'm stuck with a K1 that I can't finish without an RF probe, and there's no way that I can build
an RF probe without a trip to China.  

Anybody want a mostly complete K1?  Make me an offer -- I'll even throw in shipping.

Jon 
KB1QBZ