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Re: This is not my day...READ ON
Tony,
Please read Keith's and my posts on the subject. This was non-warranty repair for damage that was caused by an outside voltage differential. That is outside of their purview and subsequent responsibility.
Elecraft's minimum labor charge is $125.00. They spent more than 2 hours troubleshooting the unit. I feel their response was fair.
It will be shipped back on Monday when the shipping crew is back on site.
---?
Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side ?? 73 de W3AB/GEO ??? http://www.w3ab.org You can say "over", you can say "out", you just can't say "over and out".
On Saturday, July 25, 2020, 04:41:36 PM PDT, KO6DR <tony@...> wrote:
Hi all
I find the Elecraft response disingenuous.? $200 for 2 hours, but $125 for 1 hour when this should be a warranty repair is ridiculous.
My vote is to leave the KRC-2 at Elecraft and spend the $200 for a different unit. Obviously, this means I will chip in for the replacement.
Tony KO6DR?
On Wed, Jul 22, 2020, 5:50 PM Keith Lamonica, W7DXX < w7dxx@...> wrote: As a group, you have a decision to make.? But first, a little background.
In order to make our antenna switching automatic and fool-proof I felt we had to take it off the manual ADR2200 relay where you have to switch to the correct antenna. If the correct antenna is not selected our $6,000 KPA1500 will suffer damage from the extreme SWR.? It was a choice of spending? almost $200 on a band select switch or $6,000 on an amp.? EASY CHOICE.
I have been happy with our Elecraft K3S/KPA1500 combination and Elecraft had the KRC-2 kit.? I bought one.
George, W3AB, did a professional job building the kit for us at no charge.
I put the KRC-2 on line, but it was not stable.? When we switched to the 80 meter antenna the unit often went to 20 meters.
In troubleshooting the KRC it was obvious it worked on all bands except 160-40.? Those bands were controlled by IC-4.
I called Elecraft, explaining the problem, and since it was only a couple of weeks old, ,it would be a warranty repair.? Wrong
Read this email I sent to Eric
Eric at I got another call from Vic informing me that my KRC-2 has been repaired.
?
At first he agreed with my theory that U-4 had failed.
Then he emailed stating that one of the lines was being held high and more research was needed.
Then, the first time he called this morning, he said he was going to have to bring someone in to help.
He just called again saying my KRC-2 was repaired and the problem was he had plugged the processor in upside-down.
?
I thanked he for his hard work and asked what is next. He said they will write up the invoice. I asked what the charge is and he said “two hours…$200” I said I was told it would be a warranty repair. He responded “Eric says no on KRC-2 repairs”
?
Eric, $200 is more than I paid for the device and it is not my fault the processor was plugged in upside-down.
While I truly love the Elecraft station I have and promote Elecraft often and via my homepage.
I ?am very unhappy with your decision relative to a warranty repair.? The kit was professionally built by George, W3AB, whom you know.
?
Here is the message I got from Elecraft an hour ago:
Hello Keith,
I have confirmed with Eric.
He has agreed to reduce the labor charge to the minimum charge - 1 hour.
He also indicates not a warranty repair.
I have your paperwork here and will generate an invoice?for you.? It will show $125.00 plus return shipping to you in New Mexico.
?
?
Regards,
Madelyn Gomez
Elecraft Sales I MENTIONED TO YOU THAT AS A GROUP YOU HAVE?DECISIONS? TO MAKE
I don't think we should gamble with a manual relay to control antenna. Do we pay Elecraft the $125 or do we by a competitors unit for $200. YOU DECDE ON WHICH WAY TO GO AND HOWWE ARE GOING TO PAYTO MSKE.
IN THEMEANTIME, I have taken 80 meters off line to prevent the problem.
Which unit do we buy and which of you is going to help pay for it. The remote is back on line without 80 meters RSVP? RSVP? RSVP
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What would the objective be, I wonder? Just curious. Could not use it for VUCC for most of us.
Do you have the time/energy/ finances to make all work and support it?
And, 6m conditions have been extraordinary (well, for now -- that's ending.)
On Saturday, July 25, 2020, 11:11:41 AM EDT, Keith Lamonica, W7DXX <w7dxx@...> wrote:
that given the lousy HF conditions, we might want to add satellite operation to the remote. We did this with great success when we used W4MQ software, but I see no reason why we could not do this with our present software.
I don't see where any internet remote base is doing satellite.
COMMENTS?
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Re: This is not my day...READ ON
Hi all
I find the Elecraft response disingenuous.? $200 for 2 hours, but $125 for 1 hour when this should be a warranty repair is ridiculous.
My vote is to leave the KRC-2 at Elecraft and spend the $200 for a different unit. Obviously, this means I will chip in for the replacement.
Tony KO6DR?
On Wed, Jul 22, 2020, 5:50 PM Keith Lamonica, W7DXX < w7dxx@...> wrote: As a group, you have a decision to make.? But first, a little background.
In order to make our antenna switching automatic and fool-proof I felt we had to take it off the manual ADR2200 relay where you have to switch to the correct antenna. If the correct antenna is not selected our $6,000 KPA1500 will suffer damage from the extreme SWR.? It was a choice of spending? almost $200 on a band select switch or $6,000 on an amp.? EASY CHOICE.
I have been happy with our Elecraft K3S/KPA1500 combination and Elecraft had the KRC-2 kit.? I bought one.
George, W3AB, did a professional job building the kit for us at no charge.
I put the KRC-2 on line, but it was not stable.? When we switched to the 80 meter antenna the unit often went to 20 meters.
In troubleshooting the KRC it was obvious it worked on all bands except 160-40.? Those bands were controlled by IC-4.
I called Elecraft, explaining the problem, and since it was only a couple of weeks old, ,it would be a warranty repair.? Wrong
Read this email I sent to Eric
Eric at I got another call from Vic informing me that my KRC-2 has been repaired.
?
At first he agreed with my theory that U-4 had failed.
Then he emailed stating that one of the lines was being held high and more research was needed.
Then, the first time he called this morning, he said he was going to have to bring someone in to help.
He just called again saying my KRC-2 was repaired and the problem was he had plugged the processor in upside-down.
?
I thanked he for his hard work and asked what is next. He said they will write up the invoice. I asked what the charge is and he said “two hours…$200” I said I was told it would be a warranty repair. He responded “Eric says no on KRC-2 repairs”
?
Eric, $200 is more than I paid for the device and it is not my fault the processor was plugged in upside-down.
While I truly love the Elecraft station I have and promote Elecraft often and via my homepage.
I ?am very unhappy with your decision relative to a warranty repair.? The kit was professionally built by George, W3AB, whom you know.
?
Here is the message I got from Elecraft an hour ago:
Hello Keith,
I have confirmed with Eric.
He has agreed to reduce the labor charge to the minimum charge - 1 hour.
He also indicates not a warranty repair.
I have your paperwork here and will generate an invoice?for you.? It will show $125.00 plus return shipping to you in New Mexico.
?
?
Regards,
Madelyn Gomez
Elecraft Sales I MENTIONED TO YOU THAT AS A GROUP YOU HAVE?DECISIONS? TO MAKE
I don't think we should gamble with a manual relay to control antenna. Do we pay Elecraft the $125 or do we by a competitors unit for $200. YOU DECDE ON WHICH WAY TO GO AND HOWWE ARE GOING TO PAYTO MSKE.
IN THEMEANTIME, I have taken 80 meters off line to prevent the problem.
Which unit do we buy and which of you is going to help pay for it. The remote is back on line without 80 meters RSVP? RSVP? RSVP
|
To echo Keith, I also received a call from Eric as well. We had a very productive chat. The surge was possibly caused by EMP on the relay control lines. A lightning strike? a mile away could generate enough EMP to damage the equipment. It only takes a voltage differential of 20-30V to zap the relay driver. I talked to Keith and it may have happened if he plugged it in live.?
A possible solution to distant lightning strikes would be to put MOV's or some find of surge arrester on any lines exiting the shack. However, the lightning could change the ground potential between the shack ground and operating ground, so those wouldn't be helpful.
Keith tries to get to the site to unplug the equipment when he knows a electrical storm is approaching and that is probably the still best defense at this time.
I also echo Keith on my error.
---?
Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side ?? 73 de W3AB/GEO ??? http://www.w3ab.org You can say "over", you can say "out", you just can't say "over and out".
On Saturday, July 25, 2020, 10:57:39 AM PDT, Keith Lamonica, W7DXX <w7dxx@...> wrote:
I want to share this with you.
Eric, co-owner of Elecraft took the time to call me at home this morning, explaining the company findings and position on my KRC-2 failure.
First of all,?there are always?at least two sides to a story.? I now appreciate the Elecraft position more than I did.
Our KRC-2 had several failures, all caused by surges.? Several hours were spent troubleshooting. I was not charged for parts.
As far as the delay in shipping the unit back, Eric's lady who takes care of shipping, was required under California law to stay home after her friend was found virus-positive.
Further, another person in shipping broke an ankle.?
Honestly, I rarely make mistakes, but I did here in over-reacting and not considering other positions.
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Any way to configure the equipment that when in digi mode the RF out is lowered?
---?
Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side ?? 73 de W3AB/GEO ??? http://www.w3ab.org You can say "over", you can say "out", you just can't say "over and out".
On Saturday, July 25, 2020, 09:56:25 AM PDT, Keith Lamonica, W7DXX <w7dxx@...> wrote:
Do we want to open up the remote for digital
Other than backing off the KPA1500 power,?what do we need or do?
COMMENTS
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I use teamviewer as well with my home station. Ran field day 95% remote using a chromebook around my house.
Home station is currently a flex 1500 into an amplifier and tuner - not completely hands-free for band switching due to the need to tune the antenna, but works well as long as I don't need to switch bands. (looking to upgrade to flex 6400 w/ a maestro - to make remote ops 100% hands free - but I will still work digital using teamviewer.)
R- KE4WLE
On Saturday, July 25, 2020, 05:35:51 PM EDT, <kh6dc@...> wrote:
We would use WJST-X on our computers and only TX/RX audio via the remote, possibly VOX.? My setup at home is using the K3 and hex antenna and WSJT-X on the remote laptop then using Teamviewer to remote in and work FT8.? I never tried separating the WSJT portion.
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We would use WJST-X on our computers and only TX/RX audio via the remote, possibly VOX.? My setup at home is using the K3 and hex antenna and WSJT-X on the remote laptop then using Teamviewer to remote in and work FT8.? I never tried separating the WSJT portion.
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Agreed here - all you need to do on the RCORB side is to pipe the audio to and from the remote. There are a few other tricks for rig control, etc... but it's not to difficult if you understand how it all works together.
What about the possibility of hosting another radio and a more universal antenna dedicated to digital modes, ragchewing, etc?? Maybe an IC-7300 connected to an 80-6M OCF? (just brainstorming). Again - just an idea.
During the pandemic I have worked the world on FT8 with less than 100W and basic antennas. 500 grids on 20M, 450 on 40M and more... JA, VK, SA and others... I only seem to have issues getting to AF easily.
R-
On Saturday, July 25, 2020, 04:57:28 PM EDT, John Battin <jbattin@...> wrote:
I am in the dark as to what the SDR is all about … The remote should work ft-8 now … just set the remote on USB ….. Send and receive ft-8 audio.
?
John K9DX
?
Sent from for Windows 10
?
From: Ed Caplan
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2020 3:30 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [W7DXXREMOTE] SDR
?
Plug and play would require all control operators to access the desktop on a computer located next to the radio. The software would be connected locally. A bother when going from digi to other
modes. All QSOs would go into a common log. This would work if you only used W7DXX for all dig contacts.
It should just be a matter of plug n' play.? Do you want the SDR back??
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I am in the dark as to what the SDR is all about … The remote should work ft-8 now … just set the remote on USB ….. Send and receive ft-8 audio.
?
John K9DX
?
Sent from for Windows 10
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: Ed Caplan
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2020 3:30 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [W7DXXREMOTE] SDR
?
Plug and play would require all control operators to access the desktop on a computer located next to the radio. The software would be connected locally. A bother when going from digi to other
modes. All QSOs would go into a common log. This would work if you only used W7DXX for all dig contacts.
It should just be a matter of plug n' play.? Do you want the SDR back??
|
Plug and play would require all control operators to access the desktop on a computer located next to the radio. The software would be connected locally. A bother when going from digi to other modes. All QSOs would go into a common log. This would work if you
only used W7DXX for all dig contacts.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
It should just be a matter of plug n' play.? Do you want the SDR back??
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It should just be a matter of plug n' play.? Do you want the SDR back??
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?
?
Sent from for Windows 10
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: john battin
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2020 1:43 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [Special] [W7DXXREMOTE] Digital
?
I do not think there is anything to do at the remote except the power…. USB and VOLX and away you go … I do it with other RC forb remotes all the time. At this stage in the life of ham radio FT8 is where it is. (tis sad)
John k9dx
?
John k9dx
?
Sent from for Windows 10
?
?
.If we can get a couple of you to set this up, we will give FT8 a try. I need to know what we need in the way of software, or settings. Backing down KPA1500 power i the easy part. The hard part is listening to all that noise.?IS
THERE AN APP WE CAN ADD WHERE CAN WE MUTE THE RCVR AND JUST HAVE A?TEXT DISPLAY??
IF YOU WANT IT, VOLUNTEER TO HELP SET IT UP.
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Each control op uses his own FT8 software. The audio that you would normally hear is diverted to the software and is not heard remotely. The others connected, if decoding, will nor hear the tones. If you are not using WJST or JTDX, you will hear the tones,
but of course will not decode. I can give a demo at a mutually agreeable time.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
.If we can get a couple of you to set this up, we will give FT8 a try. I need to know what we need in the way of software, or settings. Backing down KPA1500 power i the easy part. The hard part is listening to all that noise.?IS THERE AN APP WE
CAN ADD WHERE CAN WE MUTE THE RCVR AND JUST HAVE A?TEXT DISPLAY??
IF YOU WANT IT, VOLUNTEER TO HELP SET IT UP.
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I do not think there is anything to do at the remote except the power…. USB and VOLX and away you go … I do it with other RC forb remotes all the time. At this stage in the life of ham radio FT8 is where it is. (tis sad)
John k9dx
?
John k9dx
?
Sent from for Windows 10
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: Keith Lamonica, W7DXX
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2020 1:32 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Special] [W7DXXREMOTE] Digital
?
.If we can get a couple of you to set this up, we will give FT8 a try. I need to know what we need in the way of software, or settings. Backing down KPA1500 power i the easy part. The hard part is listening to all that noise.?IS
THERE AN APP WE CAN ADD WHERE CAN WE MUTE THE RCVR AND JUST HAVE A?TEXT DISPLAY??
IF YOU WANT IT, VOLUNTEER TO HELP SET IT UP.
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As always, there's two sides of a story.? I typically don' make a judgement or act on something unless I hear it from both sides.
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.If we can get a couple of you to set this up, we will give FT8 a try. I need to know what we need in the way of software, or settings. Backing down KPA1500 power i the easy part. The hard part is listening to all that noise.?IS THERE AN APP WE CAN ADD WHERE CAN WE MUTE THE RCVR AND JUST HAVE A?TEXT DISPLAY??
IF YOU WANT IT, VOLUNTEER TO HELP SET IT UP.
|
I want to share this with you.
Eric, co-owner of Elecraft took the time to call me at home this morning, explaining the company findings and position on my KRC-2 failure.
First of all,?there are always?at least two sides to a story.? I now appreciate the Elecraft position more than I did.
Our KRC-2 had several failures, all caused by surges.? Several hours were spent troubleshooting. I was not charged for parts.
As far as the delay in shipping the unit back, Eric's lady who takes care of shipping, was required under California law to stay home after her friend was found virus-positive.
Further, another person in shipping broke an ankle.?
Honestly, I rarely make mistakes, but I did here in over-reacting and not considering other positions.
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My aversion to digital modes has changed as I lost most of my hearing. At one time people were opposed to SSB because it was something new.? I vote in favor to allow? those who want to use it.? The folks who are CW only can still be CW only.? Opening the remote to digital modes doesnt require you to use them.?
Dale - N3BNA
On Saturday, July 25, 2020, 01:09:01 PM EDT, robert scott <robertgscott@...> wrote:
Oh God please no FT8! Let's just have robots make QSOs for us. Guys will sit on the remote for hours as their PC makes QSOs and they eat lunch or whatever.
?I guess that tells you how I feel about it.
On Sat, Jul 25, 2020 at 1:03 PM Ed Caplan < w3cc@...> wrote:
Just set up guidelines for the users to properly share a valuable resource. KPA1500 will work very well. QSOs are sequenced by the software. Stations that are connected but not controlling will be able to 100% decode whatever the control operator decodes.
Do we want to open up the remote for digital
Other than backing off the KPA1500 power,?what do we need or do?
COMMENTS
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GEO BADGER
