My comments actually had nothing to do with Elecraft. I never said (or even implied) that Elecraft was slow or going about this wrong. If I were them, I'd make sure that the P3 was as close to perfect as I could before I released it, and I'd preview the heck out of it to get as mich feedback as I could. It's MUCH easier to address design/manufacturing issues when the only hardware to deal with are prototypes. And in this case, I don't think the demand is going to suffer due to the wait.
I also think "customer-sourced capitalization" is a great idea for Elecraft and their customers, but that isn't at all what we're talking about here ... not yet, anyway. Putting down a deposit on a piece of equipment with a reasonably firm feature list and published specs is a totally different thing than blindly ordering something before you know what it actually does. The former makes good sense to me, the latter does not. 73, Dave AB7E ------Original Mail------ From: "Guy Olinger K2AV" <[email protected]> To: "Dave - AB7E" <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 09:42:29 -0500 Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft P3 panadapter at the Orlando Hamcation On Sat, Feb 13, 2010 at 1:29 AM, Dave - AB7E <[email protected]> wrote: > > Are the feature list and specifications now firm? And if so, what are they? > I would have thought that anyone contemplating spending $700 for any box, > even with the Elecraft name on it, would want to know what it does before > sending off the check. > I should note that putting a prototype, and then later a working early model in front of the public for comment at some convention-style event, is RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. Early ham feedback at hamfests is essential, and it too is R&D. It's only the customers (and pent up demand) that are mistakenly insisting that they are slow. You want the kind of innovation and service they are known for, you have to wait. It's not a flaw or laziness, or some kind of commie plot to rob us of our toys. It's careful business. Good stuff at good prices is the hardest thing to do. What was that thing, you can have two of the three, quick, quality, low price? (Personally, I'm betting quality AND low price is at the root of the amp thing, I'll wait.) I wonder if anyone has noticed businesses going down for getting even close to the edge these days? Hello? The early plunk for the K3 was a VOLUNTARY early alternative financing scheme. Lot better than them being leveraged by a bank that pulls the plug on them for completely unrelated reasons. Any Rip Van Winkle types please check the financials for the last couple of years for historical information and note that Ronald Reagan is not president any more. Personally, I want Elecraft around for a while. Conservative business practices with no screeching tires at cliff's edge is just super peachy fine by me. There is no TARP fund bailout for Elecraft. They go down, we're back to getting our stuff from Yakencom and stuck with what they decide for us, whether we like it or not. And some folks WOULD plunk now for unfirm features (and there's no big gorilla around MAKING anyone plunk -- it's a CHOICE one makes), with the personal SELF-assurance that if it isn't what they want, they can come here and sell it on the reflector, fast. 73, Guy. ______________________________________________________________ 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
