K3 Kit or Factory Built

[Bob DeHaney]

I did the kit.

>From the practical side, it's nice to know how it goes together if you have
to add something like the 2 Meters expansion, or add a filter, or do a mod,
or send a module back to Elecraft.

>From the fun side it's nice to see all the bits disappearing and a K3
growing on the dining table.

You do risk certain looks and comments from the lady of the house if you
aren't moving along ;-)

Vy 73, Bob DJ0MBC/WU5T





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[Merv Schweigert]

I would encourage going the kit route if a person has any ability at all.
Its very simple to build following instructions, and took me about 6 hours.
I was pleased with the fit of parts and panels and how fast the radio
went together.  And as many have said it makes upgrading or changing
boards a lot more friendly if you have seen the insides apart before.
For my 200 bucks I added a CW filter and transverter card.
Factory built is a real good deal for guys who dont have time or ability,
so both sides come out on top.  Performance is the same either way.
Merv KH7C
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[Lu Romero - W4LT]

When I started in this Hobby in 1975, I built a HW16/HG10
rig as my first "real" novice station.  That grew over the
next several years to a HR10/DX60, then a HW101, then the
entire SB-Line (and then I discovered Kenwood: a TS820 at a
contest, and all the Green was gone virtually overnight).  

I have never had much time to homebrew things, so kit
building was as close as I could come.

I did miss the thrill of getting a box of parts and crafting
a radio from them... And Heathkit had been gone for a long
time... The K2 didnt turn me on enough to make me get rid of
my trusty TS850, however.

The K3 did.  

My #3192 was a kit.  Took me three days, but I took pictures
of *EVERYTHING* for a presentation to the Florida Contest
Group.

If you want to see what it took, send me an email direct and
I will send you the PowerPoint with the evolution from a
shipping box to a finished radio.

There is nothing like the feeling you get when you hit the
power button for the first time and the thing lights up and
you hear signals from the speaker.  The beauty of the whole
experience is that the K3 is a "real" Competition Quality
High Performance radio that came as a bunch of parts.  Yes
you learn lots about the insides and yes, its helpful when
servicing time comes along, but I do this for a living, so
its no biggie to me to open up the rig for servicing.  

The biggest thrill for me is watching it come alive, and the
second best thrill is using it on the bench to make a QSO
with a LY7 right after you finish the
calibration/configuration routines!

#3192 continues my (knock on wood) tradition of having all
the rigs I have assembled, all the way back to that very
first HW17, work at first statup, which is better than I can
say for most of the computers I have assembled from parts.  

-lu-W4LT-



Date: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:20:32 +0100
From: "Bob DeHaney" <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 Kit or Factory Built
To: <[hidden email]>
Message-ID: <001101ca8261$e74fdd90$b5ef98b0$@net>
Content-Type: text/plain;    charset="us-ascii"

I did the kit.

>From the practical side, it's nice to know how it goes
together if you have
to add something like the 2 Meters expansion, or add a
filter, or do a mod,
or send a module back to Elecraft.

>From the fun side it's nice to see all the bits
disappearing and a K3
growing on the dining table.

You do risk certain looks and comments from the lady of the
house if you
aren't moving along ;-)

Vy 73, Bob DJ0MBC/WU5T


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