Elecraft Honchos!!!

[JIM DAVIS-11]

I'm very interested in purchasing one of your NEW K3s but what I have a hard time understanding is
about the production "lag-time" (4mo. now?") If you guys KNOW that you've got a winner then WHY
NOT RAMP UP PRODUCTION now instead of having everybody wait???  Also, if the staff that you have
that visits the various "Ham-Conventions" and take MORE orders then are'nt you guys compounding
the work-order process even MORE???

Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and you should know that as a
businessman!!! Until you have your production equalized more orders slow up production if you're
not GEARED-UP TO HANDLE THEM!!!

73,

Jim/nn6ee
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[S Sacco]

Jim/nn6ee -

Notwithstanding your interesting USE of CAPITALIZATION not to mention
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....

I'm sure they'll appreciate your insights regarding RAMPING UP PRODUCTION!!!

Honestly, I'm feeling exceptionally DUMB that I never thought of that
myself, especially after waiting eight months for mine.

I think that your SUGGESTION is THE first time it's BEEN aired on this
reflector!!!!!!!  IMAGINE!!!!  About SIX thousand list subscribers (at
least that's what Eric told me), and NOBODY ever suggested THAT!!!
UNTIL you!

Seriously!

NOT.

Also, pet-peeve time: it's "Ham radio", or perhaps "Ham Radio", but
never "Ham-Radio".

Regards,

Steve/nn4x
EL98jh



On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 6:06 PM, JIM DAVIS <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I'm very interested in purchasing one of your NEW K3s but what I have a hard
> time understanding is about the production "lag-time" (4mo. now?") If you
> guys KNOW that you've got a winner then WHY NOT RAMP UP PRODUCTION now
> instead of having everybody wait???  Also, if the staff that you have that
> visits the various "Ham-Conventions" and take MORE orders then are'nt you
> guys compounding the work-order process even MORE???
>
> Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and you
> should know that as a businessman!!! Until you have your production
> equalized more orders slow up production if you're not GEARED-UP TO HANDLE
> THEM!!!
>
> 73,
>
> Jim/nn6ee
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
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>

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[Mark Bayern]

You must have missed the post this afternoon from Eric with the
subject 'Lead Time':

"We are continually ramping up our production rate on a weekly basis.
We are definitely producing now at a sustained rate higher than we
were 3-4 months ago, and our plans in place are for this to increase
another 50-75% over the summer."

Elecraft is (well ... was) a small company producing kits. How long
did it take to get to 1000 K2s? It looks they'll reach the 1000 K3
mark soon.

Mark  AD5SS




On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 5:06 PM, JIM DAVIS <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I'm very interested in purchasing one of your NEW K3s but what I have a hard
> time understanding is about the production "lag-time" (4mo. now?") If you
> guys KNOW that you've got a winner then WHY NOT RAMP UP PRODUCTION now
> instead of having everybody wait???  Also, if the staff that you have that
> visits the various "Ham-Conventions" and take MORE orders then are'nt you
> guys compounding the work-order process even MORE???
>
> Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and you
> should know that as a businessman!!! Until you have your production
> equalized more orders slow up production if you're not GEARED-UP TO HANDLE
> THEM!!!
>
> 73,
>
> Jim/nn6ee
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
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>

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[drewko]

On Tue, 20 May 2008 15:06:31 -0700, Jim/nn6ee wrote:

>
>Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and you should know that as a

Yeah, that's right... most of us took a crash course in CW, learning
it overnight. Then worked all band DXCC the next day. And we expect
the solar flux to be at 300 in another week here or so. So where's our
K3's? We didn't become ham radio operators becuase we like to wait
around for stuff. No sir.

73,
Drew
AF2Z

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[AC7AC]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Julian, G4ILO]

Ron D'Eau Claire wrote

Another poster brought up Elecraft and original Volkswagen beetle cars.

I can remember when people grumbled a lot but patiently waited more than six
months for a Volkswagen beetle, back in the 1950's, and it didn't even have
a gas gage!

They, too, were eagerly ramping up production as fast as they could but,
like Elecraft, refused to compromise quality in the process.

The result was one of the most successful automobile companies in history.

They're a good example to follow.

As long as you forget about Ralph Nader. :)

[S Sacco]

Ron -

The Beetle definitely had a cult following, which is reminicient of a
certain radio company I know.  ;-)

My Dad bought a new, 1960 Beetle.   He sold after a short period of
time due to:  1) Unresolved carburetor icing in cold weather would
render it immobile, until the heat of the engine would melt the ice,
allowing it to run again (until it then again iced up).  This was a
common problem, and was addressed by VW in a subsequent model year.

2) One of the valves burned.  Apparently this was another common
problem, due to lack of proper cooling.

Other serioius design issues with the Beetle include the location of
the fuel tank (essentially, in your lap - not a great place in the
event of an accident), the lack of proper heating and defrost
capabilities, and the aerodynamics, which caused the front end to
lift.

Of course, one should not forget that the Beetle was championed by
none other than Adolph Hitler, so, to a certain extent, it would not
have existed but for his support.   Not a great thing to have on your
resume.  ;-)


So, bottom line, just like it's kind of silly to worship a car, or car
company (sorry, Porsche-o-philes), it's also silly to worship a radio,
or a radio company.

73,
Steve NN4X



> They, too, were eagerly ramping up production as fast as they could but,
> like Elecraft, refused to compromise quality in the process.
>
> The result was one of the most successful automobile companies in history.
>
> They're a good example to follow.
>
> Ron AC7AC
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[Rod G3YHM]

Don't get upset about how long you are going to have to wait.

You will be delighted when it arrives.  the wait is well worth it

Its a great rig

73's

Rod

G3YHM

JIM DAVIS-11 wrote

I'm very interested in purchasing one of your NEW K3s but what I have a hard time understanding is
about the production "lag-time" (4mo. now?") If you guys KNOW that you've got a winner then WHY
NOT RAMP UP PRODUCTION now instead of having everybody wait???  Also, if the staff that you have
that visits the various "Ham-Conventions" and take MORE orders then are'nt you guys compounding
the work-order process even MORE???

Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and you should know that as a
businessman!!! Until you have your production equalized more orders slow up production if you're
not GEARED-UP TO HANDLE THEM!!!

73,

Jim/nn6ee
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[N5GE]

On Tue, 20 May 2008 22:23:25 -0700, you wrote:

>Another poster brought up Elecraft and original Volkswagen beetle cars.
>
>I can remember when people grumbled a lot but patiently waited more than six
>months for a Volkswagen beetle, back in the 1950's, and it didn't even have
>a gas gage!
>
>They, too, were eagerly ramping up production as fast as they could but,
>like Elecraft, refused to compromise quality in the process.
>
>The result was one of the most successful automobile companies in history.
>
>They're a good example to follow.
>
>Ron AC7AC
>
>-----Original Message-----
>
>On Tue, 20 May 2008 15:06:31 -0700, Jim/nn6ee wrote:
>
>>
>>Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and
>>you should know that as a
>
>Yeah, that's right... most of us took a crash course in CW, learning it
>overnight. Then worked all band DXCC the next day. And we expect the solar
>flux to be at 300 in another week here or so. So where's our K3's? We didn't
>become ham radio operators becuase we like to wait around for stuff. No sir.

Reminds me of the very annoying Mitsubishi automobile advertisement of the late
80s where the guy doing the commercial is screaming, "GET WHAT YOU WANT, AND GET
IT NOW!".

>
>73,
>Drew
>AF2Z
>
>_______________________________________________
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>Post to: [hidden email]
>You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
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>
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>Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

Tom, N5GE - SWOT 3537 - Grid EM12jq

"Those who would give up
Essential Liberty to
purchase a little Temporary
Safety deserve neither
Liberty nor Safety"

An excerpt from a letter
written in 1755 from the
Assembly to the Governor
of Pennsylvania.

Support the entire Constitution, not
just the parts you like.

http://www.n5ge.com
http://www.eQSL.cc/Member.cfm?N5GE

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[Darwin, Keith]

 

-----Original Message-----
I'm very interested in purchasing one of your NEW K3s but what I have a
hard time understanding is about the production "lag-time" (4mo. now?")
If you guys KNOW that you've got a winner then WHY NOT RAMP UP
PRODUCTION now instead of having everybody wait???  Also, if the staff
that you have that visits the various "Ham-Conventions" and take MORE
orders then are'nt you guys compounding the work-order process even
MORE???

Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and
you should know that as a businessman!!! Until you have your production
equalized more orders slow up production if you're not GEARED-UP TO
HANDLE THEM!!!

73,

Jim/nn6ee
--------------------------

I do NOT want Elecraft to gear up in an open loop fashion.  Elecraft is
a great company specifically because they are small.  If they balloon in
size too quickly or too much, they'd likely turn into a US version of
Ikensu and we'd be getting junk from a big non-responsive company.

The K3 is a package deal.  It comes with a DSP, nice display, great QSK,
top-notch receiver, small form-factor, no internal PS, no 200 watt PA
and a long, unpredictable wait time.  That is just the way it is.  We've
established that many months ago and all the wishing for it to be
different is for naught.  Either you take it as a package or not.

I sure hope Elecraft continues to keep quality, performance, price and
support as priorities over delivery schedule because those are the
features that I really want in my new rig.

- Keith N1AS -
- K3 711 -
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[Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ]

Guys, let's end this thread too. Its taking a tremendous amount of
reflector bandwidth and is not going to make any impact on our
production rate.

See my prior post for more details on our ramp up efforts etc.

73, Eric   WA6HHQ

_..._

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[w7aqk]

Folks, I am sure we all wish that supply at Elecraft was conveniently equal
to demand.  Order a K3 today, and have it by the end of the week or so.
Clearly that isn't the case.  I don't profess to know just how sophisticated
Elecraft's market analysis is, but I'm relatively sure they aren't doing any
exotic market surveys either.  They are a small company with a big product!
Also, I have no idea how they are evaluating just how much they can/will
ramp up production.  Doing so is expensive for one thing.  It also adds
greater complexity to the organization, particularly if that includes adding
staff.  I'm reasonably sure they don't want to increase staff only to reduce
staff later.  Some of that may be necessary, but it gets very sticky making
those kinds of moves.  Training new employees to get them up to an
acceptable level of productivity, and then dropping them later, really
hammers the bottom line.

Personally, I would have expected the wait time to have decreased more than
it has.  But it hasn't gone down as much as I thought it would, and that
suggests to me that K3 demand remains relatively strong--even 1 year later.
I can only assume that it has surprised Wayne and Eric a bit too.  Although
all of us can fuss and complain about the wait time, it's really their
product, and they are presumably doing what they think is right.  Whether
they are dealing with it correctly or not, it's their decision, not ours.
So we just need to grin and bear it.  That doesn't mean that allowing the
"wheel to squeek" a bit won't encourage some positive response from them,
but generally I think there will only be limited success in doing so.

I think the best thing to do is to try and view all of this positively.  By
proceeding on a "conservative" path, Elecraft is hopefully minimizing
screw-ups, not to mention protecting the company's viability.  The longer
they can sustain strong demand, the longer you have assurance that they will
be around to help you keep their products running.  Dealing with smaller
companies can be somewhat risky.  If they run out of demand, or ideas, or
both, they tend to disappear.  You don't have to think very long to come up
with a bunch of names of companies like this who met an abrupt demise.

If you don't like that suggestion, consider this one.  I think the strong
demand for the K3 would have easily enabled Elecraft to raise prices even
more than they did.  That would have probably have helped lower demand
closer to supply, and they could later offer some "blue light" specials to
prop up demand when it started waning.  But they didn't do that--yet!  So,
even though I'm a bit frustrated about some things just like most of you
are, I think I'll keep my complaints muzzled a bit.  Besides, few if any of
us have all the facts anyway.  We have no idea what all the issues are that
Elecraft is dealing with.  We are all just a bunch of "sidewalk
superintendents", and what we think should be simple may well be just the
opposite.  In truth, I think a lot of our frustration is enhanced by the
knowledge that the K3 is a great product with superior product support.  We
want it!  Now!  We don't want to go for the closest alternative.  We just
don't like dilemmas.

Dave W7AQK

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[k7svv]

It sounds like the natives are getting restless again.

John    [K7SVV]

----- Original Message -----
From: "JIM DAVIS" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 3:06 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Elecraft Honchos!!!


I'm very interested in purchasing one of your NEW K3s but what I have a hard
time understanding is
about the production "lag-time" (4mo. now?") If you guys KNOW that you've
got a winner then WHY
NOT RAMP UP PRODUCTION now instead of having everybody wait???  Also, if the
staff that you have
that visits the various "Ham-Conventions" and take MORE orders then are'nt
you guys compounding
the work-order process even MORE???

Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and you
should know that as a
businessman!!! Until you have your production equalized more orders slow up
production if you're
not GEARED-UP TO HANDLE THEM!!!

73,

Jim/nn6ee
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
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6:45 AM

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[JIM DAVIS-11]

On Wed, 21 May 2008 14:44:30 -0700
  "John   K7SVV" <[hidden email]> wrote:

> It sounds like the natives are getting restless again.
>
> John    [K7SVV]
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "JIM DAVIS" <[hidden email]>
> To: <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 3:06 PM
> Subject: [Elecraft] Elecraft Honchos!!!
>
>
> I'm very interested in purchasing one of your NEW K3s but what I have a hard time understanding
>is
> about the production "lag-time" (4mo. now?") If you guys KNOW that you've got a winner then WHY
> NOT RAMP UP PRODUCTION now instead of having everybody wait???  Also, if the staff that you have
> that visits the various "Ham-Conventions" and take MORE orders then are'nt you guys compounding
> the work-order process even MORE???
>
> Look! This is Ham-Radio and it's all about "instant gratification" and you should know that as a
> businessman!!! Until you have your production equalized more orders slow up production if you're
> not GEARED-UP TO HANDLE THEM!!!

**************************************************************************************

Your comment has no basis in fact in that I'm not alone by virtue of the MANY comments in
agreement with my EARLIER POSTING!!!

So it would be great if you could follow the conversation line!

I and you can SPEND OUR MONEY ANYWHERE WE WANT!

We'll see how the "Elecraft Boyz" handle their present dilemma!!!

Jim/nn6ee
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[Charly]

I sent a msg to this reflector prior to the first K3 sold that it would "become the IC-706 of the new age".... u had to be a post or

a stone not to see that demand would be HUGE and immediate and long lasting.  I think E could have sold 3,000 in the first month

if shipping was upon immediate purchase.  73


Charles Harpole
[hidden email]

> From: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft Honchos!!!
> Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 14:05:34 -0700
> CC: [hidden email]
>
> Folks, I am sure we all wish that supply at Elecraft was conveniently equal
> to demand. Order a K3 today, and have it by the end of the week or so.
> Clearly that isn't the case. I don't profess to know just how sophisticated
> Elecraft's market analysis is, but I'm relatively sure they aren't doing any
> exotic market surveys either. They are a small company with a big product!
> Also, I have no idea how they are evaluating just how much they can/will
> ramp up production. Doing so is expensive for one thing. It also adds
> greater complexity to the organization, particularly if that includes adding
> staff. I'm reasonably sure they don't want to increase staff only to reduce
> staff later. Some of that may be necessary, but it gets very sticky making
> those kinds of moves. Training new employees to get them up to an
> acceptable level of productivity, and then dropping them later, really
> hammers the bottom line.
>
> Personally, I would have expected the wait time to have decreased more than
> it has. But it hasn't gone down as much as I thought it would, and that
> suggests to me that K3 demand remains relatively strong--even 1 year later.
> I can only assume that it has surprised Wayne and Eric a bit too. Although
> all of us can fuss and complain about the wait time, it's really their
> product, and they are presumably doing what they think is right. Whether
> they are dealing with it correctly or not, it's their decision, not ours.
> So we just need to grin and bear it. That doesn't mean that allowing the
> "wheel to squeek" a bit won't encourage some positive response from them,
> but generally I think there will only be limited success in doing so.
>
> I think the best thing to do is to try and view all of this positively. By
> proceeding on a "conservative" path, Elecraft is hopefully minimizing
> screw-ups, not to mention protecting the company's viability. The longer
> they can sustain strong demand, the longer you have assurance that they will
> be around to help you keep their products running. Dealing with smaller
> companies can be somewhat risky. If they run out of demand, or ideas, or
> both, they tend to disappear. You don't have to think very long to come up
> with a bunch of names of companies like this who met an abrupt demise.
>
> If you don't like that suggestion, consider this one. I think the strong
> demand for the K3 would have easily enabled Elecraft to raise prices even
> more than they did. That would have probably have helped lower demand
> closer to supply, and they could later offer some "blue light" specials to
> prop up demand when it started waning. But they didn't do that--yet! So,
> even though I'm a bit frustrated about some things just like most of you
> are, I think I'll keep my complaints muzzled a bit. Besides, few if any of
> us have all the facts anyway. We have no idea what all the issues are that
> Elecraft is dealing with. We are all just a bunch of "sidewalk
> superintendents", and what we think should be simple may well be just the
> opposite. In truth, I think a lot of our frustration is enhanced by the
> knowledge that the K3 is a great product with superior product support. We
> want it! Now! We don't want to go for the closest alternative. We just
> don't like dilemmas.
>
> Dave W7AQK
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
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>
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