[OKDXA] Elecraft Repair

[Nelson Derks]

1)  I used to be pretty handy with component level repair back in the 
day of low density PC boards with discrete components. Approach it with 
the right attitude and it can be fun, almost like a game of hide & seek.

2)  I haven't made a component level repair in maybe 20 years.  I spend 
far more time playing with computers than radios and both now share the 
same fabrication techniques.

3)  Large Scale Integration boards are a marvel.  Passive components so 
small a resistor can bleed over at ~20 volts on a humid day.  Which is 
why you want to keep those boards clean. This also means de-soldering is 
a trick often performed with a hot air blower.  Very carefully.  Because 
a machine built the board and your hands are too large & shaky to do a 
pinpoint repair. Likewise your chances of hitting one pin only with a 
test probe are near zero.

4)  Which is why it's often far more cost effective to troubleshoot down 
to the board level and be done with it.

5)  You won't need to hire Einstein's smarter brother, the one with 
hands like a surgeon, nor will you need a workstation outfitted with the 
latest in micro precision tooling.  If you do, the tech and the bench 
become a bottleneck in the work flow.

6)  Do you think your local bank can afford to have an ATM go in the 
shop for 90 days?  Would Wally-World tolerate a check stand cash 
register that needs an occasional 90 day break?  ( Hint: HELL NO! )

7)  Elecraft gets away with this because their customers let them.

8)  I wouldn't recognize a K-3 RF board if one jumped into my lap, but I 
wouldn't be surprised if the wholesale cost is well below $100...  And 
there's the rub:  Elecraft chose a repair path that cost 90 days and 
several hundred dollars more than a board swap with performance check.

9)  Market share and perceived corporate ethics matter.  Abusing 
customers is not a key to success.  The internet makes it too easy to 
share a customer experience.  Advertising can help make the first sale 
but price, customer care and quality of the product determine if you get 
a second chance.  The cost of gaining a customer is far greater than 
retaining one so run the numbers and value your clients appropriately.