Alexy, When we first started designing the K3, we agonized over the question of whether to offer a "full" kit version -- one that required a lot of soldering. But it quickly became apparent that this was incompatible with other goals for the radio. We needed to use surface-mount devices throughout in order to meet performance, size, and weight goals. An all through-hole version, or even a "half-through-hole" version, would have been twice as large and simply too expensive to be a successful product.
Small kits using SMDs are great, and I highly recommend that anyone interested in surface-mount technology try their hand at building one. There are many SMD kit projects available from QRP clubs, etc. But a kit with many hundreds of SMDs would be a support disaster. The parts are easy to lose, and hard for many people to install. Fine- pitch SMD ICs are a challenge to install even for very experienced builders with excellent equipment. Aligning and testing such a kit would require a lot of lab gear. So we accepted the notion that a radio like the K3, as a kit, would require a higher level of integration. There was an existence proof for the utility of such kits: do-it-yourself PCs. Many companies offer modules that can be put together with a motherboard to create a computer with nearly any level of performance and features. There are probably hundreds of thousands of people who have built PCs this way, and clearly many of them enjoy doing so. The K3 kit may lack solder, but it is still a very "hands-on" experience: - there are hundreds of parts involved, including modules, controls, hardware, multi-part enclosure, etc.; the kit takes around 8 hours to complete - the K3 has built-in test equipment that the builder learns about and uses as they go - the builder becomes very aware of the various stages and modules needed to make a radio, and can delve further into the theory of operation or schematics if desired - modifying or updating the K3 is easier once you've been through the experience Up until the last minute, we worried that we might have a mutiny on our hands among "full-kit" devotees. But only two of them complained, at least publicly, so we breathed a huge sigh of relief. You now have the distinction of being #3 on my list of those who like the idea of building their own advanced radio completely from scratch, should we ever have the courage to explore that path :) 73, Wayne N6KR On Mar 6, 2011, at 6:54 AM, Alexey Kats wrote: > Thank you, I agree, the price of basic K3 is in the same range as of > loaded > K2 (a bit more, but still comparable). The thing is I like to BUILD > stuff, > and I always compare the cost of buying equipment against the fun of > building it with my own two hands. > > So, when it comes down to cost-to-performance analysis - K3 wins > hands down. > It's only when one tries to justify the "kit" form it starts making > little > to no sense unless the only thing is saving the money part. ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
