Bill,
First assess your capabilities - are you capable of operating a
screwdriver (get a new one) and following written instructions
properly? If the answer is 'yes', then you are capable of building a kit.
The major "pro" of building a kit are that you will become familiar with
the K3S and will know what is involved if you want to add options
later. You will likely feel a sense of accomplishment at having
completed the task.
The "cons" of building a kit is that you will miss the factory final
checkout, calibration and burn-in.
You can do your own checkout, and the calibration is not complex - you
can do it with no tools since the boards are pre-calibrated, but a
signal generator such as the Elecraft XG1, XG2 or XG3 (especially the
XG3) will allow you to refine the final RX Gain calibration using the K3
Utility application. A good dummy load that is rated for at least 50
watts and is 50 ohms non-reactive at 52 MHz is also needed for the TX
Gain Calibration. Even if you order the factory built K3S, I would
suggest that you have a dummy load of that capability available in case
you want to do the TX Gain Calibration at some time in the future.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 9/5/2016 8:25 PM, Bill DeVore wrote:
I’m considering the purchase of a K3S and was wondering what are the pros and
cons of building versus buying a factory radio. Is building worth the $200 in
savings?
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