And here's a third. I built one of Weber's ATS-3B kits and use it on occasion, such as during Field Day 2011. <http://www.genebitsystems.com/david/HamRadio/FieldDay2011/FieldDay2011.htm> The demand and popularity of his kits is evident as the last run of MTRs sold out literally hours after it was released, see here. <http://w2mdw.blogspot.com/2013/03/steve-webers-mountain-toper-radio-mtr.html> There is definitely a niche for SMD kits requiring more builder expertise and involvement than simply assembling modules together.
I would love to see an up-to-date SMD transceiver kit with a mix of features lying somewhere between the MTR and the KX3, perhaps even call it a KX2 as others have alluded to. My vision for such a rig would be an integrated station, multiband (at least 80 through 15) with no band module swapping, half the volume or less of a KX3, with internal antenna tuner and battery, and a very simple user interface. It would be CW, or possibly include additional modes but only if the associated volume increase is minimal. I could go on and on but you get the idea. The KX3 is an awesome radio and I am definitely not criticizing it. There just seems to be a huge void between it and the lower-tier rigs. And a solder-required SMD kit is appealing to many builders. Gil G. wrote > I will second that. > > I built two Weber MTRs and in many ways it was easier than through-hole, > except for the size. I used a soldering iron. > “No soldering required” kits are no fun to me. I would never say that I > built my KX3 for instance, only assembled it. > > Gil. > -- > PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc > > On Jul 20, 2014, at 8:30 AM, N4OI - Ken < > kenst@ > > wrote: > >> Back to topic... perhaps it is time for Elecraft to start offering some >> "big >> boy" kits that make full use of SMTs and other modern components. Any >> serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder >> station >> with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than >> $100). >> With the right tools, SMTs are the way to go! > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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] -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-4-4-band-version-gone-tp7591283p7591429.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ______________________________________________________________ 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]
