[Elecraft] K3 #6150

[David Gilbert]

I certainly agree with your overall sentiment.   It beats me why 
Elecraft would continue to use a parts vendor that produces knobs with 
such horrible quality control.   Three years is a ridiculous amount of 
time for any supplier to get its act together.

My AF/RF knobs had the cracking problem, and while Elecraft did quickly 
replace them I bought the machined aluminum knobs from Mouser anyway and 
I love them.  They have a very solid feel to them and I actually like 
the fact that they stick out.  They don't stick out any more than the 
main VFO knob, and since I am right handed they are easier for my hand 
to quickly access past the other four small knobs.

73,
Dave   AB7E

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> -----Original Message-----
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of NZ8J
> Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 1:04 AM
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [Elecraft] K3 #6150
>
>
> K3/100 kit sn 6150 arrived yesterday just in time for the weekend.  Took
> my time today and it went together in about 8 hours, with no significant
> issues. Everything worked according to the manual as I expected. There
> is one issue that is somewhat irritating though.  The AF and RF knobs
> cannot be "nested" as they should be to fit properly. In order to be
> able to turn the AF gain or RF gain without having them catch on the
> larger respective SUB knobs they have to be pulled out so they won't
> catch. They are visibly out of alignment.
>
> A quick search of the archives revealed a rather long 2 /1/2 year old
> thread about some defective knobs.  The gist of the thread was not so
> much about them cracking or breaking as some had experienced, it was
> because they were "off center" and would not allow for a proper
> installation. Apparently whatever the issue was, it is still there 2 1/2
> years later as the one I received yesterday has the same problem.
>
> It's hard to understand how a product can be so well designed and the
> manufacturing tolerances so close (take the cabinet parts and pieces as
> one example) but yet something as seemingly simple as a plastic knob
> some 2 1/2 years after an in-depth discussion that Elecraft was part of
> are still being manufactured and delivered out of tolerance. I don't
> have a problem with the intended look or feel of the knobs, I think they
> are fine, just the fact they turn out so badly in many cases and detract
> from the end product.
>
> I was having a lot of fun putting this together today until I got to the
> part where I installed the knobs, big disappointment!
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> I have a set of the Mouser  machined aluminum knobs and although they
> are smooth and have a nice feel they just don't match the rest of the
> knobs to my liking, I wonder if anyone has come up with an alternative
> to the Mouser knobs?
>
> Tim
> NZ8J
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> K3 - 6150
> P3- 1775
> KPA500 - 618
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