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Re: The times they are a changin

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w7aqk

Re: The times they are a changin

Hi All,

I also have a couple of the QCX kits here waiting to be assembled. The only thing slowing me down is that I’m trying to recover from a very bad cold, and my eyes aren’t all that clear! This is a fascinating rig design, and has an incredible cost/feature ratio.

As to whether or not “the mantle has passed” on smaller rigs, I’m not prepared to quite say that. I’m just not sure it ever resided in just one person! It’s true that Wayne Burdick is just about as good as they come in this regard, but he has long had some serious competition. Steve Weber and Dave Benson are just a couple. Wayne took it to a new level when he joined forces with Eric to form Elecraft. I’m not convinced there aren’t a lot of great ideas along this line that are running through Wayne’s head. He just has a lot on his plate right now. Besides, the KX2 isn’t all that old, and it has Wayne’s fingerprints all over it!

As for Hans Summer, who created the QCX rigs, well, he’s been around a good while too! The problem is that a lot of us on this side of the pond, and maybe even other places outside the U.K., haven’t been all that aware of what Hans has been doing for a long time! Hans was elected into the ARCI Hall of Fame back in 2009, and that recognition was probably late in coming! Members of GQRP have probably been aware of Hans and his talents for years. If you have only been following the various Elecraft reflectors, you probably haven’t heard much about him. It’s sort of like TV news channels—if you don’t flip around a bit, you don’t get the big picture! I also think Hans has a “day job” which keeps him otherwise occupied.

Right now I guess Hans is “The Man of the Hour” with his QCX kits. Over 1,000 of them have been sold in just a few weeks! More are in process! Amazing! We are so fortunate to have stuff like this made available to us. It’s no wonder this hobby keeps on giving!

Dave W7AQK

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Don Wilhelm

Re: The times they are a changin

Dave and all,

While Steve Weber and Hans Summer do really good work and well thought
out designs, I see only one problem with the stuff they do - the kits
are available only for a limited time.
That is in contrast with the work Dave Benson did for the hobby.

I understand that they (or at least those who kit them) are individuals
and are reluctant to take a longer term risk of investment in boards and
the parts that go on them - things that may take years to sell and
recoup the investment.
Let's face it, those folks take delight in experimenting and coming up
with new designs, but have no desire to turn those designs into a long
lasting product line. They have no factory behind then to take over the
chores after the initial fervor has died down.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/29/2017 2:08 PM, dyarnes wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I also have a couple of the QCX kits here waiting to be assembled. The only thing slowing me down is that I’m trying to recover from a very bad cold, and my eyes aren’t all that clear! This is a fascinating rig design, and has an incredible cost/feature ratio.
>
> As to whether or not “the mantle has passed” on smaller rigs, I’m not prepared to quite say that. I’m just not sure it ever resided in just one person! It’s true that Wayne Burdick is just about as good as they come in this regard, but he has long had some serious competition. Steve Weber and Dave Benson are just a couple.
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Thom

Re: The times they are a changin

Interesting thread.

Yep they are changing.

I bought a K1 kit a few months back and had no problems building it. I
had grand ideas of using it in some portable ops but a recent new health
issue has cancelled that idea.

I listen to it occasionally but I never managed to get the alignment
done on the transmitter.

Maybe some day I will finish it and hopefully all goes well. I also
hope Elecraft continues to support the K1 in case I need help or maybe a
few spare parts.

73

Thom KI8W

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Don Wilhelm

Re: The times they are a changin

Thom,

I believe Elecraft will continue to support the K1 (and KX1 too) for as
long as possible. Just don't try to order any of the enclosure parts or
the VFO knob. The only other component that I know is not available
would be the wide range blue trimmers on the 4 band board, and those
disappeared a long time ago and caused the 4 band board to be discontinued.

I have a few of those blue trimmers here "just in case" they are needed
for repair - I think I have the last of them.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/29/2017 4:08 PM, Thom wrote:

> Interesting thread.
>
> Yep they are changing.
>
> I bought a K1 kit a few months back and had no problems building it. I
> had grand ideas of using it in some portable ops but a recent new health
> issue has cancelled that idea.
>
> I listen to it occasionally but I never managed to get the alignment
> done on the transmitter.
>
> Maybe some day I will finish it and hopefully all goes well. I also
> hope Elecraft continues to support the K1 in case I need help or maybe a
> few spare parts.

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Thom

Re: The times they are a changin

Thanks Don for the info.

I only bought the 40/20 board with it and I was hoping to get a 80/30
and a 17/15 board for it but I never got around to ordering them before
the radio was discontinued.

I put a spare K2 knob I had, on my K1. I like that knob better, it has
a finger dimple on it. lol

73

Thom KI8W

On 9/29/2017 16:38, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> Thom,
>
> I believe Elecraft will continue to support the K1 (and KX1 too) for
> as long as possible. Just don't try to order any of the enclosure
> parts or the VFO knob. The only other component that I know is not
> available would be the wide range blue trimmers on the 4 band board,
> and those disappeared a long time ago and caused the 4 band board to
> be discontinued.
>
> I have a few of those blue trimmers here "just in case" they are
> needed for repair - I think I have the last of them.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 9/29/2017 4:08 PM, Thom wrote:
>> Interesting thread.
>>
>> Yep they are changing.
>>
>> I bought a K1 kit a few months back and had no problems building it.
>> I had grand ideas of using it in some portable ops but a recent new
>> health issue has cancelled that idea.
>>
>> I listen to it occasionally but I never managed to get the alignment
>> done on the transmitter.
>>
>> Maybe some day I will finish it and hopefully all goes well. I also
>> hope Elecraft continues to support the K1 in case I need help or
>> maybe a few spare parts.

Don Wilhelm

Re: The times they are a changin

Thom,

I don't know how many band boards they may have in stock. If there are
any, they are available for purchase. Also band kits if you want to
change the bands on an existing 2 band board.

Contact Elecraft and ask.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/29/2017 4:52 PM, Thom wrote:
> Thanks Don for the info.
>
> I only bought the 40/20 board with it and I was hoping to get a 80/30
> and a 17/15 board for it but I never got around to ordering them
> before the radio was discontinued.
>
> I put a spare K2 knob I had, on my K1. I like that knob better, it
> has a finger dimple on it. lol

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Bruce Beford-5

Re: The times they are a changin

In reply to this post by w7aqk

Don Wilhelm wrote:
I believe Elecraft will continue to support the K1 (and KX1 too) for as long as possible. Just don't try to order any of the enclosure parts or the VFO knob.

I ordered a replacement K1 VFO knob the other day. Got a shipping notice, so I assume they are still in stock.
-Bruce N1RX

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k6dgw

Re: The times they are a changin

In reply to this post by Thom

When the US Military determines that a system is going out of
production, the Logistics folks do a "Lifetime Buy" of all the parts the
system will likely need for the rest of it's life. You could do that. [:-)

73,

Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 9/29/2017 1:08 PM, Thom wrote:
>
> Maybe some day I will finish it and hopefully all goes well. I also
> hope Elecraft continues to support the K1 in case I need help or maybe
> a few spare parts.
>
> 73
>
> Thom KI8W

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