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Re: Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

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Fred Atchley

Re: Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

Jay, you may want to consider doing one mod at a time. That way, if
something goes wrong you know exactly where to look. If you do all then you
may be looking for a needle in a haystack. 73, Fred, AE6IC

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M0XDF

Re: Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

Very true, but how many times do you want to strip down the rig with
the risk that implies to fastener failure, static damage, scratches etc?
73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
--
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them,
and
pretty soon you have a dozen.
--John Steinbeck, novelist, Nobel laureate (1902-1968)

On 7 Apr 2009, at 04:47, Fred Atchley wrote:

> Jay, you may want to consider doing one mod at a time. That way, if
> something goes wrong you know exactly where to look. If you do all
> then you
> may be looking for a needle in a haystack. 73, Fred, AE6IC

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AC7AC

Re: Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

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Matt Zilmer

Re: Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

I'm with Ron on this, although I did a set of 8 mods all at one
sitting. K3 #24 started life as a K3/10 kit and over time I've
nickel-and-dime loaded it up almost to maxed out configuration. It's
been apart almost as much time as it's been sitting in the shack
running. But probably no one beats Ron's 100-cycle record...

The hardware (ELX) is very robust and overdesigned; same with the ME
hardware - panels, screws, etc. You won't gork anything up by
disassembling the K3 if you do it corectly - no matter how many times
you open 'er up. Disassembly and reassembly actually gets easier over
time. This is true both subjectively and objectively.

Just be sure you have the proper tools and follow the take-apart and
put-together instructions.

The idea someone had about doing only one mod at a time is a good one
because it lets you check the results before moving on to the next
mod. However, I'm not that patient... :)

73,
matt W6NIA
K3 #24
K2 #2810

On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:41:42 -0700, you wrote:

>...how many times do you want to strip down the rig with
>the risk that implies to fastener failure, static damage, scratches etc?
>73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
>
>------------------------------------------------
>
>However, the K3 was designed to be worked on easily! My K3 has been apart
>many, many times, sometimes all the way down to the RF board. The number
>assembly/disassembly cycles is easily approaching 100 times over the past
>two years. I've had no fastener failures, no connector problems, no ESD
>failures, no scratched panels, no issues of any sort.*
>
>Wayne specifically ordered the build sequence to provide for one-at-a-time
>option installations for exactly the reason Fred mentions. The kit assembly
>manual does include preparing the K3 for adding several options to minimize
>the work needed later. For example, if you're building it with the 100 watt
>KPA3 option, you put in the rear (KPA3) shield during initial assembly. If
>you're building it and installing the subreceiver (KRX3) option, you install
>the auxiliary DSP board in the front panel assembly during initial assembly.
>
>
>There are other examples of such preparatory work, all covered in the kit
>assembly manual, as specifically ordered by Wayne to avoid complicating
>troubleshooting should there be a problem at some point while still
>minimizing the amount of work needed to add each option.
>
>Ron AC7AC
>
>* Monitoring this and the K3 support reflector, the only issue I've seen
>brought up by builders is when some over tighten screws or use the wrong
>size/type screwdriver, causing their drivers to "cam out", sometimes putting
>small scratches on the screw head. That's avoided by tightening the screws
>as described in the assembly manual and being sure you use a screwdriver
>that fits the screw snugly.
>
>
>______________________________________________________________
>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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M0XDF

Re: Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

Well, I think I was going to do all mine in one go because Matt had
said he did them all.
But my original thought was to do one at a time to be sure each was
working.
So I'll go back to the 1 piece at a time..

didn't Johnny Cash write a song about that?
:-)
--
I am told I talk in shorthand and then smudge it. - J.R.R. Tolkien
(1892 - 1973)

On 7 Apr 2009, at 15:55, Matt Zilmer wrote:

> I'm with Ron on this, although I did a set of 8 mods all at one
> sitting. K3 #24 started life as a K3/10 kit and over time I've
> nickel-and-dime loaded it up almost to maxed out configuration. It's
> been apart almost as much time as it's been sitting in the shack
> running. But probably no one beats Ron's 100-cycle record...
>
> The hardware (ELX) is very robust and overdesigned; same with the ME
> hardware - panels, screws, etc. You won't gork anything up by
> disassembling the K3 if you do it corectly - no matter how many times
> you open 'er up. Disassembly and reassembly actually gets easier over
> time. This is true both subjectively and objectively.
>
> Just be sure you have the proper tools and follow the take-apart and
> put-together instructions.
>
> The idea someone had about doing only one mod at a time is a good one
> because it lets you check the results before moving on to the next
> mod. However, I'm not that patient... :)
>
> 73,
> matt W6NIA
> K3 #24
> K2 #2810
>
> On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:41:42 -0700, you wrote:
>
>> ...how many times do you want to strip down the rig with
>> the risk that implies to fastener failure, static damage, scratches
>> etc?
>> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------
>>
>> However, the K3 was designed to be worked on easily! My K3 has been
>> apart
>> many, many times, sometimes all the way down to the RF board. The
>> number
>> assembly/disassembly cycles is easily approaching 100 times over
>> the past
>> two years. I've had no fastener failures, no connector problems, no
>> ESD
>> failures, no scratched panels, no issues of any sort.*
>>
>> Wayne specifically ordered the build sequence to provide for one-at-
>> a-time
>> option installations for exactly the reason Fred mentions. The kit
>> assembly
>> manual does include preparing the K3 for adding several options to
>> minimize
>> the work needed later. For example, if you're building it with the
>> 100 watt
>> KPA3 option, you put in the rear (KPA3) shield during initial
>> assembly. If
>> you're building it and installing the subreceiver (KRX3) option,
>> you install
>> the auxiliary DSP board in the front panel assembly during initial
>> assembly.
>>
>>
>> There are other examples of such preparatory work, all covered in
>> the kit
>> assembly manual, as specifically ordered by Wayne to avoid
>> complicating
>> troubleshooting should there be a problem at some point while still
>> minimizing the amount of work needed to add each option.
>>
>> Ron AC7AC
>>
>> * Monitoring this and the K3 support reflector, the only issue I've
>> seen
>> brought up by builders is when some over tighten screws or use the
>> wrong
>> size/type screwdriver, causing their drivers to "cam out",
>> sometimes putting
>> small scratches on the screw head. That's avoided by tightening the
>> screws
>> as described in the assembly manual and being sure you use a
>> screwdriver
>> that fits the screw snugly.
>>

Don Wilhelm-4

Re: Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

In reply to this post by Matt Zilmer

Hi,

I will throw my 2 pennies into this.
The decision whether to do all-at-once or one-at-a-time should depend a
lot on your confidence level and your individual skills. Ask yourself:
"If something goes wrong, what is my ability to find and correct it?"
If that ability is not high on your list of skills, do things one at a
time so any resulting problems can be isolated to the area you last
modified, and even if you must ask for help, those whom you ask can be
of greater assistance if you have only done one of the mods at a time.

As for the durability of the hardware, stripping out screwheads, etc., I
can only say that one should use *good* tools. If your screwdriver does
not grip the screwheads tightly, stop and purchase a new #1 phillips
screwdriver of good quality - do not scrimp on the tool quality if you
value your K3's appearance.
Work carefully and place the panels on a soft surface out of your
immediate work area so they are not accidentally bumped or pushed around
while you are working. A little common sense here will go a long way.
Using careful workmanship, the K3 can be assembled and disassembled many
many times and still look like new, but if sloppy methods are used, it
can be damaged the first time through.

73,
Don W3FPR

Matt Zilmer wrote:

Matt Zilmer

Re: Mods/Addition suggestions for order of installplease

In reply to this post by M0XDF

That was about a Cadillac I think. You'll know it when you see it. :)

I had a reasonable familiarity with the K3 before surgery. This helps
a lot. All mods were a-ok and checked out, but this approach isn't
for everyone. It was a long session to do that all at one pull.

This is one of those ymmv thingies.

73,
matt

On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:08:38 +0100, you wrote:

>Well, I think I was going to do all mine in one go because Matt had
>said he did them all.
>But my original thought was to do one at a time to be sure each was
>working.
>So I'll go back to the 1 piece at a time..
>
>didn't Johnny Cash write a song about that?
>:-)
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