Good point, Wayne. I would also like to add that a lot of us build our
own computers which are also modular and we still get a sense of
achievement and pride as well as learning how they work. The world is
dynamic and things change.
Gary, N7HTS
wayne burdick wrote:
First, let me say that I like Jim's sliding scale of what constitutes
"homebrew" (reproduced at the end of this email from his recent QRP-L
posting). Translating that into contest multipliers and
building-contest rules is another story.
I've been engaged in "building" at every level of the N2EY Scale. I've
designed a lot from scratch (including--with a lot of help from my
friends--the K3/K2/K1/KX1/Sierra/SST/NC40A). I've built PCs from
modules, built Heathkits, borrowed circuits from Hayward and DeMaw,
and tried everything in between, sometimes with comical results. I had
*no* clue what I was doing -- at first. The important thing is this:
Every level of building is rewarding in its own way, because you have
to learn something to do it well.
I have no qualms at all when I see the K3 at #6 on the scale. Skill is
still involved: using tools, aligning hardware and panels by eye,
calibrating trim-caps, reading instructions. A modular K3 is, clearly,
not what you'd think of as homebrew, but it certainly is a kit, and
will still take considerable time to complete. I'm content to have the
subject debated by the many enthusiastic builders on this list, and
will accept your judgment.
But I'll leave you with an interesting story. Once, at a wireless
seminar, I had the opportunity to show one of my little projects
(NorCal Sierra prototype) to Wes Hayward, W7ZOI. Wes is the famous
co-author of Solid State Design, EMRFD, and other books, and was a
mentor of mine, though he didn't realize it. At first he tossed a few
compliments my way. But then he firmly chided me for having
single-handedly stunted the intellectual growth of a generation of
potential engineers -- by offering PC boards pre-made!
I countered that I might just have *helped* some future engineers by
giving them something cool to start on. Something to stimulate their
imagination. And over the years this has proven to be true: I've been
contacted by many hams who hadn't built a thing until they'd
encountered a kit (one of Doug's, or mine and Eric's, or Bob Dyer's,
or Dave Benson's), and had then moved successively higher up the rungs
on N2EY's hierarchy.
So when I think about the K3 and its pre-tested, no-soldering modules,
I don't see a swath of destruction in the ranks of the technically
inclined. I don't see a impending precipitous drop in IQ. Instead, I
see hundreds of ordinary folks -- who might never have touched a
soldering iron or even a screwdriver -- take their first tentative
steps towards learning the skill of building.
With our help (and yours), some of them will make that same leap of
faith that we did. They'll modify something. Or fix something. And
before you know it, they'll be slapping 0402's on hand-etched
microstrips ;)
73,
Wayne
N6KR
* * *
N2EY's homebrew/kit scale:
1) Homebrew (scratch built): Original unit, designed and built by the
ham,
including circuit design, mechanical layout, coil winding, etc.
2) Homebrew (article project): More-or-less copy of a project designed
and
documented by others, such as an HBR receiver.
3) Surplus conversion: Adaptation of an electronic unit meant for one
purpose
to a new purpose, but not a completely new design. Usually applied to WW2
military surplus but really applies to almost anything, such as
land-mobile VHF
FM rigs converted to ham use.
4) Semi-kit: Construction of a kit that requires more than electronic
assembly, such as a QRP rig that consists of a PCB and most parts but
leaves the
chassis and some other details up to the builder. Limited instructions
are part of
the semi-kit class.
5) Heath-kit: Construction of a kit that requires only electronic
assembly
(and possibly coil winding) from components. Extensive instructions,
as in most
Heathkit and Elecraft products.
6) PC-kit: Construction of a kit from modules rather than components.
Similar
to building a computer from a pile of goodies, hence the name.
Elecraft K3.
---
http://www.elecraft.com
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