[Elecraft] Why Upgrade (Was: Re: New K3 Syn)

Mon Mar 2 13:50:03 EST 2015

Dave:

You raise an interesting question, and the answer depends upon the underlying premise that drives your decisions.

If you presume that indeed you plan to sell the rig in a couple of years and that best way to sell a rig in the future is to have it "current" when you place it on the market, then presumably that means purchasing upgrades prior to placing it on the market.  The question then becomes "buy the upgrade now or buy later?"  The answer depends upon how you view the benefits of the upgrades:

1.  Buy it now before potential prices increases later for those upgrades.  There is no guarantee that today's prices will remain unchanged (labor, materials and other costs of production do change) so this is an assumption that the likelihood is that prices will go probably go up.

2.  Recognize that the future value of the radio may be enhanced by adding the upgrade, but the "net value" of that rig will likely not increase as much as the cost of the upgrade.  "Depreciation" coupled with the recognition that there is likely no warranty carry forward if the upgrade is installed by the prior seller means that the value to the buyer is less than what you paid for it.  In other words, you'll get more for the rig, but the numbers may not offset the cost of the upgrade itself.  

3.  If you're going to install the upgrade at some point in the future anyway and you can afford to pay for it now, why not do the upgrade sooner rather than later?  That way you'll also gain the benefit of the improvement for the remaining time that you own that rig, offsetting to some degree the "cost" of that upgrade through the enjoyment of those enhancements.  This rationale is similar to your comment about making the purchase because you want the benefit of the upgrade.  I'm adding to that sentiment by suggesting that if the purchase will definitely be made at some point, it is better to do so sooner rather than later so that you can benefit from it as well.

4. After using the enhancements it may be conceivable that the capabilities of the "new rig" may preclude the desire to sell it, thus avoiding the pain and suffering of placing it on the market in the first place and then going through the process of deciding what to get next.  

5.  Even if we decide not to do the upgrades and later sell the rig, the relative value of the "base case" is likely enhanced versus other products because the buyer has the option to add the enhancements.  The rig is not locked into only those capabilities that existed at the time of production.

The same approach should be considered in other major transactions.  For example, if you know that you'l be selling your home in 3-5 years and recognize that some enhancements are needed to improve the marketability, why not do the upgrades sooner rather than just before placing the home on the market?  That way you'll have the opportunity to enjoy the enhancements plus costs never go down, they always go up.  Lock-in those costs earlier and not pay more later.   Heck, you may decide after doing the enhancements to not sell after all, which is probably cheaper than going through the pain and suffering of selling one home, buying another, and then getting the new home setup the way you want it. 

Of course such decisions in amateur radio or other aspects of life are not always based on "logic" or economics. And each person has a different interpretation of cost vs. benefit, thus driving different decisions. I think we can all agree, however, that having Elecraft provide improvements to their products through both firmware and hardware updates is generally a good thing and that the marginal cost of these improvements has been less than purchasing a brand new comparable rig from Elecraft or someone else's product.  

FWIW and Enjoy the Ride,

Barry Baines, WD4ASW
Westborough, MA

> On Mar 2, 2015, at 1:16 PM, David Gilbert <xdavid at cis-broadband.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> Please explain the advantage of spending all that money now instead of potentially spending it several years from now when you might ... might ... want to sell the rig.  Buying the new synths now because you want the better performance makes perfect sense ... buying them now purely to avoid buying them later makes no sense to me at all.
> 
> Dave  AB7E
> 
> 
> On 3/2/2015 1:31 AM, Guy Olinger K2AV wrote:
>> One thing that people need to remember when making a purchase decision on
>> K3 upgrades, is that in the future, wanting to sell a K3, one of the first
>> questions will be whether the rig has the newer synthesizer(s). For me,
>> without, that would be a $300 derating for single RX and a $600 derating
>> for the old boards. Cost plus inconvenience to bring it up to spec.
>> 
>> It's like selling a K3 that has only a few of the mods, and particularly
>> not having the new audio board. Someone buys it and immediately sends it
>> back to the factory to be brought up to date, if they buy it.
>> 
>> And then of course there are the "unintended" positive side benefits of an
>> upgrade, like the much clearer audio when the AGC significant digit problem
>> was fixed. Don't know what they are this time around, but I'm sure there
>> are some.
>> 
>> Beyond that, there is the profit angle, where a small percentage of total
>> rig value is invested to bring it up to date, avoiding a new rig purchase
>> to obtain same. Your purchase of upgrade materials rewards that business
>> strategy and helps insure they keep doing business that way.
>> 
>> If that were not enough, it maintains the reputation of a rig as not
>> becoming obsolete, vastly improving its resale value.
>> 
>> Seven year old radio, as modified, still at the top of the heap. Just how
>> good is that.
>> 
>> And still more, that means that any new Elecraft rig will build on top of
>> proven CURRENT firmware and hardware knowledge, there because there were
>> customer purchases to support it. The KX3 is a very clear example of that.
>> 
>> Yeah it's certainly YOUR pocketbook and not mine, but hanging back is short
>> term strategy and what I'm talking about is long term strategy. Don't lose
>> sight of the long term. Support your radio manufacturer.
>> 
>> 73, Guy K2AV
>> 
>> On Sat, Feb 28, 2015 at 10:17 AM, drewko <drewko1 at verizon.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> Not a bad idea... It would be nice to hear before and after
>>> recordings.
>>> 
>>> Also, recordings with the RF gain at max and sidetone volume at zero
>>> while the rig is being keyed, in presence of other signals and alone
>>> in the background noise. That should provide a good comparison of
>>> clicks and pops without distraction.
>>> 
>>> 73,
>>> Drew
>>> AF2Z
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 07:19:42 -0700, you wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Don, all,
>>>> Discussed this upgrade with Vidi ZS1EL yesterday. Given the already
>>> excellent K3 RX, ours and presumably others' primary interest is improved
>>> QSK, including the new mode reported to reduce clicks/pops at the expense
>>> of a little slower QSK. Could someone with the upgrade installed create and
>>> make available an audio file of the receiver output while transmitting CW
>>> circa 30-40 WPM?  Hearing what it actually sounds like will help with the
>>> decision to buy.
>>>> Thanks & 73,
>>>> John K1JD
>>>> Santa Fe, NM
>>>> 
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