I enjoyed building my two K3's. To me it adds to the radio and the experience. It is not overly difficult to build. I have a bit more invested in my radio's than just some $$$.
Like Ed and Dave, I can easily see the value of buying the built radio. The cost of assembly was not a factor in my case. Mike W0MU CC Packet Cluster W0MU-1 W0MU.NET or 67.40.148.194 "A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over." Ben Franklin -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ed Muns Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 7:57 PM To: 'Phil Hystad' Cc: 'Elecraft Reflector' Subject: Re: [Elecraft] kit building or buy ready for use Hi, Phil. The vast majority of K3 kits are assembled with no problems. K6LL's experience is rare. I personally value the kit building experience more than Dave indicated. OTOH, I can also see the comfort in the integrity of a factory-built/tested K3. So, it really comes down to each individual's preferences and what they each value as most important. There is not a single right answer for everyone. The point that Dave and I are making is that saving some cost on the kit is not the only consideration. The value of the factory-built K3s is not just the assembly time and labor but also the system testing. Ed - W0YK ----------------------------------------------- Ed Muns Muns Vineyard - www.munsvineyard.com FaceBook - www.facebook.com/munsvineyard > -----Original Message----- > From: Phil Hystad [mailto:k7...@comcast.net] > Sent: Sunday, 20 December, 2009 18:40 > To: w...@msn.com > Cc: 'Dave Hachadorian'; 'Elecraft Reflector' > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] kit building or buy ready for use > > I would like to see more comments from K3 kit builders to counter > these points being made here. > > I am also planning on getting the K3 and there is only one thing that > is holding up my order right now and that is trying to figure out when > I can spend the time to put it together. But, I am also a little bit > wondering if the cost differential of kit versus factory built is > worth the learning experience when you contrast that with the hassles > of potential problems. > > If the kit cost versus factory built cost were different by a wider > margin it would be an easier decision. > > phil, K7PEH > > > On Dec 20, 2009, at 6:27 PM, Ed Muns wrote: > > > This is an important point and one that should be considered in the > > decision to get the factory-built K3 or the kit. Actually the > > sub-assemblies are tested as individual units. But the set of > > sub-assemblies in a kit have not been tested together as a system. > > The factory system tests are more rigorous than what most > of us can do > > with the kit and certainly more rigorous than the kit instructions > > provide. And, while rare, it is possible that sub-assembly > tolerances > > can combine in a way that causes a system problem. > (However, most, if > > not all, of such system issues are resolved via email or phone with > > Elecraft support.) > > > > So the key considerations are money saved and K3 learning vs. the > > value of the factory system testing. Of course, you can > always send > > your kit K3 to the factory for the system test but that is > likely to > > be more expensive than getting the factory-built unit in > the first place. > > > > Ed - W0YK > > ----------------------------------------------- > > Ed Muns > > Muns Vineyard - www.munsvineyard.com FaceBook - > > www.facebook.com/munsvineyard > > > > K6LL wrote: > >> I recommend that you buy it factory-built, at least for the basic > >> unit. > >> > >> I have two K3's. One I bought second-hand, and one I built. > >> The one I built had a missing major part, which caused a > delay, and > >> then didn't work when it was finished. It turned out that > there was > >> an unsoldered component on the motherboard, which was > undetectable in > >> factory subassembly testing. > >> > >> Although you save $200 by building it yourself, you really don't > >> learn much in the process, and you have to spend about > >> $25 for an ESD mat. If you have to ship it back to the factory, it > >> will cost you $50 in the USA, and much more from overseas. > >> > >> There is no substitute for the final system tests that the > >> factory-assembled units get. Subassemblies are not tested 100%. > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > > 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
