[Elecraft] Ham Qualifications, Customer Service

[Hank]

I can attest to at least one part I received as a surprise from Elecraft. I bought a K3S kit in 2018.  I bought a internal 2m transverter 2nd that did not work well. I sent the whole thing in for a checkup (K3s et al) and had the 2 meter unit repaired and some modules installed including the higher resolution TXCO. The TXCO failed and they sent me a new one in 2020. It went bad. In 2021 when things really went to crap with the supply chain they sent me an original TXCO for free from someone’s secret stash - just from my comments here on the reflector. 

I am very hopeful they will keep the K3 line serviced for quite some time if the rest of the world can get their act together. 

When they say K-Line I think of the B-Line twins which are still operating in my shack. Fingers crossed!

Hank
K4HYJ 

> On Jun 27, 2022, at 8:34 PM, Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com> wrote:
> 
> A few counterexamples:
> 
> - We started selling the K2 in 1999, nearly 23 years ago. We're still selling them. 99% of the parts are still available.
> 
> - We started selling the K3 in early 2008, nearly 15 years ago. We still service them (in fact repair times have gone down recently), and we're even building new modules in some cases to extend their life and enhance performance. This process was delayed by the supply chain and pandemic but we're getting it back on track.
> 
> - If you want to repair your own Elecraft product or ask a technical question, you can email Eric and me personally. Many have, and I'm sure they'll continue to do so. Or you can email support. 
> 
> - If you email me in a language other than English, I'll translate it with Google both ways. I've done this in Spanish, French, and Japanese.
> 
> - Most of the parts for our products are available from industry suppliers like Digikey if not directly from us. This has been true historically, and assuming the supply chain improves, it will continue to be true.
> 
> - I have personally supplied parts or modules to at least a dozen of our customers from my own lab stock over the years, typically at zero cost, zero shipping, just to help out when the parts were not available elsewhere.
> 
> - The K4 is designed in highly modular fashion so we can replace modules in the future as technology changes, including the main processor board, ADC boards, and DAC board. This seems preferable to, let's say, having your entire radio be dependent on the availability of a particular laptop computer that one designed into it.
> 
> 
>> ...buy an FT-450 and dump it....
> 
> 
> Sure. YMMV.
> 
> Wayne
> N6KR
> 
> 
> 
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