[Elecraft] Why I won't purchase K3

[Edward R. Cole]

Doug has it right.

Home built means accumulating the parts and assembling them.  A kit 
has the parts packaged for you by someone else, usually with a 
premade board and instructions.  The K3-kit satisfies that 
description but is closer to the manufactured end of the kit spectrum.

But I do not think hams should feel less if they do not build the 
system modules of their station.  One still has the assembly of a 
station into a functioning whole.

Surface-mount technology is where the state of the art is at.  Very 
little electronics is component-level construction.

As an example in my station:
I have non-kit FT-847 and FT-817; plus the K3/10 (kit) and several 
Downeast Microwave transverter kits (sm level).  Then there is the 
station control I designed and built (HB) but used a pcb board from a 
different application since it nicely mounted the 14 DPDT 
relays.  The controller has 17 switches, 7 indicators, three sub-D9, 
two sub-D25 and ten RCA jacks.

My station has 20 coax lines out of the shack to 17 antennas on bands 
from 600m to 2.4 GHz.

My latest little HB project is a transverter to convert 10.461 MHz to 
0.461 MHz.  I borrowed the design with some modification and mounted 
the components on a RS project board that fits in a small aluminum 
box.  About three hour project after the parts were rounded up.

I will be adding a second IF to my K3 sub-Rx and the prototype 
ext-ref for the TCXO-3.  One is following other's directions and the 
later could be called a kit (from Elecraft).

So one can do as much or little in the assembly of a station.  Its 
your choice.  We all share the hobby in the way we please.

Now I got to go out and feed the sled dogs!  (back in 1983 I built a 
dog sled from scratch even sawing and planing the wood from a rough 
timber - is that HB?)

73, Ed

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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2011 17:29:38 -0000
From: "Doug Turnbull" <turnbull at net1.ie>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Why I won't purchase K3
To: "'David Gilbert'" <xdavid at cis-broadband.com>,
         <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Message-ID: <E1AF82B35120460981DDDA3F09272ECB at DOUG1>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

Hi All,
     No criticism of Elecraft as I am a convert to the K3 but building your
own means home brew not building a kit.   Heathkits, were always fun and yes
you learned something from the step by step assembly but never so much as
you learned from scrounging exchange parts, laying out the chassis, drilling
cutting filing and building from scratch.   A design of your own takes
things even further down this path but even using a magazine article project
counts as home brew but not kits.

      I like kits, I like my assembled K3 and I like home brew but have not
done any not in a shameful length of time.   Forgive an old goat of 51 years
in the hobby.   I do understand that the K2 does involve more work than many
a kit including some coil winding.   Elecraft makes good gear and good kits.
Mechanical assembly of the K3 may well help when trouble shooting in future.

                73 Doug EI2CN




73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45
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