[Elecraft] Ham Qualifications, Customer Service

[Dave, W8OV]

Wayne,
I want to clarify what I was referring to in Wilson's email. I thought that his point about technology getting so far beyond the abilities and knowledge of most amateurs was on target, and the likelihood of being able to repair one's own gear diminishes with time. With the cost of labor, it does happen that sometimes one is better off replacing a broken unit than having it repaired, and a buyer ought to be prepared to do that at some point.

I have had experience with another brand that lasted a reasonable amount of time before something went wrong with the CW tone. The manufacturer told me to send it to an independent repair place he recommended. After paying shipping both ways plus the repair, the rig lasted a very short time before the tone went bad again. Shipping it, due to weight, a second time would make the repair cost unreasonable. Fortunately, I was prepared to buy another rig then. So the broken one sat on a shelf for several years, since I couldn't use it for "real radio", until I happened across a financially limited disabled veteran whose rig had just broken. As he only used phone, I gave him the rig with the caveat never to use it on CW. It was my second poor repair experience with that brand, so I understand the frustration it can cause. 

That said, my experience with Elecraft regarding repair is rather limited. My 13 year old K3 (kit) just keeps on going. A second hand K2 I picked up several years ago just made it through another outdoor Field Day here in Texas where it worked in temperatures that reached 101°F in the shade. When I acquired it there was one small problem, but I got Don Wilhelm's help for that. I had a sensor for a W2 wattmeter fail after several years. On inquiry I was told by someone at Elecraft it would be less expensive to buy a new one than repair it, and I did. I am well-satisfied with my Elecraft gear, sympathetic to the problems you face with the current supply, price, and hiring situations, and plan to stick with and recommend Elecraft gear. But I think that on the whole, Wilson made some realistic observations about technology in general, and it was those I thought made sense. But I remain an Elecraft fan and user, and consider you and Eric the "good guys" in the business.

A few score years ago, I bought my first automobile with a loan. After I paid it off, I continued making those payments to myself. That approach allowed me to pay cash for every vehicle since. Likewise, I keep a "radio fund" with regular small savings so I'm prepared in case a repair just isn't possible or reasonable. Just seems practical to me. But these days that savings fund has become a general replacement fund because so many appliances and gadgets are beyond my ability or some manufacturer's willingness to repair. Instead of "buyer beware" it's now buyer be prepared. That's the lesson I took from Wilson's email.

73,
Dave, W8OV

 

On Monday, June 27, 2022 19:32:47 (-05:00), Wayne Burdick wrote:

> A few counterexamples:
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> - We started selling the K2 in 1999, nearly 23 years ago. We're still selling them. 99% of the parts are still available.
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> - 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.
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> - 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.
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> - 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.
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> - 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.
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> - 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.
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> - 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.
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> > ...buy an FT-450 and dump it....
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> Sure. YMMV.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
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