[Elecraft] KIO3b Failure

Sat May 10 19:14:24 EDT 2025

I'll look into building a test jig for the KIO3x boards later this fall when I get some time.  I made a prototype ethernet that replaced it some years ago when I was trying to remote the K3 properly, so know that interface very well.

I've had a ton of experience repairing K3 failures, they spending more time on my RF workbench than operating at my contest station.  I have a test jig for the KLPA3x I built after having a series of failures... after that it was easy to fix them (some improved cooling and new RD15's straightened that right out)..

Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ

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-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of David Gilbert
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2025 5:08 PM
To: Rick NK7I <rick.nk7i at gmail.com>
Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KIO3b Failure

LOL.  The point is that I have never /needed/ to get a board from anywhere else, and none of those other places ever promised me I wouldn't have to worry about lost support.  The Elecraft marketing pitch back then (it doesn't matter how long ago) was that support would /always/ be there due to the modular design of the rig. No matter how you try to spin it ... Elecraft reneg'd on a promise. The truth is that Elecraft could be still making, or at least repairing, modules like the
KIO3 and KIO3b that still have components readily available. *They simply chose not to honor their promise*.

I wouldn't have even bothered to make my reflector reply if the original post hadn't opened up an old wound. I've been complaining for years that Elecraft could and should have at least offered to set up some third party for module replacement or repair of discontinued items.  N6RO made a tidy business for himself for a while trying to service the market with replacements he bought from estates or hams who moved on to other rigs ... and he can't keep up with the demand! *Elecraft could fix that without ANY jeopardy to their business, but they have made a conscious decision not to do that.*  I don't know how you can justify that, although given the very many posts you've made lauding Elecraft I am confident you will try.

I love my K3 and I won't buy another rig until it dies ... I just don't trust Elecraft anymore.  Why would I spend far more money for a K4 when comparable rigs are available at half the price and don't have the repair history that Elecraft does.  I've been a member of the Elecraft forum for two decades and it has been continually loaded with LOTS of glowing reports of Elecraft service ... which just points to how often that service is needed in the first place.

Dave   AB7E

On 5/10/2025 2:00 PM, Rick NK7I wrote:
> Let’s have a real moment.
>
> The K3 was first sold in 2008.  It is now 2025.  Count the number of year out loud, I’ll wait.   It doesn’t matter WHEN you bought it; it’s the same core radio and you knew that when you bought it.  A 2008 era radio (STILL sought after).
>
> Support is now winding down after MANY upgrades, updates and improvements over that time period.  They’ve supported it as long as was practical which is MANY more years than any other brand name radio.  That tenet has not changed, it was just time to move on.
>
> No one else has offered that many significant upgrades or firmware.  Certainly not YaeComWoodLex; they want you sell you a new radio instead of an affordable upgrade.  That business model generates more income but wastes money for the buyer now stuck with a dead end product.
>
> Now some are crying because they’re unable to support board level repairs over a product that was retired over 5 years ago; “I’m gonna leave and quit Elecraft”.
>
> TRY to get a board from anyone else, 5 years after the product was retired.  When this boards are gone, they’re GONE and to make a special run is very costly (meaning you’d have to pay more, then whine more).  The import companies just won’t do that.
>
> While others are happily continuing to use their K3; some bought more at a steep discount, to part out if needed.  Mine is in storage; for FD or some other use.
>
> If you want to leave Elecraft behind on your next purchase because your now 27 year OLD radio (design) finally failed; that’s on you.  But that decision merits some serious thought while public statements of your departure; are childish.
>
> But you will HARD pressed to find another radio that can integrate as completely and easily as the K3, now the K4 (Flex does pretty well, but they have issues too).
>
> The door is open, welcome!  But if you choose to leave (poor choice); it’s open for that too so you can whine someplace else.
>
> The K3 is dead, long live the K4.  The K4 is the K3 on steroids and another long life is expected.
>
> 73,
> Rick nk7i
>
>> On May 10, 2025, at 1:22 PM, David Gilbert<ab7echo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> Yes, repair is for sure an industry problem ... and it may not even be better for some other vendors.    My gripe is that one of the reasons I originally bought the K3 was that lasting support was one of the tenets of Elecraft marketing back then.
>>
>> Part obsolescence was certainly a reason for some of the discontinued products, but far from all of them ... and not the KIO3/B.  Elecraft simply decided to move onward as a business decision.
>>
>> Dave   AB7E
>>
>>
>>> On 5/10/2025 9:45 AM, jerry wrote:
>>>> On 2025-05-09 21:44, David Gilbert wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Which is why when the KIO3 on my K3 inevitably dies like many 
>>>> others have, my next rig won't be an Elecraft.
>>> To be fair, repair is an issue throughout the industry.  The modern 
>>> radios are far more capable than what we had in the 70s, but they 
>>> are also harder to repair.
>>>
>>> I have a Yaesu FTDX10.  It has a problem with CAT control over USB.
>>>    I bought it used, so Yaesu's warranty does not apply.  Yaesu does 
>>> have a "technical supplement" for the radio with complete schematics.
>>> Not very useful, because that area of the circuitry is under the 
>>> main board, and once you get it apart enough for access, nothing 
>>> works, and you can't troubleshoot it.
>>>
>>>   I called Yaesu:  "No, we don't fix stuff like that, we just replace the motherboard".
>>> "Cost would be about a grand".... about the cost of another used 
>>> FTDX10.  So I might sell this one - cheap with full disclosure - and get another one.
>>>
>>>     I note that California has a "Right to Repair" law.  It was 
>>> signed by the governor in late 2023.
>>>
>>>   "California's Right to Repair Act, SB 244, requires manufacturers to provide fair access to documentation, parts, and tools for repairing their products. This includes electronic and appliance products manufactured after July 1, 2021, and sold or used in California on or after that date, with a wholesale cost of $50 or more."
>>>
>>>                - Jerry, KF6VB
>>>
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