[Elecraft] Stainless Steel Screws

[Merv Schweigert]

  I am one who purchased the SS screw kit and was happy with what I 
received,
the cabinet screws are not some shiny SS off the shelf screws as some have
suggested.  they are plated black,  and also you receive most if not all 
of the
interior fasteners and screws, washers etc.  I would like to see you 
find all those
parts and standoffs etc for 20 bucks in single pieces.

My K3 screws rusted in a couple months,  Elecrafts fault? not at all, 
its the
KH6 enviroment,  I live in trade wind breeze and anything in the house 
is rusted
in short order,  replacing qppliances every 3 or 4 years is normal 
unless you
buy SS.

When I replaced the hardware on mine I found the same as Don,  nothing on
the inside was corrorded or rusted.  All was like new.  I keep the radio 
covered
when not in use, its in a windowless room,  no A/C or heat needed year 
round.

I have several other radios in the shack,  a couple Japanese and another 
American,
and all the American radios screws rusted,  the Japanese after 10 years
have not,  so draw your own conclusions.
I have no gripe buying a SS kit for my enviroment,  its part of Paradise 
as I am
told with all other extreme expenses associated with island living.

73 Merv KH7C /  K9FD   Molokai Island Hawaii

>    Dave,
> I have repaired a couple K2s that have lived in corrosive environments -
> I recall one from the Houston, Texas area and another from Panama.
> There were signs of corrosion on the exterior - all the case screws were
> corroded and even the body of the BNC antenna jack and the exposed part
> of the key jack.
> In both cases, I expected to find similar conditions inside, but to my
> surprise, the interior parts were just fine even though there are holes
> in the K2 enclosure for options that were not installed.
>
> I cannot say that the K3 will be immune from harm in a salt air
> environment, but my experience with these K2s indicate that internal
> damage will not be as great a problem as one could imagine.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 10/19/2010 2:00 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
>>     If you're
>> exposing your K3 to an atmosphere malignant enough to corrode the screws
>> it seems to me that you have bigger issues to worry about inside the
>> rig.  Whether the screws are corroding due to the combination of
>> moisture and dissimilar metals (steel and aluminum), or due to the
>> combination of moisture and corrosive ions (salt atmosphere, air
>> pollution, etc), why wouldn't essentially the same thing be happening to
>> the components and circuit boards?
>>
>> Maybe the stock screws should be thought of as a "fuse" (weakest link)
>> to let you know that you're doing something wrong.
>>
>> Dave   AB7E
>>
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