I am going to reply in an odd way and let me explain why. When I first got
into the hobby I wanted to build a kit and I brought the following skill set
to the table;
All thumbs
Eyes are not what they should be {components are really small}
Did not know much about components
Knew a little about soldering
My theory was really [,really] rusty
I looked at the K2 [a buddy built one] kit and I got to tell you while the
manual is laid out well, Elecraft takes a lot of user input and makes
changes for the better, but it was intimidating to me.
I went to www.smallwonderlabs.com and found Dave Benson kits and I have
built two of them. They were a bit easier and less components than the
Elecraft kit. Are they as good, nope but I have worked a lot of states with
them. I have friends with good trouble shooting skills {mine still need
work}
Do they have all the features, nope they are mono-band kits. Why did I get
it...... it was easier to start with for me with the time I had available.
Anytime one of the folks say I built this kit in 10 hours, I know I have to
double it at least!
Will I ever build a Elecraft kit........ I got to be honest I still have to
hone my building and trouble shooting skills [IMHO] and get a glass to
magnify the parts. My eyes are not what they should be. So after I have
retired and the novelty of the grandkids has worn off [more time] I may try
one.
But if you decide the try a K2, K1 or KX1 the folks on this list will not
let you fail!! Help is always there and people are available to repair what
ever mess you make.
--
73
Chuck AA8VS
www.aa8vs.org/aa8vs
FP #113 MI-QRP #1212 SOC #445
Firebird #2117 TSARC #3952
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 11:48 AM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] troubles with kits
I am Herb Winn a new ham (kc8ylj). I was going to try to build a kit for my
first<snip>
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