Re: Is the KX3 going to be sold as a kit?

Posted by Jack Smith-6 on Jun 03, 2011; 4:03pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/Is-the-KX3-going-to-be-sold-as-a-kit-tp6434864p6435854.html

As a very small designer and seller of kits, I've been forced to move
almost all of my new designs and updated older designs to surface mount
construction. Through hole parts are either drying up, and, more
importantly, high performance parts are not made in through hole packages.

So far, I've been able to keep kits in the "reasonable to assemble"
category by:

1. Passive components 1206 size.
2. Integrated circuits pin spacing 0.05/inch (20 pins per inch) or
larger spacing.
3. Transistors SOT-89 where possible

These are all manageable without too much in terms of special tools. A
good headband magnifier, 0.015" diameter solder and a small tip
soldering iron is about it.

As a price point, I have some commercial products I sell as assembled,
and I can have small quantities of PCBs made, with all surface mount
parts machine placed and soldered for only a few dollars more than the
price of the parts - it's not far from the point where I wonder whether
it makes sense to offer anything more than "screwdriver" kits where the
purchaser does mechanical assembly and perhaps installs a few through
hole parts, such as connectors. I've received prices in the $5/board
range for machine assembly of only 100 boards, each board with about 100
parts, plus a one-time charge for solder paste stencil. I've hand
assembled a few of these boards during prototyping and development, and
it takes me about 3 hours.

Jack K8ZOA


On 6/3/2011 11:44 AM, Paul Christensen wrote:

>> Perhaps, even Elecraft offered a SMD-kit at a price 3 times of the
>> assembled version, it might not be good enough to earn a reasonable
>> business profit in view of the possible manpower involved. Perhaps, only
>> through hole components kits can maintain some profits.
> Another issue is the attrition that occurs when attempting an SMD kit.  For
> this reason, many SMD kits are either not started, or they're abandoned
> shortly after commencement of construction.  I've purchased several SMD kits
> on the used market where perhaps 5% of the kit is completed, and some have
> been poorly constructed.
>
> In the case of a kit like a KX3 that involves many SMD parts, it would
> undoubtedly lead to many unfinished kits and some very unhappy customers,
> most of whom are not good with personal due-diligence.  Even though that
> onus is on the buyer to find what they're up against before the purchase,
> some people will resent the kit supplier when they're left with a box full
> of some very expensive parts and few takers who are willing to finish a
> previously-started kit at a fair price.
>
> Paul, W9AC
>
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