Elecraft

Elecraft July Newsletter

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Ted Roycraft-3

Elecraft July Newsletter

I received the Elecraft July Newsletter tonight. It supposedly contained a
K4 Update but the only thing I saw in this “update” was a reference to a
talk that Eric will be giving in early August at the Virtual Ham Expo where
he will give the actual K4 Update. Did I read that wrong? Will we be
pleased when we hear his update?

Thanks and 73,
Ted, W2ZK
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Michael Coslo

Re: Elecraft July Newsletter

One of the aspects of making a top notch SDR radio is that while it is not too hard making a fair SDR - think Icom 7300 - making a really good one is a lot harder. Icom kinda gets a C grade on their 7610.

So a radio that is going to compete with the likes of the Flex 6600 or 6700 is going to be a lot harder task.

So Elecraft is probably working their keisters off to hit specs. The wait is frustrating, but it’s best if they get it done right.

Note 2. I’ve come here because our club has a K3S setup. My personal radio is a Flex 6600. This group is pretty good IMO.

- 73 -
- Michael Coslo -
Frequency Coordinator, Beaver Stadium
814-404-3991
[hidden email]
[hidden email]

> On Jul 28, 2020, at 11:11 PM, Ted Roycraft <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> I received the Elecraft July Newsletter tonight. It supposedly contained a
> K4 Update but the only thing I saw in this “update” was a reference to a
> talk that Eric will be giving in early August at the Virtual Ham Expo where
> he will give the actual K4 Update. Did I read that wrong? Will we be
> pleased when we hear his update?
>
> Thanks and 73,
> Ted, W2ZK
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
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Michael Coslo

Re: Elecraft July Newsletter

Ted, I’m sorry - I didn’t say you weren’t getting it - or didn’t mean to, just that there are many things that can hold up production.

I do know that I too would be very frustrated if I paid for something that didn’t exist yet. Fortunately, I’m the type that waits 6 months or more after a radio is out before thinking about picking one up. Mainly because I want to see what the product is going to be like. Just my temperament.

As far as Elecraft being a great company - yeah, they are okay. I’m surely no fan of them more than any other company, though.

So anyhow, I do apologize for upsetting you - I surely didn’t mean to, but I did.
- 73 -
- Michael Coslo N3LI -
Frequency Coordinator, Beaver Stadium
814-404-3991
[hidden email]
[hidden email]

> On Jul 29, 2020, at 10:56 AM, Ted Roycraft <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Yes Michael, I get it. Elecraft is a great company. I’ve had Elecraft radios since 1999 - K2, K1X, and K3. I’m not faulting Elecraft so much for the delay, but their communication about the delay. They are a privately held company and have a right not disclose their company secrets including problems, schedules, etc. but they effectively asked us to buy an informal stake in their company when they solicited full price deposits for the K4 while estimating delivery before the end of 2019. I think that entitles is to more timely information about delays and holdups. On August 8, it will be one year ago that I sent them $4000.00.
>
> I am a retired electrical engineer. I spent more than 35 years first designing hardware then developing software for a very large communications company. I know how the development process works. The delay they’re suffering is most definitely not due to they’re trying to build the perfect SDR. No, it’s due to more mundane problems like parts availability, availability of subcontractors, availability of their own workforce, and almost entirely due to other complications of being in business during a pandemic. Is it too much to ask of them to keep us posted when they know there is going to be a delay and not wait to announce it until the date that they last projected to start shipping?
>
> In my posting, my only hint of my frustration was saying that I hoped that they will have good news for us in their K4 update during the Expo on August 8.
>
> Ted, W2ZK
>
> On Wed, Jul 29, 2020 at 9:33 AM Michael Coslo <[hidden email]> wrote:
> One of the aspects of making a top notch SDR radio is that while it is not too hard making a fair SDR - think Icom 7300 - making a really good one is a lot harder. Icom kinda gets a C grade on their 7610.
>
> So a radio that is going to compete with the likes of the Flex 6600 or 6700 is going to be a lot harder task.
>
> So Elecraft is probably working their keisters off to hit specs. The wait is frustrating, but it’s best if they get it done right.
>
> Note 2. I’ve come here because our club has a K3S setup. My personal radio is a Flex 6600. This group is pretty good IMO.
>
> - 73 -
> - Michael Coslo -
> Frequency Coordinator, Beaver Stadium
> 814-404-3991
> [hidden email]
> [hidden email]
>
> > On Jul 28, 2020, at 11:11 PM, Ted Roycraft <[hidden email]> wrote:
> >
> > I received the Elecraft July Newsletter tonight. It supposedly contained a
> > K4 Update but the only thing I saw in this “update” was a reference to a
> > talk that Eric will be giving in early August at the Virtual Ham Expo where
> > he will give the actual K4 Update. Did I read that wrong? Will we be
> > pleased when we hear his update?
> >
> > Thanks and 73,
> > Ted, W2ZK
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> > Message delivered to [hidden email]
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]