[Elecraft] Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

[David Ferrington, M0XDF]

Well, I think I was going to do all mine in one go because Matt had  
said he did them all.
But my original thought was to do one at a time to be sure each was  
working.
So I'll go back to the 1 piece at a time..

didn't Johnny Cash write a song about that?
:-)
-- 
I am told I talk in shorthand and then smudge it. - J.R.R. Tolkien  
(1892 - 1973)

On 7 Apr 2009, at 15:55, Matt Zilmer wrote:

> I'm with Ron on this, although I did a set of 8 mods all at one
> sitting.  K3 #24 started life as a K3/10 kit and over time I've
> nickel-and-dime loaded it up almost to maxed out configuration.  It's
> been apart almost as much time as it's been sitting in the shack
> running.  But probably no one beats Ron's 100-cycle record...
>
> The hardware (ELX) is very robust and overdesigned;  same with the ME
> hardware - panels, screws, etc.  You won't gork anything up by
> disassembling the K3 if you do it corectly - no matter how many times
> you open 'er up.  Disassembly and reassembly actually gets easier over
> time.  This is true both subjectively and objectively.
>
> Just be sure you have the proper tools and follow the take-apart and
> put-together instructions.
>
> The idea someone had about doing only one mod at a time is a good one
> because it lets you check the results before moving on to the next
> mod.  However, I'm not that patient... :)
>
> 73,
> matt W6NIA
> K3 #24
> K2 #2810
>
> On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:41:42 -0700, you wrote:
>
>> ...how many times do you want to strip down the rig with
>> the risk that implies to fastener failure, static damage, scratches  
>> etc?
>> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------
>>
>> However, the K3 was designed to be worked on easily! My K3 has been  
>> apart
>> many, many times, sometimes all the way down to the RF board. The  
>> number
>> assembly/disassembly cycles is easily approaching 100 times over  
>> the past
>> two years. I've had no fastener failures, no connector problems, no  
>> ESD
>> failures, no scratched panels, no issues of any sort.*
>>
>> Wayne specifically ordered the build sequence to provide for one-at- 
>> a-time
>> option installations for exactly the reason Fred mentions. The kit  
>> assembly
>> manual does include preparing the K3 for adding several options to  
>> minimize
>> the work needed later. For example, if you're building it with the  
>> 100 watt
>> KPA3 option, you put in the rear (KPA3) shield during initial  
>> assembly. If
>> you're building it and installing the subreceiver (KRX3) option,  
>> you install
>> the auxiliary DSP board in the front panel assembly during initial  
>> assembly.
>>
>>
>> There are other examples of such preparatory work, all covered in  
>> the kit
>> assembly manual, as specifically ordered by Wayne to avoid  
>> complicating
>> troubleshooting should there be a problem at some point while still
>> minimizing the amount of work needed to add each option.
>>
>> Ron AC7AC
>>
>> * Monitoring this and the K3 support reflector, the only issue I've  
>> seen
>> brought up by builders is when some over tighten screws or use the  
>> wrong
>> size/type screwdriver, causing their drivers to "cam out",  
>> sometimes putting
>> small scratches on the screw head. That's avoided by tightening the  
>> screws
>> as described in the assembly manual and being sure you use a  
>> screwdriver
>> that fits the screw snugly.
>>