[Elecraft] Why I won't purchase K3

[Rick Stealey]

Don't think of it as a kit.  Just consider that Elecraft offered you a way to save $200 by doing some of 
the labor that they would have to do on your part.
They built the subassemblies, they incorporated into the design a way to do an automatic alignment 
(an amazing thing to see in action, by the way).  This made it possible for you to have the exact
same radio if you assemble it as if they did.  So if you want to work for $25 an hour they will
employ you for 8 hours.
XYL and I took the $200 savings.  I read the book and she put it together.  She had never built
anything in her life before.  She doesn't feel like she built a high tech product.  All she learned
was the difference between a 4-40 and a 6-32 screw.  
But she has a little bit of a fondness for the K3.
Rick  K2XT