Another reason why I love Elecraft products! The willingness to go that little bit extra for their customers, thanks Eric. (And I'll grab a SS kit for my amplifier and my P3 when they're ready thanks) :)
73 de Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF East Innisfail QLD, Australia K3 #4257, P3#1629, KPA-500 #161 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft" <e...@elecraft.com> To: "W0MU Mike Fatchett" <w...@w0mu.com> Cc: <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2011 11:33 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Rusting screws > Hi Mike, > > We're going to look seriously at the SS screws for all products. > > We've actually been using the current black oxide steel type of screw > for the external screws since we started the company with the K2. These > are the same type of screw used by Alpha amps and a number of other ham > manufacturers.( I just got off the phone earlier today with Alpha > confirming this.) > > While receiving occasional reports of rust from tropical and extremely > humid areas, most users have not reported any problems. As an example, I > live 1 mile from the ocean here in CA, and the screws on my 12+ year old > K2, my K3, KX1, K1 etc are all pristine. We created the K3 SS screwkit > for the K3 as a special kit for dxpeditioners etc who were operating in > extreme conditions. It consists of all of the exterior screws on the K3 > (not just the 4-40 x 3/16 screws) and was bought by us in low volumes, > hence the higher price. We're probably breaking even on these after > kitting, order entry etc. We're certainly not getting rich selling the > SS screw kits. :-) > > Also, the rust seen on extreme dxpeditions was restricted just to the > exterior screws. We haven't seen any serious corrosion with the interior > screws. > > That said, the screw corrosion thread here has prompted us to revisit > this and to look at phasing in SS screws across the whole product line. > It is certainly happening in more cases than we, our you, would like to > see. We are actively looking at sources right now and I'll report back > to the list as we get something defined, both for new kits and for mod > kits to existing rigs. This is a pretty big project to change it all > over. We'll make sure to keep the cost on the SS screw mod kits very > low. Our goal is to make sure there is nothing standing in the way of > the K2, and or other products, being perceived as high quality products. > > Also, in the near term, we'll replace any of the existing exterior > screws with the same type at no cost for corrosion. Just email > pa...@elecraft.com and let them know which screws you need and the qty > etc. > > 73, Eric WA6HHQ > > www.elecraft.com > > > On 12/9/2011 7:14 AM, W0MU Mike Fatchett wrote: >> Thanks. >> >> I was curious if the screw kit Elecraft provides is just for cover >> screws. >> >> They are working on a SS kit for the KPA 500 too. >> >> The cost for 100 screws has shown there is no reason other than profit >> not to include SS hardware with the kits from the start. >> >> Mike W0MU >> >> W0MU-1 CC Cluster w0mu.net >> >> >> On 12/9/2011 5:28 AM, Phil& Debbie Salas wrote: >>> FWIW - I bought #4x1/4" SS black-oxide covered screws from McMaster >>> Carr. >>> Price is $3.91/100. Part number 96640A054. I use them on my K3 and >>> KPA500. >>> >>> Phil - AD5X >>> >>> ______________________________________________________________ >>> 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 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
