[Elecraft] KPA-500 Features and Pricing

[Don Wilhelm]

  Jack,

Elecraft pricing has been consistent with what the parts cost AFAIK, 
plus something to recover engineering and development costs, plus a bit 
for profit - and it takes quality parts to build quality equipment.  
Those are the main reasons we cannot know the exact price for the KPA500 
right now - last minute development is still being done, and things are 
likely being lined up to begin determining the component costs, but if 
that is nailed in place too far ahead of availability, and component 
prices go up in the interim, Elecraft would have to take a bite out the 
profits and engineering expense recovery to cover that increased cost.
If you look through the archives, there were a lot of similar requests 
to know the price of the P3 which remained unanswered until the final 
pricing could be announced, and we can expect the same with the KPA100.

Yes, Elecraft could announce a price right now, if enough "padding" were 
added to cover the possibility of increased component costs and possible 
last minute engineering costs - but they do not do that.  I see this as 
an effort by Elecraft to provide the best quality at the best price.  If 
the price were nailed in place early, a lot of development resources 
would be spent trying to figure out how to "cost reduce".  Such cost 
reduction usually results in a compromise in quality.  I believe 
Elecraft is doing it the right way to give us a product that is priced 
as low as possible given the functions/performance and quality that will 
continue to give Elecraft a good name in the marketplace.

Each of us must determine how we spend our money, and we will each make 
our own decisions in part based on our perception of the 
price/performance/quality trio.  There is more to it than just price.  I 
learned at an early age, one should not buy cheap tools - talking mainly 
about the tools of craftsmen - cheap tools wear out quickly, or are made 
with metals too soft for the job, or can actually break  - and - when a 
wrench you are pulling on slips or breaks, it is likely to produce 
physical injury.  Many times a cheap tool turns out to be the most 
expensive if all factors are considered.

So I buy quality tools, not always "top of the line", but still quality 
- I want what I buy to last and perform well over its lifetime.  Others 
may make decisions differently (Harbor Freight sells a lot of tools!).  
I do a lot of repair work on Elecraft gear, and I tend to wear out my #1 
Phillips screwdriver more quickly than most - I replace it every few 
months for two reasons - the new one with its sharper tip edges works 
better (screws don't fall off) so I can be efficient, and I do not want 
to risk rounding out the screws on a client's equipment - it would not 
do for me to buy a mid-priced or inexpensive tool, but then I do not buy 
them at Brookstone either.
There are enough of us in each category to make the KPA500 a viable 
product for Elecraft.  If they did not think so, they would not be 
expending resources on it.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/9/2010 2:44 PM, Jack Brabham wrote:
>    Phil,
>
> No anger with Elecraft, they are my favorite ham company, and I'm quite
> proud of my K3 even if it did take months of research and hair pulling
> to figure out how to get a decent output from it on SSB.
>
> I am concerned, based on the KPA500 rumors, that Elecraft may be
> deliberately pricing themselves out of the average ham's range.  The
> "Oh, it cost so much to produce a product in the USA!" argument doesn't
> hold water either.   Where do you suppose MFJ's are made?  Or for that
> matter the K3?
>
> I'm thinking that if them old southern boys at MFJ can make a /decent
> /amp for around $2/watt, the folks at Elecraft "ought" to be able to
> make a /great /amp for about the same money.  They definitely smoked
> Yaesu and Icom on value postion with the K3.
>