[Elecraft] Broken Knobs

[VK4ACB]

G'day Eric

When I assembled my K3,  #5234 (with improved knobs) the problem with 
the concentric knobs was not breakage but taper in the bores of the 
knobs, 7 thou larger on the outer end to the other if I remember 
correctly, this had the effect of throwing the outer (operator) end of 
the knob over in a direction away from the grub-screw when tightened, 
the only way I could make them work freely was to not nest the smaller 
knob inside the moulded relief part of the larger knob, not a big drama 
but being eccentric it is noticeable looking at the front panel, I 
considered asking for replacements but thought the replacements probably 
would be the same so then  I was going to machine up some brass inserts 
myself to fix the problem, yeah right! getting down time when I am not 
using the radio is the problem !

73

Wade VK4WM


On 9/08/2012 2:05 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote:
> Please note that all K3 knobs are warrantied for the life of the 
> radio. We will replace them immediately if they break.
>
> While most K3s never have seen knob breakage, we have seen it on -way- 
> too many radios. We were not happy with this. We went through several 
> evolutions on the concentric knobs as the vendor got their quality 
> under control.  (This is a US vendor, EHC, with a great reputation. We 
> were very frustrated with their issues.) We first added glass fiber 
> fill to strengthen them, which helped a lot, around the time of your 
> rig. They are now made with metal inserts. (We phased those in this 
> year.)
>
> We have seen virtually no breakage on the latest versions of the 
> concentric AF/RF knobs, which are shipping on all new K3s.
>
> Anyone who has broken knobs can contact parts at elecraft.com for free 
> replacements.  If you just want an extra set and do not have breakage, 
> they are very reasonably priced.
>
> 73,
>
> Eric  WA6HHQ
> ---
> www.elecraft.com