Gil, I think you are alluding to troubleshooting and repair to the component level vs. replacement of a board. Unfortunately, the days of replacement at the component level are disappearing fast. I too look at a circuit board with SMD and my first reaction is "if I just could figure out which component is failing ...". Well, that failing component is "the board" rather than a specific component on the board.
We went through a similar transition when discrete circuits were being replaced by Integrated circuits. We are not going to go backwards in the semiconductor arena. It is fun to build from discrete components and it is informative to those leaning about electrical circuits, but from a production standpoint, those days are past. There are already many components in the K2 that are not available in through-hole devices. Witness the speech compressor on the KSB2 board, the IF amplifier in the K2, and the Schottky diode used at D36 on the bottom of the K2 RF board which has been replaced by an SMD component on a carrier board. Elecraft has gone great strides in countering the gaps left by "disappearing devices", but who knows how much longer they can hold on. The current situation for the KSB2 board is that if the speech amplifier fails, a new bare board must be ordered and the components from the old board can be mounted on the new board. That is OK for those who have a good desoldering tool, but for those who do not, it usually means ordering a new KSB2 kit. There are other K2 parts that are obsolete, but only available from Elecraft such as the PLL IC. That IC does not fail very often. but if it fails in your K2, the stock at Elecraft is the only possibility that I can find to replace it - when that source runs dry, you are out of luck. This is not an unusual scenerio, and is one reason manufacturers will discontinue support for a product. I must applaud Elecraft because instead of dropping support, the KSB2 was re-designed to use an alternative speech processor, and a carrier board was developed for the IF amplifier. However, there is a practical limit to what can be done - we may someday reach that decision point, but so far, the folks at Elecraft have decided to take the more difficult route and provide an alternative for that :disappearing component. Thank you Wayne and Eric. 73, Don W3FPR On 7/15/2012 6:14 PM, Gil G. wrote: > On Jul 15, 2012, at 3:23 PM, Phil Hystad wrote: > >> I think I like that too but I am not sure if that world of simplicity can >> continue very much longer. In fact, in some ways, it is already history. > Well, it's not the complexity of the circuits I am mainly referring to, but > also the complexity due to the number of features available. If I need to > read a manual and keep it handy to use a radio, I lose interest. I love my K1 > because there aren't too many menus, and just enough features to make it > performant without being overwhelming. There seems to be a features race > going on among manufacturers. Elecraft did great with the K1 and K2, because > they designed better radios, not average ones with more gizmos. The K3 has > the performance, and the bells and whistles. Not everyone likes extra bells > and whistles… That's why I wish the K2 and K1 don't go away. All I need is a > volume button, tune, and band switch. Some of the kits I've built don't even > have as much. You can build a very complex automated machine to drive a nail > in a plank, but at the end of the day, all it takes is still a simple hammer. > If you enjoy hammering, so much the better, and the hammer will do fine.. > Operating a nailing machine, that's a different hobby.. That's why I embrace > the QRP concept, which I see as a return to the essence and practicality of > radio. > > I think Elecraft has two kinds of customers: The QRP/portable/kit crowd, and > the contest/performance/features crowd. Both crowds like the quality and are > willing to spend extra for it, myself included. The former wants simple, less > features, the later wants more. I hope the company will not transform itself > into something like Yaesu and forget the type of customers they started with. > I am not implying they have, just concerned.. > > My hat is off to Elecraft for building a great product in the United States. > One more reason to buy from them. > > Gil. > -- > http://radiopreppers.com > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
