K3 Repair
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Wish I'd have known that before I sent one in for some work yesterday,
I might have at least explored other options before sending it off for such a long time. Maybe an estimated repair time supplied with the RSA might be something to consider. Tim NZ8J Sent from my iPhone ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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A fate worse than death...being confined to 2 meter FM while the real
rig is being tweaked/repaired! John Ragle -- W1ZI ===== On 7/1/2010 12:10 PM, Tim Cook wrote: > Wish I'd have known that before I sent one in for some work yesterday, > I might have at least explored other options before sending it off for > such a long time. Maybe an estimated repair time supplied with the RSA > might be something to consider. > > Tim > NZ8J > > Sent from my iPhone > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > > > ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by nz8j
As it was explained to me, there are two different areas, Repairs and Modifications.
I was told two to three weeks when I initially asked for an approximate time, but that was back towards the beginning of the year. There has been one new mod added since then. I'm guessing a lot of folks put off sending a rig back and Elecraft got hit all at once. I certainly would have liked a shorter turn around time, but do understand why it is taking so long. I would also think any warranty repair would have higher priority and would probably use repair/mod techs to build newly ordered rigs, at least some of the time (this is my opinion only) It's not been too horrible with a second K3 and K2 on hand, but sure do miss the second RX at times. hihi Too, now I have a good excuse to work on antennas and other station improvements. 73, Julius
Julius Fazekas
N2WN Tennessee Contest Group http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html Tennessee QSO Party http://www.tnqp.org/ Elecraft K2 #4455 Elecraft K3/100 #366 Elecraft K3/100 |
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As a prospective K3 customer, I have been following this link with very
great interest. I would be interested in knowing what percent of K3 deliveries require return to Elecraft for repair and of that cohort, what is the percentage of K3's that were fundamentally defective upon delivery as opposed to damaged by customer (mis)use. For me the weakness of the K3 is the (probably necessary) departure from the "kit model" of the rest of the Elecraft line where self repair is the order of the day. The repair of a K3, it seems to me, almost certainly requires a factory return, which, from this thread, is somewhat unappealing. I am interested further discussion on this thread in order to help me determine whether my very limited funds go toward a K3 purchase or the purchase of a second, but "fully tricked out", K2/100. Ed Lambert, KD3Y (K2 1999, KX1 1492) ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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On 2010-07-02 17:09, Ed Lambert wrote:
> of the day. The repair of a K3, it seems to me, almost certainly requires a > factory return, which, from this thread, is somewhat unappealing. > > > Ed Lambert, KD3Y (K2 1999, KX1 1492) > I would say on the contrary. The way the K3 is constructed, I would call it modular construction, I would think it would be easy to isolate the "problem" to a certain module and then get a new one from Elecraft, a swap maybe or just buy one. / Jim SM2EKM ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by Ed Lambert-2
I purchased an assembled K3 because I didn't want to do the whole
assembly project because of problems that I have with doing a lot of close work. I'm experienced with electronics repair in general, having operated service facilities for industrial instrumentation and having always repaired my ham radio equipment. Since the purchase, I've done the following: 1. Fixed a band pass filter problem caused by a semi-defective trimmer capacitor which caused low drive on 30 meters. The capacitor had a sticky point and was repaired by turning it several times after unsticking it with a screwdriver, sturdier than an alignment tool and setting it to the other side of the capacitor. I had consulted Elecraft and got trouble shooting advice from them. Elecraft service suggested returning it to them but I preferred to do it myself. The troubleshooting process also involved removing the antenna tuner and installing some jumpers which I subsequently removed as the tuner 8 MHz trap turned out to not be the problem. Troubleshooting also involved performing some calibration tests and measuring signal levels on the KXV3 although those turned out to be unnecessary steps. 2. Installed two filters which was a trivial excercise. 3. Installed the K44XV and exchanged the KXV3A which was necessary for the transverter installation. I also installed two more filters at the same time. 4. Installed an exchange dsp board, the K3DSPUPGD upgrade, which was quite straight forward.* *The most difficult part of these upgrades and repair was getting the two meter IF and antenna cables plugged back into the transverter. So, even if you purchase an assembled K3, you can do repairs and upgrades yourself and have email and telephone support as needed. The K3 instructions are explicit and quite adequate, even if you didn't build it from a kit first. If you take reasonable care and follow the instructions, you can avoid shipping and waiting. * *Dunc, W5DC Ed Lambert wrote: > As a prospective K3 customer, I have been following this link with very > great interest. I would be interested in knowing what percent of K3 > deliveries require return to Elecraft for repair and of that cohort, what is > the percentage of K3's that were fundamentally defective upon delivery as > opposed to damaged by customer (mis)use. > > For me the weakness of the K3 is the (probably necessary) departure from the > "kit model" of the rest of the Elecraft line where self repair is the order > of the day. The repair of a K3, it seems to me, almost certainly requires a > factory return, which, from this thread, is somewhat unappealing. > > I am interested further discussion on this thread in order to help me > determine whether my very limited funds go toward a K3 purchase or the > purchase of a second, but "fully tricked out", K2/100. > > Ed Lambert, KD3Y (K2 1999, KX1 1492) > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > > ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by Ed Lambert-2
Julius Fazekas
N2WN Tennessee Contest Group http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html Tennessee QSO Party http://www.tnqp.org/ Elecraft K2 #4455 Elecraft K3/100 #366 Elecraft K3/100 |
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In reply to this post by Ed Lambert-2
Ed:
You would have absolutely no chance of repairing one of the import rigs yourself. At least with Elecraft you have phone and email support, spare parts and modular construction going for you. Now if all that doesn't help then ship it in for service but to say "it almost certainly requires a factory return" is only true if you're totally electronically and mechanically inapt. If you can use a vom and screwdriver you at least have a fighting chance of repair. From I've seen, the K3 is about as reliable as anything else out there unless you really beat up on it, expose it to lightning or fat finger the assembly. Steve N4LQ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ed Lambert" <[hidden email]> To: <[hidden email]> Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 11:09 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Repair > As a prospective K3 customer, I have been following this link with very > great interest. I would be interested in knowing what percent of K3 > deliveries require return to Elecraft for repair and of that cohort, what > is > the percentage of K3's that were fundamentally defective upon delivery as > opposed to damaged by customer (mis)use. > > For me the weakness of the K3 is the (probably necessary) departure from > the > "kit model" of the rest of the Elecraft line where self repair is the > order > of the day. The repair of a K3, it seems to me, almost certainly requires > a > factory return, which, from this thread, is somewhat unappealing. > > I am interested further discussion on this thread in order to help me > determine whether my very limited funds go toward a K3 purchase or the > purchase of a second, but "fully tricked out", K2/100. > > Ed Lambert, KD3Y (K2 1999, KX1 1492) > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by Ed Lambert-2
Ed, STOP your worrying right now. The K3 has PROVEN itself to be a VERY reliable rig, and what you are seeing is the squeaky wheel going around. This is how it works on this and other user groups... one person says something and then all the vocal people start building a mountain out of a mole hill. This will happen with EVERYTHING, the use of a static mat, how big it should be, what the resistor should be on the little cord that connects to the matt, what type of headphones to use, even why the clock in the K3 is 2 seconds off a month/day/etc... They blow everything up to look like the rig is a complete fail. You have to keep in mind that people that have a reason to complain about something want their opinions heard, and heard loudly.. where as the people that have had good experiences generally don't speak out on these sites. This is no different than when you go to a review sight about a Vacuum or any other consumer good and all you read are bad reviews, yet you've had the same very device sitting in your house working perfectly well for the last 3 years. Yes, there are going to be some issues with the rigs from time to time, but keep in mind over 4000 of these units have been sold... Most units go back for Mods or updates that appliance users are too afraid to do themselves. The President of the company has already come on this user group and explained what the majority of work he's been seeing coming back and why... Yet the wheels keep going around and around on here... The backlog on repairs will always change from day to day. Today it could be 20 people wanting the P3 I/O buffer resistor replaced in prep for the P3, tomorrow it could be 10 people wanting a new DSP replacement for the audio mods released, and then again, 2 weeks from now there may only be one unit on the bench waiting for a simple RF repair... It's all random.. The squeaky wheels are just catching this at a time when the delay is longer than not due to a lot of new mods that were implemented recently(last 2 or 3 months). Find someone that lives near you, spend a day with the K3, play with it. If you find that it looks and feels like you want in a rig, BUY it.. You wont regret it. I just urge you not to use the Squeaky wheels to make your decision for you. 73 > From: [hidden email] > To: [hidden email] > Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2010 11:09:09 -0400 > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Repair > > As a prospective K3 customer, I have been following this link with very > great interest. I would be interested in knowing what percent of K3 > deliveries require return to Elecraft for repair and of that cohort, what is > the percentage of K3's that were fundamentally defective upon delivery as > opposed to damaged by customer (mis)use. > > For me the weakness of the K3 is the (probably necessary) departure from the > "kit model" of the rest of the Elecraft line where self repair is the order > of the day. The repair of a K3, it seems to me, almost certainly requires a > factory return, which, from this thread, is somewhat unappealing. > > I am interested further discussion on this thread in order to help me > determine whether my very limited funds go toward a K3 purchase or the > purchase of a second, but "fully tricked out", K2/100. > > Ed Lambert, KD3Y (K2 1999, KX1 1492) > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_2 ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by nz8j
The K3 worked on 30 meters when I received it but the output was a bit
low and drifted lower with component aging. Such things do happen and Elecraft gave me the support to find the problem and plus I've had experience with trimmers in older gear like my FT-101E that I've had for 35 years and other gear before that. Back in the dark ages ( I was first licensed in 1954 ), troubleshooting ham gear, doing periodic alignments, etc. were all a normal part of the game. All manufacturers have occasional component problems; the good manufacturers support their gear which Elecraft does quite well. Dunc, W5DC Ed Lambert wrote: Thanks, Dunc. It is interesting to me that it looks like you had to do 1 repair due to a radio delivered with a fundamental defect and that the rest of your work was voluntary. I am mildly disconcerted by the reports of radios delivered with defects. Thanks again, Ed ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by The Smiths
Absolutely correct! Thank you! Philip LaMarche LaMarche Enterprises, Inc [hidden email] www.LaMarcheEnterprises.com 727-944-3226 727-937-8834 Fax 727-510-5038 Cell www.w9dvm.com K3 #1605 CCA 98-00827 CRA 1701 W9DVM -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of The Smiths Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 1:41 PM To: [hidden email]; Elecraft Reflector Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Repair Ed, STOP your worrying right now. The K3 has PROVEN itself to be a VERY reliable rig, and what you are seeing is the squeaky wheel going around. This is how it works on this and other user groups... one person says something and then all the vocal people start building a mountain out of a mole hill. This will happen with EVERYTHING, the use of a static mat, how big it should be, what the resistor should be on the little cord that connects to the matt, what type of headphones to use, even why the clock in the K3 is 2 seconds off a month/day/etc... They blow everything up to look like the rig is a complete fail. You have to keep in mind that people that have a reason to complain about something want their opinions heard, and heard loudly.. where as the people that have had good experiences generally don't speak out on these sites. This is no different than when you go to a review sight about a Vacuum or any other consumer good and all you read are bad reviews, yet you've had the same very device sitting in your house working perfectly well for the last 3 years. Yes, there are going to be some issues with the rigs from time to time, but keep in mind over 4000 of these units have been sold... Most units go back for Mods or updates that appliance users are too afraid to do themselves. The President of the company has already come on this user group and explained what the majority of work he's been seeing coming back and why... Yet the wheels keep going around and around on here... The backlog on repairs will always change from day to day. Today it could be 20 people wanting the P3 I/O buffer resistor replaced in prep for the P3, tomorrow it could be 10 people wanting a new DSP replacement for the audio mods released, and then again, 2 weeks from now there may only be one unit on the bench waiting for a simple RF repair... It's all random.. The squeaky wheels are just catching this at a time when the delay is longer than not due to a lot of new mods that were implemented recently(last 2 or 3 months). Find someone that lives near you, spend a day with the K3, play with it. If you find that it looks and feels like you want in a rig, BUY it.. You wont regret it. I just urge you not to use the Squeaky wheels to make your decision for you. 73 > From: [hidden email] > To: [hidden email] > Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2010 11:09:09 -0400 > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Repair > > As a prospective K3 customer, I have been following this link with > very great interest. I would be interested in knowing what percent of > K3 deliveries require return to Elecraft for repair and of that > cohort, what is the percentage of K3's that were fundamentally > defective upon delivery as opposed to damaged by customer (mis)use. > > For me the weakness of the K3 is the (probably necessary) departure > from the "kit model" of the rest of the Elecraft line where self > repair is the order of the day. The repair of a K3, it seems to me, > almost certainly requires a factory return, which, from this thread, is > > I am interested further discussion on this thread in order to help me > determine whether my very limited funds go toward a K3 purchase or the > purchase of a second, but "fully tricked out", K2/100. > > Ed Lambert, KD3Y (K2 1999, KX1 1492) > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:W L:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_2 ______________________________________________________________ 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by The Smiths
Having dealt in the past with tech support from Yaesu and Icom, and now enjoying the incredibly better support that Elecraft offers, I have three observations:
1. With any of the Japanese manufacturers, your ONLY option is to ship to the factory. If it's under warranty, you void the warranty if you do anything to the rig, even just removing the cover in some cases. Out of warranty, shipping to the factory is still your only reasonable recourse. With Elecraft, through a combination of outstanding Elecraft communication and support mindset, and this user group, there's at least an opportunity to fix a problem on your own. If the issue is damaged SMD components or a damaged board trace, then it's back to the factory, obviously, but for many problems, users have obtained the guidance to fix it themselves. The modularity of the K3 is also helpful; you can remove one board and keep the rest of the rig in your shack. Yaesu turnaround, in my experience, was 4 to 6 weeks, and I live only 30 miles from their US repair facility in Orange County, CA. Score: Elecraft 1, Big Boys 0. 2. Elecraft monitors this group closely, and responds at lightning speed when issues arise. For example, if somebody flags a bug in the K3 Utility program or in firmware, it's typically fixed and a revised version made available in days, or even hours. Yaesu and Icom (and I presume Kenwood) presumably monitor their equivalent discussion groups, but they NEVER, EVER participate in the discussion, and never respond to anything posted on the groups. Score: Elecraft 2, Big Boys 0. 3. Elecraft documentation makes it far easier to identify and fix problems than any documentation I've seen on any ham radio equipment since Heathkit was in business. With modern micro-scale technologies, repairs aren't as easy as they might have been on Heathkits, but we're not in Kansas any more, (or Benton Harbor, to be more accurate). Score: Elecraft 3, Big Boys 0. In the World Cup competition, a 1-0 lead usually wins, 2-0 is insurmountable and 3-0 is a slaughter. Same is true here. Nobody's perfect, but Elecraft comes as close to perfection as we're all likely to see before we become SK and go to Ham Radio Heaven. Lew K6LMP ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by Dunc Carter - W5DC
> Ed Lambert wrote:
> Thanks, Dunc. > > I am mildly disconcerted by the reports of radios delivered with defects. > > Thanks again, Except in the case of very large monolithic devices (MRI machine, Jetliner), military applications, life-critical devices, it is understood that competition does not allow for completely examining every circuit board in every product. Return, warranty service and identifying overly defective trends that are not manufacturing noise, is a science in itself with some number of canned major megabuck computer apps to manage returns and identify patternable troubles that need attention, where servicing returns are so high as to Once the decision has been made to deal with warrantee and service issues honestly, there is a level of defect where the service costs exceed the profit margin. There are two choice then, raise prices or identify and fix the manufacturing problem. Most of us simply cannot afford zero defect manufacturing products and so we are subject to a company's decision above. K3's built by Elecraft ARE extensively tested after assembly, you will get a functioning radio. But for some there will still be a transistor that goes, or a missed wave solder that lasts for six months before causing problems. The question for us is whether or not we get stiffed for the inevitable defect. For those of us not able to afford military prices, we have one of the best support groups on the planet in Elecraft. THAT is what you should base a purchase decision upon, if defects is a serious issue. 73, Guy. ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by nz8j
Pete N4RZ wrote : "One thought that comes to mind - put a "repair queue
length" figure on the web-site and update it every day or two" The only problem with that Pete is that it would eat up resources that could otherwise be used productively, thus slowing down actual work. 73, Fred, AE6iC, K3#2241 ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by Ed Lambert-2
I can only give my anecdotal response. I have built both the K2 and K3
and have supplemented and upgraded both. For the most part the Elecraft equipment, particularly the K3, is well designed and pretested before leaving the factory. If you are comfortable with kit building you are probably going to have no problems, particularly with the K3. If a problem develops often the company can help you solve the problem through over the phone advice. If there is a defective module they will send you a replacement so you can do it yourself. I would suspect it is far more likely that equipment will be damaged by mistakes made by the kit builder than defects in manufacture. You can avoid all the risk by simply buying the prebuilt radio. That will be fully tested before leaving the factory. My build of the K2 was complicated because that is a more difficult process since you have to do extensive soldering and are building the individual circuit boards. I had a few minor errors that were corrected without having to return the unit to the factory and I got it running well. The K3 was a much easier project and it took me less than 11 hours to build and I had only one obvious mistake (forgot to plug in the PA power supply) that I quickly found and corrected. However, it was also my experience that the sub rx ( which I installed later) is the most difficult part of the K3 build. The Sub Rx board's tnc connectors are very delicate. The sub rx fit is also very tight and it is very hard to see the connectors to make sure they are properly seated. I did damage the SubRx board during installation and I did send it back to the factory to repair. Also, while the radio has a lot more protective circuitry than most, there are things that an operator can do to it that would result in damage. Elecraft is good at helping and the repair charges are very reasonable. -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Ed Lambert Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 8:09 AM To: [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Repair As a prospective K3 customer, I have been following this link with very great interest. I would be interested in knowing what percent of K3 deliveries require return to Elecraft for repair and of that cohort, what is the percentage of K3's that were fundamentally defective upon delivery as opposed to damaged by customer (mis)use. For me the weakness of the K3 is the (probably necessary) departure from the "kit model" of the rest of the Elecraft line where self repair is the order of the day. The repair of a K3, it seems to me, almost certainly requires a factory return, which, from this thread, is somewhat unappealing. I am interested further discussion on this thread in order to help me determine whether my very limited funds go toward a K3 purchase or the purchase of a second, but "fully tricked out", K2/100. Ed Lambert, KD3Y (K2 1999, KX1 1492) ______________________________________________________________ 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by Fred Atchley
Pete,
That is a great idea but it may serve as a negative advertisement for Eleccraft. Dave N1IX -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Fred Atchley Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 2:30 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Repair Pete N4RZ wrote : "One thought that comes to mind - put a "repair queue length" figure on the web-site and update it every day or two" The only problem with that Pete is that it would eat up resources that could otherwise be used productively, thus slowing down actual work. 73, Fred, AE6iC, K3#2241 ______________________________________________________________ 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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Hi Guys, Please don't misunderstand my original question. (And thanks to all who have contributed to an interesting discussion.) I had been inactive for quite some time when I purchased a K2. That purchase not only returned me to the hobby, but it also made me, probably, a lifetime Elecraft devotee. I will be purchasing either a "tricked out" K2 or a K3. The Asian manufacturers are not in consideration. Please note that it is not my intention to be critical of Elecraft or the K3. I understand the technology changes that have mandated a slight change to the Elecraft business model where we are dealing, more or less, with a line replaceable unit (LRU) concept radio as contrasted with a component level repair model like the K1, K2, and KX1. I am only trying to get an idea of the scope of the "problem", if there is one. The repair times for the K3 seem to indicate a long queue and I naturally wonder what is in that queue. If it is filled with K3's, I wonder why. My life has changed from employment to retirement; every dollar is very important to me in this new fixed income world in which I now live. If there is some kind of quality control issue developing with the K3, I would like to get a handle on it so that I can make an informed decision about a (2nd) K2 purchase versus a more expensive K3 purchase. I would not expect a zero defect business model to be in place at Elecraft. Having said that, however, I would like to obtain and understand the "out-of-the-box" and the "infant mortality" failure rate data for the K3, if such information exists. Thanks, Ed, KD3Y, PE (electrical) ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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In reply to this post by N1IX-2
> Pete N4RZ wrote : "One thought that comes to mind - put a "repair queue
> length" figure on the web-site and update it every day or two" > > The only problem with that Pete is that it would eat up resources that could > otherwise be used productively, thus slowing down actual work. Actually, there's a bigger problem with doing that -- at every web update, it will foster yet another email storm to the reflector. Between updates, it will cause a secondary storm about why hasn't it been updated yet, timed of course from a thousand or so K3 clocks, and leading to a tertiary storm reprising the clock accuracy thread. :-) That [in]famous thread actually had a tiny upside for me ... I didn't know until then that my K3 had a clock. I set it about 2 weeks ago with Dick's nifty K3 Utility, just checked it and it's about 2 sec away from WWV. I set the dive watch I wear at the same time, it's about 1 sec from WWV. I can remember how to use my watch, I'll forget how to get the clock display back, probably about 1730 tomorrow. :-) 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2010 Cal QSO Party 2-3 Oct 2010 - www.cqp.org ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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I should point out that Dick's nifty date and time setting code is a derivative of David Fleming's nifty clock setting utility.
Dick, K6KR Sent from my iPhone On Jul 2, 2010, at 1:14 PM, Fred Jensen <[hidden email]> wrote: >> Pete N4RZ wrote : "One thought that comes to mind - put a "repair queue >> length" figure on the web-site and update it every day or two" >> >> The only problem with that Pete is that it would eat up resources that could >> otherwise be used productively, thus slowing down actual work. > > Actually, there's a bigger problem with doing that -- at every web > update, it will foster yet another email storm to the reflector. > Between updates, it will cause a secondary storm about why hasn't it > been updated yet, timed of course from a thousand or so K3 clocks, and > leading to a tertiary storm reprising the clock accuracy thread. :-) > > That [in]famous thread actually had a tiny upside for me ... I didn't > know until then that my K3 had a clock. I set it about 2 weeks ago with > Dick's nifty K3 Utility, just checked it and it's about 2 sec away from > WWV. I set the dive watch I wear at the same time, it's about 1 sec > from WWV. I can remember how to use my watch, I'll forget how to get > the clock display back, probably about 1730 tomorrow. :-) > > 73, > > Fred K6DGW > - Northern California Contest Club > - CU in the 2010 Cal QSO Party 2-3 Oct 2010 > - www.cqp.org > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 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 |
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Which is "nifty" for sure!
I have it on my dock on the Mac and run it once in a while before I open my loggers and now the clock is a non-issue! Rick K6LE On 7/2/2010, at 2:49 , Dick Dievendorff wrote: > I should point out that Dick's nifty date and time setting code is a derivative of David Fleming's nifty clock setting utility. > > Dick, K6KR > > Sent from my iPhone ______________________________________________________________ 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 |
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