Hi Carl. I am a new K3 owner too. Finished my K3 a month ago (SN7819). Assembling the kit is fun. As stated before: Take your time. I used all anti-static and good tools. Used a wrist strap and anti-static mat. The mat and my wrist strap were grounded to the house safety earth. All boards and components are very well indicated and the manuals are clear. Except the Operating manual. This feels a bit minimal. But don't worry. The support from Elecraft is quite okay. QRP-project in Germany, Elecraft's representative in Europe did very well. I also experienced fast response from Elecraft USA too. No problem to make it a proper job. Read, read and re-read the manuals. And when you finally can run the rig, be prepared to have a long and pleasant learning curve. 73, Peter PA2V
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 01:07:58 -0900 From: Edward R Cole <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] new K3 owner Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Spend the time to check off all parts against the parts list. Ensures all is there and aquaints you with many similar looking screws (so you don't use the wrong ones). I bought a large Plano plastic parts box (like a fishing tackle box) with many dividers to place the sorted parts. Some items it is best not to remove from packaging until you install them. Also take your time and enjoy the process of building. Rushing usually leads to mistakes. Likewise do not shortcut the instructions. They were written to help you avoid mistakes! Use pencil to check each off as you work (I also check parts shown in diagrams as they are installed). Often the shows up an error before I go too far. K3/10 sn 4340 KX3 sn 475 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: [email protected] ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 04:43:18 -0600 From: "Fred Smith" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] new K3 owner Message-ID: <001701cf143a$19e9dfd0$4dbd9f70$@com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" As Don stated prepare yourself for a new level of transceiver performance, it does take some getting used to 8>) 73, Fred/N0AZZ K3 Ser # 6730--KX3 # 5210--K2/100 # 6470-KAT100 P3/SVGA--KAT500--W2 Amps Elecraft KPA500 HF/6m--Alpha's 9500 HF--87A HF--Mirage B-5030-G 300+w--(2) B-5016-G's 165w 2m -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Don Wilhelm Sent: Friday, January 17, 2014 3:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] new K3 owner Carl, Think anti-static. Use a wrist strap as a minimum, but an anti-static mat in addition is highly desirable. The idea is to keep everything within reach at your work area at the same potential. Do *NOT* use a fully conductive work area (like a cookie sheet) - that can be a hazard to your well-being in case there is a short of some kind - sparks and molten metal spewing into the air and onto your body is possible. The anti-static mat and the wrist strap can connect to the ground screw on the plate of an AC receptacle - but make certain the receptacle is properly grounded, you can check with an inexpensive tester that can be found at your DIY or hardware store in the electrical department. Driving a ground stake is totally unnecessary, and can in itself be a hazard if it is not connected to the utility entrance ground stake with a #6 or larger copper wire. As I indicated, the idea is to keep everything at the same potential (even through a high resistance). The wrist strap will have an internal 1 megohm resistor to assure your safety. 2nd, buy yourself a *new* good quality #1 Phillips screwdriver - do not skimp on quality for that item, stripped or partially stripped screwheads can reward you if you ignore this small item. Some will tell you to use a magnetic screwdriver, but I don't like anything magnetic at my workbench - they pick up bits of metallic things and drop them in places where Murphy says they will cause the most damage. Other than that, follow the instructions in the order written - and do an inventory up front. If you do not understand any step, stop and ask, there will be several on this reflector that will try to clarify for you. Have fun with the build, in the end you will have a great transceiver. 73, Don W3FPR On 1/17/2014 4:11 PM, Carl Yaffey wrote: > Hi. I've just ordered a K3 kit. Any suggestions for putting it together properly? Yes, I know to be very careful - hi hi. > ______________________________________________________________ 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
