I completely agree. I invested in a moderately priced soldering station
and a binocular magnifier. I already had a PanaVise to hold circuit
boards and I built a simple device to hold components in place. Done
right, however, a kit would include a solder mask and be the right size
to stuff into a typical toaster oven. Either way, (hot air gun or
toaster oven), a KX2 would be a joy to build. Surface mount is
challenging. But, it is also the future. Thru-hole is fast becoming
obsolete. It would seem appropriate for the company the leads the kit
industry, to take us to the next step: a true solder-it-yourself surface
mount kit.
As a toe-hold, I would enjoy seeing a KØ - a surface mount, single
band, cw rig with interchangeable band modules, digital display, decent
superhet receiver, 2-3 watts out, with a built-in, rechargeable and
possibly interchangeable li-po power source. Follow this with a KXØ that
provides a similar single-band approach and arcitecture. But, manages 10
watts out for SSB and includes RTTY, PSK and CW encoding/decoding
through a built-in USB interface (or, better yet - Bluetooth) . Another
approach would be to place control of the KXØ completely in a tablet or
laptop. Imagine using a 7" Android tablet connected to a small, light
box that has complete rig control and a spectrum display, putting out 10
watts on SSB or 5 watts on PSK or RTTY.
This approach, will without question, be done by somebody, someday. Its
just a question of when and who. Think of it as an "app for that" on
your tablet or smart phone for ham radio that connects to an external
device via Bluetooth. That would be truly future-thinking... Elecraft
really should be first with this concept. They reinvented kit-building
in 1999 with the K2. Who else could and should do this?
72, 73 de KØDXV -- Doug, Clark, CO BTU...
On 5/23/2013 12:21 PM, EricJ wrote:
Put me on THAT list. I just picked up a second K2 that would be
perfect as a KX2.
SMT is a breeze with a magnifying bench lamp, a decent soldering
station, tweezers and a reasonably steady hand. You have to learn a
couple of different and sometimes scary techniques. Melting all the
pins together into a long solder blob on an expensive SMT chip, then
wicking off the excess took some guts on the first AmQRP DDS-30 I did,
but I built three DDS-60s after that and every single one of them
worked first time I applied power. I was attracted to Elecraft to
build electronics, not to assemble hardware--I hate that part. hi.
Eric
KE6US
On 5/23/2013 9:43 AM, Rick Dettinger wrote:
My idea of a KX2 would be to rework the K2 with a factory built DDS,
maybe from the KX3, but the rest would be the user built K2 in a K2
box. This could include general coverage.
I think many hams would like to build from parts and use their
soldering irons. This would be a cross between the KX1 block diagram
and the K2 performance.
73,
Rick Dettinger K7MW
On May 23, 2013, at 9:30 AM, Gil G. wrote:
Hello,
Personally, I'd rather see an updated KX1… Same features as the
current one, but SMT.
CW only, but with the same SW listening capabilities. Four bands if
fine.
Internal 12V batteries for a full 5W, or more… Built-in charger...
It would be of course smaller, and should be waterproof. Now that
would be something!
Gil.
--
PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc
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