I had a similar situation with my KX3 just after the RTTY round-up at the beginning of January. I also have the 2M module installed and experienced the same challenges with the inductors. SWR values after 2M module install seemed to be ok on HF. I actually can't recall if they were high as I didn't check. But, the auto-tuner had no trouble achieving less than 1.5:1 matches with a regular ATU cycle (not the aggressive cycle) into my G5RV shorty. After the round-up, I couldn't achieve less than 3 on most bands (ATU assisted) and in some cases an SWR of 75:1!! I tried measurements into two different dummy loads that I had around the shack. I bypassed the ATU and measured on all bands. I had high SWR on all HF bands into both dummy loads.
The sad ending to my tail is that I had to send the KX3 back to Elecraft for warranty repair. The report back, from the Elecraft tech looking at my rig, was that 5 of the RF board's ICs were blown. Probable cause: near field lightning strike or greater than 100+ watts of RF energy into the KX3. It is winter where I am (snow, cold :-) and we don't get lightning at this time of year. Also, I don't know how 100+ watts would have slipped into the KX3. It isn't near any other RF source with that kind of power. It is interesting, Ed, that you are reporting something similar to my situation. I hope you resolve your problem without having to send your KX3 back. P.S. I struck up a nice email conversation with the folks at Elecraft support and they guided me through some tests and asked for measurements. They too didn't want me to have to send the rig back. But, the results of the SWR measurements told them that something bad was wrong and the KX3 needed servicing. regards, Brian VE3IBW On Wed, Jan 28, 2015 at 1:59 PM, Ed Hamlin <w...@earthlink.net> wrote: > Hi > > I just recently installed the 2M transverter in my KX-3. I’m now noticing > high (11 to 25) SWR readings on 20m and I wondered if this might be related > (I don’t recall such high readings before). I’m using an off-center fed > dipole that has worked quite well in the past. The KX3 autotuner worked so > well in the past, and I’ve seen it tune on relatively short random wires, > so inability to tune on a good antenna seems rather odd. > > Part of the installation required displacing L40 and L43 on the main RF > board to make room for the SMA connector. It’s possible to break one of the > leads on the inductor while doing this. L40 (as I recall) felt pretty tight > and I may have inadvertently pushed it too hard. > > What would be the symptoms of an open circuit on either of those > inductors? Other than high SWR on 20m and 30m, I haven’t seen any anomalous > behavior. > > 73s > Ed > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to brian.waterwo...@gmail.com ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
