[Elecraft] K3 Broken AF knob and bad service to geta replacement.

[Matt Zilmer]

People will change the ID any way they want.  If that includes
changing knobs to something that wasn't custom designed, seems like
there's nothing to be done.  There was someone who put on a bluish
sidelight some time ago, and another that modified control labels.
Even one that stenciled something on the LCD panel lens...

Personally I like the knob set on the K3 as-is.  Reasons:

- Aesthetics.  Surface and groove radius are similar to the K3
enclosure.

- Just the right size.  YMMV here.

- Proper weighting, meaning torque to turn, and initial stiction.

- Deep enough to operate using finger tips or pads, but no so deep
that they change the unit's depth dimension by too much.

- Frobbing of the VFO knobs (both, imho) allows enough play to spin
them.  So the flywheel effect is about right.  You can adjust
"flywheel-ability" to suit yourself.

- Fine control just takes getting used to.  Same on any rig.

All in all, a good compromise between cost, look & feel, size, and
human engineering.  

Just my $0.02.  Don't start a flame war over this.  It's not worth it.
73,
matt W6NIA
K3 #24, K2 #2810

On Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:36:04 -0800, you wrote:

>I may be biased (I designed the K3's knobs, switches, LCD, and  
>packaging with intent to have everything match, aesthetically), but I  
>strongly recommend *not* changing the knobs to anything else.
>
>If you're only doing it because you have one that's defective, please  
>request a replacement from Elecraft. We had a batch manufactured with  
>the wrong material, and I thought we had sent replacements to all  
>affected K3 owners, but perhaps not.
>
>If you're doing it because you'd like machined aluminum knobs rather  
>than plastic, send me a private email telling me how much you'd be  
>willing to pay for a complete set of them :)  It is certainly possible  
>to have them made from aluminum, but the cost would be dramatically  
>higher. Off the top of my head I'm guessing it would have added  
>$150-200 to the cost of the radio.
>
>Mouser aluminum knobs (or any other off-the-shelf knobs) will not  
>match the K3. I'd rather design new ones from scratch.
>
>But I personally like the molded plastic knobs, which are easy on the  
>fingers.
>
>73,
>Wayne
>N6KR
>
>
>Paul at N4LCD.com wrote:
>
>>> To be honest I don't think they suit the look of the K3. They don't  
>>> even
>>> match the other knobs. It might be a solution in ten years time  
>>> when a knob
>>> breaks and Elecraft doesn't make them any more, but that's the  
>>> situation I'd
>>> really like to avoid.
>
>
>
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