[Elecraft] SP3 intermittent A/B switch

[mjpilgrim]

My apologies if I've overlooked SP3 discussions including this annoying
symptom on mine.  I purchased this SP3 new  a couple years ago.  After a few
weeks i noticed the A/B selector switch had become rather touchy, and at
times the audio would not be present unless I jiggled the switch a few
times.  I sort of migrated away from listening aloud, resorting to my
headphones in order to reduce disruptive noise for the family.  Recently I
decided to listen through the SP3 and was quickly reminded there was a
problem.  in order to listen, I have to periodically jiggle the A/B switch
or activate it back and forth between A and B until finally the audio comes
through clearly.  I swapped inputs from A to B and back again, but nothing
helped.

Am I dealing with a known problem on the SP3, and if so, is there a simple
remedy?  If a new switch is advised, is that available from Elecraft?  I
welcome any helpful suggestions.
Thanks.
Be safe.  73's
Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, Boca Raton, Fl



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Re: [Elecraft] K3/100 Voltage Drop when transmitting

[mjpilgrim]

yep, OHM's law lives, even after at least 61 years since i first studied it
in preparation for my novice test.

Furthermore, I'm grateful for the outpouring of ideas and suggestions
received here on this forum.  I think I have learned enough to convince
myself that I have improved my situation as much as i can, and with what
remains, I can live with the resultant which appears to be due to the
presence of the referenced internal diode which some have suggested would
impose a .7V voltage drop.

>From received suggestions I replaced the input power cable with a 8AWG 6'
stranded copper pair with all the  power pole connectors firmly crimped to
the wires.  When plugged into the MFJ switched power supply i measure 13.6V
at the power poles on the power supply, and the same 13.6 is measured at the
power input on the back of the K3.  Under key down 100W CW test, the power
supply voltage does not vary at all, either at the power supply or on rear
of the K3, and on the internal power meter in the K3 I see a .8V drop to
12.8V. that's near enough to .7V to declare victory as far as I can
see.

Having achieved what seems to be normal operations as based on those voltage 
measurements, I then disabled the MFJ power supply and moved the input power
cable on the K3 over to the DC distribution panel from the Solar System
batteries.  Much to my surprise and pleasure the voltage measurements
compared equally to what I registered in the hookup to the MFJ power source.

So, now that you have helped put this power concern to rest for me, I will
close out this concern as I turn my full attention to fine-tuning my solar
power system capabilities, such as incorporating a boost inverter for
raising and holding the input voltage at a level more friendly to the K3
operating efficiency.  

Thanks again for all your suggestions and ideas.
Regards,
Mike, K5MP





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Re: [Elecraft] K3/100 Voltage Drop when transmitting

[mjpilgrim]

Well, i have received many helpful replies both publicly here and in private
emails.  Thanks to all for those ideas brought forward.

What I've gleaned to be most useful from your responses has been the
suggestions to investigate the power cord with power poles connecting the K3
to my switching power supply.  Per those inputs I've fabricated a shorter
(5') cable and insured that I used the crimp terminals rated at 30 AMPS. 
The initial result has been a reduction of about 30% of my measured voltage
drop (now 13.6 Volts in standby to 12.5V when key down 100W CW
previously the drop was to 12.0)...  Some background info. is
that the original observation of a voltage drop occurred as the K3 was
connected to my minimal-sized Solar Power supply.  After extensive
investigation, additional hardening in the wiring, and replacement of a
suspect imported power distribution strip, I was convinced there was no
voltage drop evidenced there.  The battery voltage measured at the input to
the referenced DC power distribution strip did not waver under key down
tests with the attached K3. There remained however, the
above-mentioned voltage drop displayed in the K3 metering.

i plan to rebuild the afore-mentioned 5' power cable, this time soldering
the power pole lugs rather than trusting crimped connections.  My suspicion
that the power cable is suspect, so i plan to address those curiosities
before moving on to other possible cause.

Thanks again for your continued ideas and suggestions.
Regards,
Mike, K5MP



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[Elecraft] K3/100 Voltage Drop when transmitting

[mjpilgrim]

At first i suspected my Solar power system which was installed a year ago,
but now I  plugged my K3 S/N 7317 directly into my 25A switching DC power
supply, and when key down, 100W in CW, on the internal K3 Power Meter i see
a voltage drop from 13.6 to 12.0VDC.  My power cord is a 6',  10ga stranded
copper wire pair with Andersen Power Pole connectors.  I have tried three
separate power cords, all 10ga with power pole connectors, but with no
change in the voltage drop scenario.  If anyone has suggestions of where the
problem  lies, I am all ears. Obviously, when operating SSB the drop is
present but not as severe.  What am i dealing with?  Better yet, how do i
fix it?  Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Mike, K5MP



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[Elecraft] Anyone use Solar Power for your ham shack?

[mjpilgrim]

I've employed a small solar power system to supply my ham shack which
includes K3-100/P3, two PCs with flat screen monitors, and 20" flat screen
TV.  This began as a basic test bed to understand Solar Power, so i know i
have lots to learn, and perhaps I have answers to help others with the same
interests.

I'd like to hear  of your trials, errors, and decided solutions for best
results.  I'm now researching best price performers for a pure sine wave
inverter so i can merge my ATT u-Verse gateway/wi-fi and associated devices. 
Also, when running CW on the K3 i occasionally encounter LOW BATTERY error,
requiring a few seconds of UP-Key to allow the batteries to recover.  I'd
like to discuss that symptom relative to my sizing considerations in the
Solar Power system.  On paper it appears sufficient.  Sometimes i
wonder
Drop me a note via email so we might continue this conversation at length. 
Thanks.  Mike, K5MP 



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Re: [Elecraft] P3 SVGA interference -

[mjpilgrim]

Somehow I managed to lose my last post describing the attached photo. 
suffice to say my Span is set for 14.000-14.104MHZ and my cursor is tuned to
14.029, but notice that the baseline noise level while near S-2 across most
of the band, shows a hump back at the center of the screen and the waterfall
depicts the width of the distortion.  Anyone with any suggestion beyond what
I have offered, I'm all ears.  Note that this phenom. occurs only on 20
Meters.

Thanks,
Mike K5MP  



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Re: [Elecraft] P3 SVGA interference -

[mjpilgrim]

I am almost overwhelmed by all the very thoughtful suggestions.  Here's what
I know so far.

I had previously performed the idea of turning off all items in the room
except for the radio and P3, but the reported symptom remains.  I then
switched my antenna switch to the grounded position, and the problem goes
away. Now my suspicion is that my rfi is created from outside my
house.  My antenna system consists of two end fed long wires, 90% opposed to
each other, and a minimal vertical out behind the house.

The RFI from all antennas is approximately equal in amplitude as I select
them one at a time (with the vertical slightly less but I attribute that to
the relative poor receive sensitivity on that antenna.  Nonetheless, the RFI
on that antenna is quite noticeable.

I hesitate to bother for additional thoughts at this point, at least until I
can asses what possible causes external to my house might be at play, and
now to pay close attention to whether or not it changes depending on the
hour of the day.  For example, at first notice of this problem I sensed that
everything was normal until for example, the beginning of the work day.  I
soon discounted that thought however, when I realized it was happening late
at night (as was the case up until I shut down last night around 11pm).  And
it affects only 20 Meters.  All other bands are viewed normally.

Perhaps once I can capture and submit a picture for review here, someone
might be able to make a little more sense out of what I'm trying to
describe.If I can say it this way, it reminds me of a TV commercial
where folks are in a Gymnasium doing a strength regimen involving holding a
rope in each hand and making it serpentine by moving the arms up and down. 
Only that sine wave of baseline noise moves from S-2 to as high as S-7 when
using my best antenna..  I'll try to get a picture attached later
this afternoon.

Thanks for the help so far.
Mike, K5MP





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Re: [Elecraft] P3 SVGA interference -

[mjpilgrim]

I have the P3 attached to a HP 23" flat screen.  I power off the external
monitor and still have the issue on the P3 internal monitor.  I power off
the monitor on two PCs in the room and power off the flat screen TV in the
room.  Still no relief.

I removed and reconnected all connections on the back of the P3, then
removed the top cover so I could attempt to change the symptoms by touching
and/or moving the ribbon cable and connectors.  No change.

I have snapped a couple pics, so will attempt later to share those if
possible.  Thanks for your replies.
Mike, K5MP



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Re: [Elecraft] P3 SVGA interference -

[mjpilgrim]

I wonder if this discussion and suggested ribbon clips address my issue.  I
acquired my K3 this past summer and then a P3 off of eBay shortly
thereafter.  I installed the SVGA adapter a couple months ago and I have a
problem which sounds similar to what is described in this thread.  For lack
of a better description let me say this symptom happens only on
20Meters. as I view my spectrum now  from 14.250 to 14.350 the noise
floor rests basically around S-2 across the entire band, revealing a few
transmitted ham conversations,  My center frequency on the scope is 14.300
and at this moment I see occasional noise peaks  rising up to as high as S-5
in two or three instances approximately 10khz wide, and at times 20 khz or 
wider.  These noise peaks are not consistent with any observed or detected
human voice transmission.  At times  I can see a very broad band of noise on
the waterfall which spans the entirety of the floating noise floor.  The
same observation occurs when I am tuned down in the CW portion of the band.

I don't recall if this observation was present prior to adding the SVGA
adapter, and I've not thought about opening the P3 to inspect or move any
cables.

I know this symptom can best be demonstrated with a photo, so if that would
be beneficial, I will be happy to oblige.  Just let me know who needs to see
it.

This is certainly a very annoying issue I wish to resolve.  I'm open to any
ideas or suggestions.
Thanks, Mike, K5MP 



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[Elecraft] Screen Magnifier for P3...user with poor eyesight

[mjpilgrim]

I just acquired and added a P3 to my K3.  From all indications it works very
well but I find that with my aged and failing eyesight the screen is quite
difficult to read, for example, when setting Mkr frequencies and the center
frequency in upper center of the screen. I'm thinking there must be an easy,
cost effective solution.   I was browsing Screen Magnifiers on Amazon, made
primarily for cell phones mounted in a simple plastic holder which could be
implemented with a little imagination.  They seem cheap enough ($5 -$20);
just curious what the pluses and minuses might be.  Anyone?



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[Elecraft] CBLP3y Cable P3 to K3 connection

[mjpilgrim]

I just acquired a P3, but was surprised to learn that I need a cable (CBLP3Y)
to enable the K3 VFO frequency to be displayed on the P3.  I located in my
toy box a couple cables of same description as the CBLP3Y, that being they
are terminated on one end by a RJ45 connector and a DB9 Male on the other. 
(I see in page 4 of the P3 owner's manual it calls this cable a Male-Female
DE-9, so that is confusing to me.  What is a DE-9 connector?).  My question
is to ask if my toy box cables will do the job, or is there something
specific to the CBLP3Y that  designates that as the only cable to use?

Someone please help me with this question.  Thanks,  Mike Pilgrim, K5MP



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[Elecraft] P3 wanted, used in good condition, or unfinished kit

[mjpilgrim]

I hope to acquire a P3 in good condition to add to my recently-acquired K3. 
I've considered ordering the kit, but not sure my failing eyesight is up to
the task.  The factory assembled model is a bit more than I can or need to
spend, so I'd like to hear if you have a P3 in good condition which you want
to sell.  Alternatively if you happen to have a kit not yet completed and
you want to sell it, I'd like to hear from you.  I might take my chances (my
eyesight issue) for the right price.

Thanks.  Mike, K5MP, Boca Raton, Fl



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[Elecraft] Using Heil Pro Set Elite boom mic on K3.. what adapter is required?

[mjpilgrim]

I am soon to be the owner of a used K3.  I presently use a Heil Pro Set Elite
boom mic for my IC-7600 and want to know if anyone here has used this mic on
a K3, and if so,  what adapter did you use to connect to the round 8-pin mic
input on the K3?  I'd like to hear your ideas.  Thanks
Mike, K5MP
Boca Raton, Fl



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[Elecraft] KAt100 power on question

[mjpilgrim]

I recently purchased a used KAT100.  Not sure how to interpret a possible
failing condition at Power UP time.  Stupid Question:  If I simply connect
12VDC to the DC power input jack on the KAT100 (without the K2 physically
connected), should I see the lights eliminated on the KAT100?  Reason I ask
is because at one time during my initial hookup I seem to recall the lights
on, but now they are not.  Don't know if possibly my interface cable had a
shorted connection, or what.  Nonetheless, before I re-cable and try again,
I just needed to ask if I might have a problem in which the lights do not
come on.  Upon close inspection of the interface cable I think I located a
shorted connection at the KAT100 connection.  I removed that shorted
condition but I feel hesitant to plug in a try the operational status of the
setup.  Can anyone please tell me if the KAT100 lights illuminate when the
12VDC power is connected, or must the unit be calbed to the K2?

Thanks, 



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Re: [Elecraft] [K2] KPA100 Temp Cal: Room temp or radio temp?

[mjpilgrim]

I have a related question: I purchased my K2/100 only a month ago, second
hand, SN 5818.  I've experienced "PA HOT" shut down on several occasions
when running 100Watts out, and less frequently but it has happened when at
50Watts.  I've witnessed the discussion of setting Cal tPa to ambient temp.
C, and with my indoor/outdoor digital weather monitor on my operating desk,
I see 81 F as a normal workstation temp, which converts to 26.95 C..
that is the figure I enter into the Cal tPa setting.  I can then operate CW
for a few minutes, noticing that the fan does turn on.  Unfortunately, since
I do not continually keep my eyes on the digital display as I continue my CW
qso, I have been frequently surprised to note that I have experienced a Pa
Hot failure and my output has shut down (although the side tone monitor
continues to yield my keyed side tone).  

I have now noticed that when that failure occurs, I can power down the K2
and immediately power it pack on, and I then can continue operating with
full output power.  This almost appears as if the Pa Hot error is a false
indication, and even though it initially shuts down my output power, it
seems strange that it resets to normal ops when power is cycled off and on
again.  I have failed to notice if the fan comes on upon the power off/on
recycle. I'm thinking it is not on at that time.  I'll try to be more
observant on future failures but in the meantime I wanted to mention this
failure in case I am overlooking something or maybe doing something to
create harm by powering off and on the K2.

PS.  While attempting to change the failing conditions, I have increased the
Cal tPa temp up to as high as 33C, and I believe that is where it was set
with my most recent failure.

Any ideas out there?  Thanks.
Mike, K5MP



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