[Elecraft] K3S accessories availability, moving forward

[Don Wilhelm]

Parts are different from options (assemblies).
Parts from Elecraft will continue to be available as long as the parts 
are not obsolete, but the options will not after the stock is exhausted. 
  The options are assemblies of parts.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/6/2019 8:04 PM, hawley, charles j jr wrote:
> BMW Motorcycles keeps many parts for more than 50 years. I once ordered a set of springs for a 1960 BMW and BMW parts in Germany sent one and ordered the second one from an outside vendor...which means they had it made.
> There's more value to supplying parts for obsolete products than what the accounts see.
> 
> Jack BMW Motorcycles
> Chuck KE9UW
> c-hawley at illinois.edu
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On Dec 6, 2019, at 2:31 PM, Bob McGraw K4TAX <rmcgraw at blomand.net> wrote:
>>
>> Ed explained it quite well.   I would add that when a product is discontinued usually the options, being also considered as product, will go away as well.   This does not imply that repair parts are discontinued.   It is often confusing to users when a product is not longer available that service parts of the same items are available.  Usually one has a product model number and the other has a service part number.
>>
>> After a product is obsoleted, where I previously worked, we planned service parts supports for some 7 or so years.  There is no legal requirement for a company to do this with consumer type products.   Often we missed the projection and ran out early.  In some cases it was the customers that ordered an excessive number of service parts {so they could have spares} and this drew down the projected service parts inventory.    And then too, the accountants came around asking what is all of this on the shelves for the last 5 years with no usage?   Get rid of the inventory as it is costing the company money.     The customer looses either way.
>>
>> 73
>>
>> Bob, K4TAX
>>
>>
>>> On 12/6/2019 1:00 PM, Edward R Cole wrote:
>>> Don explained it well; Elecraft support appears to continue for the K3, K3S.  Obtaining new options apparently has a shorter life-span.
>>>