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Reviews For: Elecraft Repair & Alignment by W3DVX

Category: Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

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Review Summary For : Elecraft Repair & Alignment by W3DVX
Reviews: 133MSRP: 95/hr. Const: contact for quote
Description:
Williamsport, PA. W3DVX since 1955; Amateur Extra since 1957. Built dozens of Heathkits and many K2s. Electrical Engineer (computer h/w & s/w).In addition to building new kits, will finish kits for you if you need help. Repair of legacy Elecraft K1, K2, and especially K3/K3S products. Reasonable rates and quick turn-around. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Product is in production
More Info: http://WilcoxEngineering.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
251335
N7UTV Rating: 2021-03-18
K2/10 brought back to life! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
As everyone has already stated, Alan is a pleasure to do business with. A true professional who seems to really enjoy his work. I presented a K2 to him that was non-functional. No receive, no transmit, minimal audio output. It was a wreck. What I received back was a beautiful, fully functioning unit that is a pleasure to work. He had to replace the finals, test and align and provided a report sheet outlining all the work that he put into my transceiver. I recommend Wilcox Engineering to anyone and everyone who has a problem with their Elecraft. Definitely a five star plus experience!
W5SS Rating: 2021-03-15
Outstanding Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Alan is a real pro. He kept me informed every step of the way and updated my old K2 in no time. You know he's mighty good if W3FPR recommends him.
KU4C Rating: 2021-02-09
Excellent Service Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Update: 9 February 2021
I started having trouble with the receiver on my K2/100. I tried a few things on my own, but was unable to fix the problem. My past success with Alan W3DVX prompted me to send him my rig. Once he got the delivery, turn around time was quick. He did the following;
• Reflowed solder in older areas of the radio in the reference-oscillator section.
• Added 68 pF cap at U4:12-13 on RF Board in same section; it had been omitted by whoever did original build.
• Tightened K2 finals and all ICs in power amplifier.
Alan returned an excellent K2/100 transceiver, once again proving he is a master technician.
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In 2019 after spending twenty plus hours assembling a 2003 Elecraft K2 kit and running into a couple of problems, I decided that I could use some expert help in finishing the radio. So I got in touch with Alan Wilcox after reading the fine comments on e-Ham reviews. He agreed to trouble shoot and finish the K2 transceiver then build and install the 100 watt amp that I had. In a little over 2 weeks Alan finished the project. All along the way he kept me informed with emails and pictures. Here is a list of the work done:

Prebuild work on K2:
• Radio speaker was silent; replaced oxidized front-panel phone jack. (0.6 hr)
• AGC threshold voltage stuck at 4.2V because of construction with oxidized CB pot R1; repaired. (0.8 n/c)
• Installed keying update K2KEYMDKT. (0.9 hr)
• Installed PLL temp-compensation update E850138. (1.2 hr)
Construction:
• Installed update latest firmware for K2 (MCU/IOC)
• Built and installed KSB2; it has ver 1.07 firmware. Applied SSBCAPKT during build for broader passband.
• Built and installed KNB2 noise blanker.
• Finished K2 construction.
• Added 4.7 pF cap at RF-L33 to bring BFO frequencies into proper range.
• Tuned the K2 including all the BFO settings for 600 Hz. Set the frequency calibration better than 50 Hz at 10 MHz, although it needs to warm up a bit. My data sheet is in the box. Peaked the BPF filters for max power output. I left RTTY on; turn it off in the secondary menu if you don't want "r" in the mode selection.
• Applied KPA100UPKT mods to KPA100 prior to build; included update mod SHIELDKT as well.
• Built and setup the KPA100 and tuned per manual.

The final result was an Elecraft K2/100 that works flawlessly and is a pleasure to use. I highly recommend Alan for any K2 work.
K4EQ Rating: 2020-10-21
Outstanding Service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Let me start with the important stuff first. Alan is a real gentleman and the kind of person with whom it's a pleasure to do business. My K2/100 developed an issue that affected both transmit and receive so, after reading several of his eHam reviews, I sent him an email describing the problem. He quickly responded and I shipped the radio to him.

After Alan received the radio and had an opportunity to examine it, he gave me a call and we discussed options and costs. I wisely said to do whatever he thought was necessary to get it in tip-top shape, which he did. I thought his service charge was fair and reasonable. The radio arrived yesterday and I quickly put it on the air. The performance us superb and I'm a very happy camper.

I am very pleased with the service I received from Alan and would not hesitate to send any of my Elecraft equipment to him for repair if needed.
K1RAE Rating: 2020-10-10
K2/100 and KAT100 Upgraded and More Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I happened to be looking through eham.net reviews and came across the rave reviews for Alan and his work on Elecraft K2 transceivers. I bought my K2 kit almost eighteen years ago (#2472), added in the KPA100 later and had fun with the rig. A new job required extensive travel so Ham Radio was put onto the back burner for a long time. The K2 ended up getting shoved into a closet in my home office. I recently retired (in time for the pandemic), so now a lot of time for Ham Radio again with a KX3 this time.
Reading these reviews got me thinking about that K2/100 and how much fun I had building it and using it. I had to do some hunting around but found it! The K2, KAT100 tuner, the cables and all the documentation! I wrote a note to Alan, he responded immediately and we ended up discussing the rig, and it’s state as I remembered it via phone. Before I sent the rig to Alan, we discussed a minimum set of work and some other potential upgrades. I also found three other K2 options still in kit form that we talked about. I powered the thing up, hooked up an antenna and it still appeared to be quite functional. Alan responded with a detailed quote for each step of the process. Some of the steps were potentially optional, but Alan would need to look at the rig. After some thought, I opted to go ‘all in’ and deferred to Alan to make the necessary changes he felt were needed.
It turned out that some of the steps were not necessary and Alan skipped these changes, saving real dollars. In the end Alan tuned up the K2, built the three optional kits, installed them, did the A —> B conversion, made firmware upgrades, all at the prices that he quoted. No surprises for sure.
Alan turned the rig around in less than a month, delays due to fires in California and of course Covid-19. Well, it was definitely worth the wait! The K2 was returned in fully operational condition, hooked everything up and immediately made two CW 40 Meter QSOs and then tried SSB on 20, worked fantastic!
I could not be more satisfied with the work that Alan did. He is a great communicator as noted by other reviewers. It is obvious my K2 was in the hands of an expert. I enjoyed working with Alan and would not hesitate to reach out again for his help.
KG7VQ Rating: 2020-06-24
KAT2 Rescue Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I needed help after installing an IC chip backwards early in the build and botching the removal which lifted a pad. Poor eye site and shaky hands. I contacted Alan and sent him the project and replacement IC I had ordered. Less then 2 weeks it was completed and on its was back. Great service and workmanship.
KG7VQ Russ
W7PQ Rating: 2020-06-05
K2 Alignment Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I sent my dusty K2 to Alan for realignment. It had sat dormant for a few years and I noticed transmit was not on the right frequency. Having read these reviews, it was an easy decision. I emailed Alan and he promptly replied. I couldn't get it boxed up fast enough. Turn around was fast. A detailed report included all of his findings and adjustments. It performs at its peak now. I'm thrilled. I have learned that having the right equipment is necessary to optimize the result, but even more important is the training, experience and expertise. You can't find anyone better than Alan.
N2GCZ Rating: 2020-05-30
K2 & KAT100 Repair Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I sent my K2 & KAT100 to Alan for repair and alignment. The radio never sounded better and the KAT100 is back up and running. Alan kept in touch with me during the whole repair process; which was much quicker than I expected. Also he is very reasonable in his charge for repairs. I highly recommend Alan because of my personal experience with him. He is truly a gentleman and a new friend. You meet the nicest people in Ham Radio!!
K1EDG Rating: 2020-04-28
K2/100 Repair Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Alan brought my K2 back to life, it had bin in a storage room for about 10 years and left out in the open. I had no history on it's condition when I got. Alan got in top condition, updated it and had it back in about a week instead of months!! He was very reasonable for his repairs. It came with a uninstalled KPA100 board that later failed and sent it to him for repair.
I am very happy with his service and would recommend him to anyone how wants quality repair and a fair price!
If I ever need work on it again I will use him again.
K1EDG Ed
N9EET Rating: 2020-04-11
He does a great job Time Owned: more than 12 months.
He has done two Elecraft troubleshootings for me and I have been very happy with both. Great work, quick turn around and great communication. Now these rigs are ready for some ham fun. From my house to his and back in one week. That's great!