I would *never* buy any kit that requires more than an item or two of SMT work. SMT construction is specifically designed *only* for machine assembly. IMO, any SMT kit must come with almost all the SMT components pre-assembled to the PC boards to be acceptable.
I'm not against SMT. In fact, I wish the K1 or KX1 were available with most of the generic components in SMT, pre-assembled. (MFJ has almost the correct mixture in their Cub kits.) That would be more reliable, quicker to build, eliminate much error, reduce monotony in assembly, simplify kit parts inventory, etc. But a kit with many SMT parts that must be assembled by the builder grossly degrades, rather than improves, **all** of these areas, in comparison with conventional components. 73, Mike / KK5F _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
