[Elecraft] K3S - Build or Buy

[Don Wilhelm]

Bill,

First assess your capabilities - are you capable of operating a 
screwdriver (get a new one) and following written instructions 
properly?  If the answer is 'yes', then you are capable of building a kit.

The major "pro" of building a kit are that you will become familiar with 
the K3S and will know what is involved if you want to add options 
later.  You will likely feel a sense of accomplishment at having 
completed the task.

The "cons" of building a kit is that you will miss the factory final 
checkout, calibration and burn-in.

You can do your own checkout, and the calibration is not complex - you 
can do it with no tools since the boards are pre-calibrated, but a 
signal generator such as the Elecraft XG1, XG2 or XG3 (especially the 
XG3) will allow you to refine the final RX Gain calibration using the K3 
Utility application.  A good dummy load that is rated for at least 50 
watts and is 50 ohms non-reactive at 52 MHz is also needed for the TX 
Gain Calibration.  Even if you order the factory built K3S, I would 
suggest that you have a dummy load of that capability available in case 
you want to do the TX Gain Calibration at some time in the future.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/5/2016 8:25 PM, Bill DeVore wrote:
> I’m considering the purchase of a K3S and was wondering what are the pros and cons of building versus buying a factory radio. Is building worth the $200 in savings?
>
>