I'll be interested to hear what you learn, Mike. I don't have an ATU in
my K-3, but I feed a KPA-1500, and when I QSY quickly (for example when
pouncing on spots), I hear relays click in the amp's ATU. I assume this
is a function of QSYing from one ATU zone to another, every 10 or 20 KHZ
(except on 10M, where it's 100). It does this whether I'm transmitting
or not.
I wonder if the firmware update you installed added this behavior to
your K-3. I can see where it might be a good thing to adjust the ATU
before you transmit, even if just a few milliseconds before.
73, Pete N4ZR
On 11/12/2023 2:59 PM, Michael Carter via Elecraft wrote:
I've been getting reacquainted with my K3 (S/N 67XX)
since adding the 100 watt PA module (KPA3A) last
weekend. I also updated the firmware to the latest
versions and ran the TX Gain Calibration successfully
at all three power levels. The K3/10 had been sitting
disconnected from everything since maybe 2019 when
I used it to test the XV432 transverter I built.
In operating in the early mornings this past week
I observed an odd clicking of a relay as I tuned
VFO A. Additional experimentation revealed that
VFO B would also produce the sporadic relay
clicking while tuning that control. There was no
apparent pattern to the clicking, i.e. no regular
frequency interval at which clicks occurred.
In both instances the relay clicking disappeared after
a brief warm-up period. I confirmed this behavior
again by leaving the shack heat off and the rig off
for a couple hours. The Front Panel temperature and
PA Temperature both registered 12C on a cold start
(yes, it is New Hampshire on a fall day), and the
anomalous relay clicking on tuning either VFO A
or VFO B ceased once the Front Panel temperature
rose above 17C. This behavior was never observed
in many years of operating the K3/10 in contests
and general DXing, and the shack was plenty cold
through those fall and winter mornings until the
heat kicked up.
I'll open the top cover and determine which relay
is being activated during the cold start-up. Both VFO
encoders go directly to the Front Panel MCU
with no intervening circuitry save for connectors
and printed wiring.
At first I thought the relay clicking might be from
the internal KAT3 ATU, but this behavior occurs in
RX mode with no effort to transmit or activate
ATU TUNE. It occurs with the ATU bypassed as
well as in-circuit. I'm now wondering if the
MCU developed a low temperature sensitivity
during its long hiatus from daily use?
Has anyone seen this kind of low temperature
relay clicking when tuning the receiver right after
a cold start?
Thanks in advance, and 73,
Mike, K8CN
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