[Elecraft] Kit or factory assembled K3?

[Dyarnes]

Dick,

My first inclination would be to say "do the kit".  As others have said, 
it's not terribly difficult--more assembly than anything, and you just put 
it together piece by piece.  Perhaps the most laborious part of the process 
is doing a careful inventory of the parts, and arranging them logically so 
you put the right screw in the right hole!  As one guy once said to me about 
assembling the K3, "if you can pump gas, you can put this together!"  An 
exaggeration, and he was joking of course, but he was primarily being 
complimentary to the very excellent engineering that went into this rig.

However, you add the admonition about your age, which should give me, or 
anyone else, some hesitancy.  The fact you are even contemplating the kit 
suggest to me that your age is not a terribly limiting factor.  I know lots 
of folks in that age range who could do this kit nicely, and hopefully you 
fit that category.  The main thing would be decent eyesight.  You have to be 
reasonably careful to make sure you align pins into connectors, etc.  So, 
with due respect to your years, and knowing my eyesight isn't as good as it 
once was, I would at least give you that caution.

There is no soldering involved, and all the parts fit nicely together--some 
take a little coaxing, but they do fit neatly.  I compare this project, 
somewhat, to putting a computer together from the various boards and large 
components.  It's probably a little more complex than that, primarily due to 
the close fitting of components, but with care and patience, it works.

I would urge you to go through the assembly manual, which is available 
online, and see if anything jumps out at you as being potentially 
problematic.  Also, you could always get a 2nd pair of eyes to follow along 
as you do it, which would greatly reduce the chance for any problems.

It's rewarding to do stuff like this yourself, but then again, it doesn't 
make a lot of sense to be "penny wise and pound foolish."  If you have been 
doing any "constructing" lately, I'd guess it would be no problem. 
Otherwise, see what you think based on the manual.

Dave W7AQK