I would tend to believe that replacing the cheap fans with higher quality fans would be a improvement in design.
If the K3 cannot handle what little extra current draw the fans have then I would certainly question the well engineered aspect of it. As in any product cost is a factor and I'm sure Elecraft has to weigh the cost associated with various parts. For many the noise will not bother them for others it will so for the ones who do find the additional noise bothersome they can simply swap out the fans for a higher quality fan and enjoy the reduction in fan noise. To my ears (and I'm partially deaf from when I was in the Navy) the stock fans in the K3 had a grating sound that added to the background noise. Replacing the fans was a worthwhile improvement and made copy easier. I'm not afraid of improving a design where there is room for improvement. ________________________________ From: Jim Brown <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, June 2, 2014 11:16 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA-500 fan noise On 6/2/2014 7:56 AM, AG0N-3055 wrote: >> You could always try replacing the fan with a quieter fan. > I would consider that myself, but only with one recommended by the good > people at Elecraft. It is generally a bad idea to try to re-engineer a product, especially one that is well designed. In this case, I would consider it a really bad idea. 73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [email protected]
