Re: [Elecraft] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: If I get a bad part, will I be stuck?
I considered that, for about 1 minute, when I bought my K3. My fellow club members with K2s said there wouldn't be a problem - there wasn't. I didn't have any missing parts so can't comment on delivery of those. But the K3 shipped via UPS and got here in 2 days (shipped 15-Dec and arrived 17th). I found the HexKey I had ordered had been missed out of the shipment, Elecraft very apologetic and it shipped and arrived within 5 days (considering that was Xmas post time, very good). A mod kit I ordered arrived within a few days via USPS (I have to say I'm more impressed with US postal service than I am the UKs). I don't think you'd have to wait long for a missing part in mainland Europe. But I expect shippment to some distant rural area might be an issue. I would not have thought Canada would be? 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174 -- Math Anxiety: an intense lifelong fear of two trains approaching each other at speeds of 60 and 80 MPH. -Rick Bayan On 22 Dec 2009, at 03:16, Gary, VE1RGB wrote: Your argument is solid for citizens of the USA. But life offshore is different and the logistics support system from Aptos, while it cannot be faulted, cannot do anything about the vagaries of postal and transportation and customs and immigration systems which attract delay and cost, sometimes of eye-watering magnitude, to those of us who live elsewhere. Gary, VE1RGB __ 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] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: If I get a bad part, will I be stuck?
Gary, David, and All, I did consider the location of the person who originated this thread (DL) before posting my original response. However, I assumed that he certainly must have given that some thought before even considering a kit. In any event, as David says, it really doesn't take that long for parts to cross the Atlantic based on most of the responses I have seen posted here by folks in Europe. As I understand it, Elecraft has procedures whereby they do check individual boards before they ship them. Am I wrong about that? I thought I had seen that fact stated by Elecraft personnel many times. Assuming that's the case, I would think that the odds of having a fault issue are pretty low. Over time a few issues have arisen which required slight modifications. Those, however, would not necessarily have been corrected on a factory built unit before shipment until the fault had actually been identified. So, my further assumption is that a lot of factory built units are out there that could benefit from a mod or two. And these mods were usually improvements rather than ones that made the difference between a working unit and a non-working unit. The DSP board is a good example of that. I could only assume that the original inquirer was really asking whether it was reasonable for him to expect to be able to self assemble a K3 with a high expectation of success. Most responses, including mine, indicated that with reasonable assembly skills the answer should be yes. I don't know how to quantify a reasonable expectation, but I'd guess somewhere in the high 90's. Another thing to consider is that, if a problem should arise, it's extremely likely that Elecraft tech support can identify the issue without you having to send the whole unit in. You may only need to replace or change a single part, and at worst you could just send the offending board back to them, rather than the entire unit. That's something Ten-Tec really invented, and Elecraft has adopted. The modular construction of the K3 makes it very much easier to swap out problem boards. That's also another very good reason for assembly of your own unit in the first place, since then you presumably won't be so hesitant to make such a swap. I think it is important to emphasize the quality of Elecraft tech support. It doesn't come any better! I've built all the Elecraft transceivers, and there have been a few issues (often self inflicted) along the way. With rare exception, folks like Gary Surrency have been able to immediately identify the issue, and resolution was nearly immediate. Another fabulous resource is Don Wilhelm, who responds typically to posted issues so fast it makes your head swim! With just about every other piece of equipment I own (except, perhaps, for my one Ten-Tec transceiver), if a problem arises I am almost certainly faced with the need to send the unit in for repair. With my K3, I am almost certainly NOT going to have to send it in, unless I choose to do so. I challenge everyone to identify a piece of gear they own that has better technical support than their Elecraft rig. One last point, and one that was made earlier. I glazed over the differential in cost between a factory unit and a kit. $200 was suggested, and I didn't correct it, but it is much more than that, depending on how many adds you make to the basic unit. It will probably be closer to $400 or more. You can do a lot of corresponding and board swapping for that amount, even from Europe! Come to think of it, I bet the whole unit could be sent back and forth from Europe for less than that, so why not build it yourself! It sure sounds like a gamble worth taking, especially when the odds are so much in your favor. Dave W7AQK - Original Message - From: David Ferrington, M0XDF m0...@alphadene.co.uk To: Elecraft Reflector elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 1:34 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: If I get a bad part,will I be stuck? I considered that, for about 1 minute, when I bought my K3. My fellow club members with K2s said there wouldn't be a problem - there wasn't. I didn't have any missing parts so can't comment on delivery of those. But the K3 shipped via UPS and got here in 2 days (shipped 15-Dec and arrived 17th). I found the HexKey I had ordered had been missed out of the shipment, Elecraft very apologetic and it shipped and arrived within 5 days (considering that was Xmas post time, very good). A mod kit I ordered arrived within a few days via USPS (I have to say I'm more impressed with US postal service than I am the UKs). I don't think you'd have to wait long for a missing part in mainland Europe. But I expect shippment to some distant rural area might be an issue. I would not have thought Canada would be? 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174 -- Math Anxiety: an intense lifelong fear of two trains approaching each other at speeds of
Re: [Elecraft] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: If I get a bad part, will I be stuck?
73 de M0XDF, K3 #174 -- Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment. -Robert Benchley On 22 Dec 2009, at 16:15, David Y. wrote: As I understand it, Elecraft has procedures whereby they do check individual boards before they ship them. Am I wrong about that? I thought I had seen that fact stated by Elecraft personnel many times. you are not wrong, they do __ 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] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: If I get a bad part, will I be stuck?
I have been posting a LOT of private messages since I don't think they add much (anything) to general knowledge on the reflector. But this time, I think this has some merit for those who are still thinking about a K3, factory-assembled versus DIY (kit). So the recent question raised (not by me) as I see it boils to one of concern: If I buy it assembled, it's guaranteed to work cuz it's been tested, VERSUS, what I assemble it myself and it's not up to snuff? Am I stuck? ABSOLUTELY NOT! The attitude I have noted from Elecraft is that they fully support all their radios, even when you assemble it. In the earlier days of the K3, there were not uncommon emails on the reflector about trading / swapping boards and defective parts (the rare times that they occur). These ran the full range from missing some hardware (all radios I have built or helped to build had a surplus), the infamous cracked knob (none of mine), even I got two left panels or I can't find the fiber washers. IMHO, you will NOT be hung out to dry if you assemble it yourself...you will have TONS of support if you want any and especially if you need any. The crew at supp...@elecraft.com is amazing. I even got a response (well, several) on a holiday weekend when something didn't seem quite right. Did you read that...on a HOLIDAY WEEKEND! Very cool, very comforting. Go for it. de Doug KR2Q __ 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] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: If I get a bad part, will I be stuck?
Doug: Your argument is solid for citizens of the USA. But life offshore is different and the logistics support system from Aptos, while it cannot be faulted, cannot do anything about the vagaries of postal and transportation and customs and immigration systems which attract delay and cost, sometimes of eye-watering magnitude, to those of us who live elsewhere. I think this thread originated from a ham in DL although I may be wrong. If so that may be one kind of situation when the additional cost of Elecraft assembly provides the owner with confidence in the performance of the K3 after it has gone through the pre-delivery burn-in and function testing in Aptos. That consideration for some folks may over-ride the valid benefits from home-built for reasons that have nothing do with the technical issues associated with K3 Kit assembly and cost savings but rather with the ability to support the K3 is a timely fashion if/when goes wrong and salvation resides in a different country. Just a thought. The correct answer depends upon how the buyer wants to handle risk mitigation. Gary, VE1RGB -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL Sent: December 21, 2009 8:49 PM To: Elecraft Reflector Subject: [Elecraft] K3 DIY vs factory assembled: If I get a bad part, will I be stuck? I have been posting a LOT of private messages since I don't think they add much (anything) to general knowledge on the reflector. But this time, I think this has some merit for those who are still thinking about a K3, factory-assembled versus DIY (kit). So the recent question raised (not by me) as I see it boils to one of concern: If I buy it assembled, it's guaranteed to work cuz it's been tested, VERSUS, what I assemble it myself and it's not up to snuff? Am I stuck? ABSOLUTELY NOT! The attitude I have noted from Elecraft is that they fully support all their radios, even when you assemble it. In the earlier days of the K3, there were not uncommon emails on the reflector about trading / swapping boards and defective parts (the rare times that they occur). These ran the full range from missing some hardware (all radios I have built or helped to build had a surplus), the infamous cracked knob (none of mine), even I got two left panels or I can't find the fiber washers. IMHO, you will NOT be hung out to dry if you assemble it yourself...you will have TONS of support if you want any and especially if you need any. The crew at supp...@elecraft.com is amazing. I even got a response (well, several) on a holiday weekend when something didn't seem quite right. Did you read that...on a HOLIDAY WEEKEND! Very cool, very comforting. Go for it. de Doug KR2Q __ 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
