[Elecraft] Is the K2 old technology

[Joe Planisky]

> SMT is now the norm in industry and DIP is outdated. [...] Sooner or  
> later nearly all the DIP IC's will be not available on the market.

If it becomes a matter of form factor only (i.e. the chips are only  
available in SMT format,) SMT-to-DIP adapter boards are readily  
available.  Just search for "DIP adapter" on your favorite search  
engine.

> As far as maintainability, I see no insurmountable challenges. [...]  
> Elecraft is too small a company to manufacture any part that is not  
> easily reversed engineered.

Except for one: firmware.  Without source code, it would be pretty  
difficult to reverse engineer the functionality in the various  
microcontrollers in any rig.  And there are legal issues to consider  
as well.  I'm confident that as long as Wayne, Eric, et al. are in  
charge, replacement uC parts will remain available.  But those guys  
won't be in charge forever.  The next batch of folks who control  
Elecraft might not be as conscientious. :-)

I'm not quite sure why the thought of a uC chip failure making my K2  
unrepairable bothers me so much.  I have lots of other electronic  
devices that rely on custom chips or embedded software for their  
functionality, and yet the thought of them becoming useless because of  
a uC failure doesn't concern me.  For some reason, with my ham rigs it  
feels different.

73
--
Joe KB8AP



On Jan 11, 2010, at 7:11 AM, Conway Yee wrote:

> N8XMS writes:
>> First, is the K2 "long in the tooth"?  Am I spending a significant
>> amount of money on technology that is on it's way to being obsolete?
>
> W9ILF writes:
>> Much of it comes from the fact this reflector seems to be 95% K3  
>> talk.
>
> I've been thinking about this thread for awhile.  Is the K2 outdated
> technology?  I would say yes almost without equivocation.
>
> Ham radio in general is outdated.  I have a cellphone in my pocket  
> that
> has <<1 watt output and gives CONFIDENT point-to-point communication
> around the world under virtually all reasonable circumstances.  The
> Internet also gives much more convenient worldwide communication.  The
> only advantage ham radio has in communication in the absence of
> intervening infrastructure.
>
> The construction of the K2 is also outdated technology.  The IC  
> choices
> are now increasingly difficult to find (in any form factor as the  
> designs
> themselves are getting discontinued).  SMT is now the norm in  
> industry and
> DIP is outdated.  Software defined radio rather than hardware is now
> becoming the norm.
>
> The K2 is the state of the art in ONLY an extreme niche.   
> Specifically it
> is likely the highest performing hardware radio that is available for
> construction by a hobbyist from the component level.  Given technical
> advances in electronics, it is likely to remain the state of the art  
> for
> the foreseeable future.
>
> As far as maintainability, I see no insurmountable challenges. After  
> all,
> there are Model T and Delorean clubs keeping those cars on the  
> road.  With
> the Internet available, communication with enthusiasts are easier than
> with newsletters (e.g. FoxTango).  Elecraft is too small a company to
> manufacture any part that is not easily reversed engineered.  Sooner  
> or
> later nearly all the DIP IC's will be not available on the market.  At
> this point, since the technology used in the K2 was relatively  
> generic, we
> will figure out that the chips (say 612 or the 3150) was used in  
> massive
> quantities in a Sony Walkman or a Technics audio amplifier.  Ebay  
> prices
> on such items will be negligible and Elecraft enthusiasts can buy  
> someone
> else's junk for pennies on the dollar.
>
> tnx.
> Conway Yee, N2JWQ