Re: [Elecraft] Fw: Why I won't purchase K3
I have a different opinion. I like kits. The stereo I used in college was a Heathkit I built myself. I built the K2 and learned a great deal from the experience. I had at least as much fun building the radio as using it. Building the K3 is indeed much less of a kit experience. This is inevitable because technology has moved forward. High end equipment now extensively uses surface mount parts. It is impossible to practically market a kit requiring extensive assembly of boards using surface mount parts. The equipment and skills needed for that type of work is beyond the casual amateur. That does not mean there is no advantage to having built the K3 as a kit. Recently I had a problem with the B VFO. After a call to the factory I was able to do a test and determine the B VFO encoder was going bad. They sent out a replacement and I was able to swap the parts in about fifteen minutes. No charge and no radio down time. If this had not been a kit I would have had to return the radio for service. That would have meant a multi week delay and considerable expense and frustration. -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Alexey Kats Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2011 6:45 AM To: VE3GAM Allen McRorie Cc: Elecraft List Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Fw: Why I won't purchase K3 Allen, you misunderstood me. I have no problem with using owning K3 - it the best radio I around, no matter which day you ask it. My problem is with K3 in its kit form. I don't have a problem buying it as an assembled radio. But I have a problem with buying it as a kit and then claiming that I built it. All this kit form does is saving some money. It does not make me proud of achieving anything - that's what I was griping about. I don't mind bying K3. I don't like building it, that's all Actually, I think I should apologize to everybody - the subject of my original post was probably misleading. The better way to phrase it would be why I won't purchase K3 KIT. On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 6:29 AM, VE3GAM Allen McRorie ve3...@rogers.comwrote: interesting comment! if you want to use one of the best radios around, I really don't get why it is so important that you BUILD the rig. Hopefully the END product is more important than the process used to get there. if not, then I guess you will miss out on using one of the best radios around. that is why I don't consider the BUILD question important at all . Al ve3gam -- Alexey Kats (neko) __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
[Elecraft] Fw: Why I won't purchase K3
interesting comment! if you want to use one of the best radios around, I really don't get why it is so important that you BUILD the rig. Hopefully the END product is more important than the process used to get there. if not, then I guess you will miss out on using one of the best radios around. that is why I don't consider the BUILD question important at all . Al ve3gam - Original Message - From: Alexey Kats alexeyk...@gmail.com To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2011 8:30 AM Subject: [Elecraft] Why I won't purchase K3 Ladies, gentlemen, and all the other species of HAM community, I apologize for such aggressive and somewhat insulting subject of my posting. But after reading all the why I purchased Elecraft radio reasons I felt like chirping in. I like radios, I like to find out what I can do with it. I like building things with my own hands. I didn't have so much fun building fully loaded K1, K2, and KX1 in years... like... like.. like I had when I was assembling my own computer with nothing but pliers, 40W soldering iron and individually acquired spare parts back in 90es. It felt like I was giving birth to a baby or something - making sure that it is in the best state I could possibly make it. And I could also learn from it, a lot, in fact. Now, don't get me wrong, when it comes to the specs of K3 I bow my head to the designers of it - it's truly a one son of a gun radio. It's pretty much the heaven dream for CW. I know that. But there is one thing which makes me uneasy - it's not the radio I built. It's not even the radio I assembled. It's the radio someone else built, and all I am reduced to is plates arrangements and screwdriver turning. It's almost like I am not sure whether I should be thanking Wayne and Eric, or curse them. (Probably thank them more than anything...) My gripe with K3 is that even if I buy it, build it, and use it, I can't honestly say that I BUILD it. Simply because I didn't build it. With K1, K2, KX1 I learned a lot from its schematics, I was able to figure out what went wrong if something went wrong (just to prove to myself that it was me who was an idiot). I loved the process of making sure that I understand each and every piece of it, to the last capacitor, even if I don't understand the assembler code of its main controller (I spend enough time with computers to hate them thoroughly as it is). My problem is I can't do the same with K3. I'd love to own it. I'd love to use it. But I'd hate to build it. I am sorry if this posting makes no sense to all of you. I was simply trying to express my feelings... I think I'll try to find more money to build another K1 or K2. (Actually, I like K1 more, don't ask me why.) -- Alexey Kats (neko) __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] Fw: Why I won't purchase K3
Allen, you misunderstood me. I have no problem with using owning K3 - it the best radio I around, no matter which day you ask it. My problem is with K3 in its kit form. I don't have a problem buying it as an assembled radio. But I have a problem with buying it as a kit and then claiming that I built it. All this kit form does is saving some money. It does not make me proud of achieving anything - that's what I was griping about. I don't mind bying K3. I don't like building it, that's all Actually, I think I should apologize to everybody - the subject of my original post was probably misleading. The better way to phrase it would be why I won't purchase K3 KIT. On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 6:29 AM, VE3GAM Allen McRorie ve3...@rogers.comwrote: interesting comment! if you want to use one of the best radios around, I really don't get why it is so important that you BUILD the rig. Hopefully the END product is more important than the process used to get there. if not, then I guess you will miss out on using one of the best radios around. that is why I don't consider the BUILD question important at all . Al ve3gam -- Alexey Kats (neko) __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
