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K4: Coolness factor meets production complexities

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wayne burdick

K4: Coolness factor meets production complexities

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Greetings from the mothership.

Q: Are Eric and I keeping up with the K4 megathreads on the forums?
A: You bet.

But we're not weighing in as often as we normally would.

On the one hand, it's affirming as a small company to be at the eye of a storm of anxious demand. On the other hand we really feel your pain. On the third hand (we need three these days), we're both seriously overworked trying to ramp up production.

A radio with this many features and so much new tech -- the coolness factor -- comes with a lot of new assembly and test procedures. A whole lot of invention. New tricks we didn't know we had to learn. Over the past week alone our manufacturing engineering team probably shaved 50% off the total time per unit.

For me, it's feast/famine. I have serial #00002 on my workbench and use it every day. Every day there's new and improved software to be played with and thoroughly vetted. That's the fun part. But I also spend hours daily optimizing interaction between the K4's multiple processors, evolving faster ways to do alignment/test, and helping our software team work through a long wish-list of new capabilities.

The work can be tedious. Still, every evening when the team finally knocks off (and I do mean every evening, including most weekends), I get another chance to be a kid in the candy store. This rig's just so much fun to operate. And I'm confident that for every new K4 that comes off the line ready for its first test drive, there's an operator who'll experience the same feeling I do.

Despite the K4's advanced circuitry, I'm always reminded of my very first efforts at home-brew, when I was maybe 15. Discovery. Tweaking. From raw parts with their leads twisted together to prototypes only a mother could love to finished product to that first demo at a club meeting. It's much the same now, though the parts are smaller, the tools more exotic, and the stakes higher.

What I can promise is that we're putting everything we have into the K4, like we have with every product over the past 20 years. We can't wait to get them into your hands, and hear the smiles behind the mics and keys.

73,

Wayne
N6KR

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Gary Memory

Re: K4: Coolness factor meets production complexities

I'm only a single 'Memory", but I'm behind you and patiently waiting!!

Gary Memory, N7BRJ

On Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 9:35 PM Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Greetings from the mothership.
>
> Q: Are Eric and I keeping up with the K4 megathreads on the forums?
> A: You bet.
>
> But we're not weighing in as often as we normally would.
>
> On the one hand, it's affirming as a small company to be at the eye of a
> storm of anxious demand. On the other hand we really feel your pain. On the
> third hand (we need three these days), we're both seriously overworked
> trying to ramp up production.
>
> A radio with this many features and so much new tech -- the coolness
> factor -- comes with a lot of new assembly and test procedures. A whole lot
> of invention. New tricks we didn't know we had to learn. Over the past week
> alone our manufacturing engineering team probably shaved 50% off the total
> time per unit.
>
> For me, it's feast/famine. I have serial #00002 on my workbench and use it
> every day. Every day there's new and improved software to be played with
> and thoroughly vetted. That's the fun part. But I also spend hours daily
> optimizing interaction between the K4's multiple processors, evolving
> faster ways to do alignment/test, and helping our software team work
> through a long wish-list of new capabilities.
>
> The work can be tedious. Still, every evening when the team finally knocks
> off (and I do mean every evening, including most weekends), I get another
> chance to be a kid in the candy store. This rig's just so much fun to
> operate. And I'm confident that for every new K4 that comes off the line
> ready for its first test drive, there's an operator who'll experience the
> same feeling I do.
>
> Despite the K4's advanced circuitry, I'm always reminded of my very first
> efforts at home-brew, when I was maybe 15. Discovery. Tweaking. From raw
> parts with their leads twisted together to prototypes only a mother could
> love to finished product to that first demo at a club meeting. It's much
> the same now, though the parts are smaller, the tools more exotic, and the
> stakes higher.
>
> What I can promise is that we're putting everything we have into the K4,
> like we have with every product over the past 20 years. We can't wait to
> get them into your hands, and hear the smiles behind the mics and keys.
>
> 73,
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Neil Zampella

Re: K4: Coolness factor meets production complexities

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

This is why I'm going to patiently wait for the K4 kit release, along
with putting money aside for it. I suspect that along with the other
engineering challenges, y'all are working on putting together the
instructions for a proper kit build.

While it won't be as complex as a K2, it will probably have its foibles
and issues that will need to be worked out.

Keep on keeping on !! :)

Neil, KN3ILZ

On 3/31/2021 8:33 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

> Greetings from the mothership.
>
> Q: Are Eric and I keeping up with the K4 megathreads on the forums?
> A: You bet.
>
> But we're not weighing in as often as we normally would.
>
> On the one hand, it's affirming as a small company to be at the eye of a storm of anxious demand. On the other hand we really feel your pain. On the third hand (we need three these days), we're both seriously overworked trying to ramp up production.
>
> A radio with this many features and so much new tech -- the coolness factor -- comes with a lot of new assembly and test procedures. A whole lot of invention. New tricks we didn't know we had to learn. Over the past week alone our manufacturing engineering team probably shaved 50% off the total time per unit.
>
> For me, it's feast/famine. I have serial #00002 on my workbench and use it every day. Every day there's new and improved software to be played with and thoroughly vetted. That's the fun part. But I also spend hours daily optimizing interaction between the K4's multiple processors, evolving faster ways to do alignment/test, and helping our software team work through a long wish-list of new capabilities.
>
> The work can be tedious. Still, every evening when the team finally knocks off (and I do mean every evening, including most weekends), I get another chance to be a kid in the candy store. This rig's just so much fun to operate. And I'm confident that for every new K4 that comes off the line ready for its first test drive, there's an operator who'll experience the same feeling I do.
>
> Despite the K4's advanced circuitry, I'm always reminded of my very first efforts at home-brew, when I was maybe 15. Discovery. Tweaking. From raw parts with their leads twisted together to prototypes only a mother could love to finished product to that first demo at a club meeting. It's much the same now, though the parts are smaller, the tools more exotic, and the stakes higher.
>
> What I can promise is that we're putting everything we have into the K4, like we have with every product over the past 20 years. We can't wait to get them into your hands, and hear the smiles behind the mics and keys.
>
> 73,
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>

Dan Presley

Re: K4: Coolness factor meets production complexities

Same here.when the radio arrives I know it’ll be great and ready to go. What is the obsession with weekly updates? I want them sorting out the radios not wasting time on a bunch of emails etc. In the meantime get outside and turn on your radio and get on the air. The bands are coming back to life. Also be aware that some of the’pot stirrers’ on this subject don’t even have one on order. Hard to fathom frankly.

Dan Presley 503-701-3871
danpresley@me. com
[hidden email]

> On Apr 1, 2021, at 13:17, Neil Zampella <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> This is why I'm going to patiently wait for the K4 kit release, along
> with putting money aside for it. I suspect that along with the other
> engineering challenges, y'all are working on putting together the
> instructions for a proper kit build.
>
> While it won't be as complex as a K2, it will probably have its foibles
> and issues that will need to be worked out.
>
> Keep on keeping on !! :)
>
> Neil, KN3ILZ
>
>> On 3/31/2021 8:33 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:
>> Greetings from the mothership.
>>
>> Q: Are Eric and I keeping up with the K4 megathreads on the forums?
>> A: You bet.
>>
>> But we're not weighing in as often as we normally would.
>>
>> On the one hand, it's affirming as a small company to be at the eye of a storm of anxious demand. On the other hand we really feel your pain. On the third hand (we need three these days), we're both seriously overworked trying to ramp up production.
>>
>> A radio with this many features and so much new tech -- the coolness factor -- comes with a lot of new assembly and test procedures. A whole lot of invention. New tricks we didn't know we had to learn. Over the past week alone our manufacturing engineering team probably shaved 50% off the total time per unit.
>>
>> For me, it's feast/famine. I have serial #00002 on my workbench and use it every day. Every day there's new and improved software to be played with and thoroughly vetted. That's the fun part. But I also spend hours daily optimizing interaction between the K4's multiple processors, evolving faster ways to do alignment/test, and helping our software team work through a long wish-list of new capabilities.
>>
>> The work can be tedious. Still, every evening when the team finally knocks off (and I do mean every evening, including most weekends), I get another chance to be a kid in the candy store. This rig's just so much fun to operate. And I'm confident that for every new K4 that comes off the line ready for its first test drive, there's an operator who'll experience the same feeling I do.
>>
>> Despite the K4's advanced circuitry, I'm always reminded of my very first efforts at home-brew, when I was maybe 15. Discovery. Tweaking. From raw parts with their leads twisted together to prototypes only a mother could love to finished product to that first demo at a club meeting. It's much the same now, though the parts are smaller, the tools more exotic, and the stakes higher.
>>
>> What I can promise is that we're putting everything we have into the K4, like we have with every product over the past 20 years. We can't wait to get them into your hands, and hear the smiles behind the mics and keys.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>>
>>
>>
>>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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]