[Elecraft] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: "If I get a bad part, will I be stuck?"

[David Y.]

Gary, David, and All,

I did consider the location of the person who originated this thread (DL) 
before posting my original response.  However, I assumed that he certainly 
must have given that some thought before even considering a kit.  In any 
event, as David says, it really doesn't take that long for parts to cross 
the Atlantic based on most of the responses I have seen posted here by folks 
in Europe.

As I understand it, Elecraft has procedures whereby they do check individual 
boards before they ship them.  Am I wrong about that?  I thought I had seen 
that fact stated by Elecraft personnel many times.  Assuming that's the 
case, I would think that the odds of having a "fault" issue are pretty low. 
Over time a few issues have arisen which required slight modifications. 
Those, however, would not necessarily have been corrected on a factory built 
unit before shipment until the fault had actually been identified.  So, my 
further assumption is that a lot of factory built units are out there that 
could "benefit" from a mod or two.  And these mods were usually improvements 
rather than ones that made the difference between a working unit and a 
non-working unit.  The DSP board is a good example of that.

I could only assume that the original inquirer was really asking whether it 
was reasonable for him to expect to be able to self assemble a K3 with a 
high expectation of success.  Most responses, including mine, indicated that 
with reasonable "assembly" skills the answer should be yes.  I don't know 
how to quantify a "reasonable expectation", but I'd guess somewhere in the 
high 90's.

Another thing to consider is that, if a problem should arise, it's extremely 
likely that Elecraft tech support can identify the issue without you having 
to send the whole unit in.  You may only need to replace or change a single 
part, and at worst you could just send the offending board back to them, 
rather than the entire unit.  That's something Ten-Tec really "invented", 
and Elecraft has adopted.  The modular construction of the K3 makes it very 
much easier to swap out problem boards.  That's also another very good 
reason for assembly of your own unit in the first place, since then you 
presumably won't be so hesitant to make such a swap.

I think it is important to emphasize the quality of Elecraft tech support. 
It doesn't come any better!  I've built all the Elecraft transceivers, and 
there have been a few issues (often self inflicted) along the way.  With 
rare exception, folks like Gary Surrency have been able to immediately 
identify the issue, and resolution was nearly immediate.  Another fabulous 
resource is Don Wilhelm, who responds typically to posted issues so fast it 
makes your head swim!  With just about every other piece of equipment I own 
(except, perhaps, for my one Ten-Tec transceiver), if a problem arises I am 
almost certainly faced with the need to send the unit in for repair.  With 
my K3, I am almost certainly NOT going to have to send it in, unless I 
choose to do so.  I challenge everyone to identify a piece of gear they own 
that has better technical support than their Elecraft rig.

One last point, and one that was made earlier.  I glazed  over the 
differential in cost between a factory unit and a kit.  $200 was suggested, 
and I didn't correct it, but it is much more than that, depending on how 
many adds you make to the basic unit.  It will probably be closer to $400 or 
more.  You can do a lot of corresponding and board swapping for that amount, 
even from Europe!  Come to think of it, I bet the whole unit could be sent 
back and forth from Europe for less than that, so why not build it yourself! 
It sure sounds like a gamble worth taking, especially when the odds are so 
much in your favor.

Dave W7AQK


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Ferrington, M0XDF" <M0XDF at Alphadene.co.uk>
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 1:34 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: "If I get a bad 
part,will I be stuck?"


>I considered that, for about 1 minute, when I bought my K3. My fellow
> club members with K2s said there wouldn't be a problem - there wasn't.
> I didn't have any missing parts so can't comment on delivery of those.
> But the K3 shipped via UPS and got here in 2 days (shipped 15-Dec and
> arrived 17th). I found the HexKey I had ordered had been missed out of
> the shipment, Elecraft very apologetic and it shipped and arrived
> within 5 days (considering that was Xmas post time, very good). A mod
> kit I ordered arrived within a few days via USPS (I have to say I'm
> more impressed with US postal service than I am the UKs).
>
> I don't think you'd have to wait long for a missing part in mainland
> Europe. But I expect shippment to some distant rural area might be an
> issue. I would not have thought Canada would be?
> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
> -- 
> Math Anxiety: an intense lifelong fear of two trains approaching each
> other at speeds of 60 and 80 MPH. -Rick Bayan
>
> On 22 Dec 2009, at 03:16, Gary, VE1RGB wrote:
>> Your argument is solid for citizens of the USA.  But life offshore
>> is different and the logistics support system from Aptos, while it
>> cannot be
>> faulted, cannot do anything about the vagaries of postal and
>> transportation
>> and customs and immigration systems which attract delay and cost,
>> sometimes
>> of eye-watering magnitude, to those of us who live elsewhere.
>> Gary, VE1RGB
>
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