Re: [Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day
I agree with Dave,I had in the first half an hour a problem at FD with my K3 and it was a Pyramid PS that had a poor regulation,the K3 quit and it went off by itself and few mins later we figured out after powering it back that voltage at the K3 display was droping from 13.8 to 12V when keying on CW at 110W out,so we switched PS to an Astron 35A and it remained at 13.8V droping only 200mV.Then I spent 6 hours with no problem at all with it. Aparently voltage regulation is very important to keep the K3 up and running properly.My two cents to the topic. AD4C The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.. -- Albert Einstein --- On Tue, 6/30/09, David Y. w7...@cox.net wrote: From: David Y. w7...@cox.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day To: James R. Kauten, MD kau...@atnex.net, Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2009, 3:21 AM Jim, Is the K3 working correctly again now that you have it back home??? If so, I would question the power setup used on Field Day. Did you happen to check the voltages the K3 was seeing? Lots of times on Field Day power connections are questionable. The K3 does not like low voltages, which can often be the case on an outing like that. The fact that the other K3's worked O.K. may not be indicative, since you may have had a different connection setup, or even been on a different power connection. Just a thought! Dave W7AQK - Original Message - From: James R. Kauten, MD kau...@atnex.net To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 10:02 AM Subject: [Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day We had 3 K-3’s at our field day QTH this year. Two worked flawlessly, however, mine; #353 developed some front panel issues. I have had no problems with my K3 prior to this. The rig would work as usual for a period of time then with no error messages; the front panel controls would not function normally. Here is a summary of what happens: Band—cannot switch bands up or down Mode—cannot switch mode Menu and Disp—do not work Xmit and ATU tune-- do not work RX Antàturns on NB Antàturns on NR All potentiometers work Push function of 4 knobs, shift, width, speed/mic, and CMP/PWR do not work VFO A knob—changes VFO A VFO B knob—changes VFO B A/B, REV, AàB—do not work PREàturns on notch, toggles between auto and manual AGCàplays contents of M3 voice keyer when on SSB Xfilàshows M1—M4 in display window NB, NR, NTCH—do not work SPOT—toggles between LO/HI and Shift/Width (shows LO and FC) CWT—toggles PWR and CMP settings in display AFX—toggles between LO/HI and Shift/Width (shows HI and BW) VàM, MàV—do not work M1, M2, M3, M4, REC—do not work RIT, XIT, CLR—do not work None of the long press functions work (yellow labels) I can power the rig off and on. The rig will intermittently begin working properly for a while then the front panel repeats what is described above. We had to remove this rig from the operating position 20 minutes before the start of field day. Heat is not a problem as we were in an air-conditioned room and we had not been generating RF. I am running firmware version 3.19 and reloaded it after the first time the front panel locked. I have looked through the manual but see no mention of these phenomena. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Jim Kauten, MD kaute...@me.com kau...@atnex.net __ 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 __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day
Actually, the K3 is supposed to work FB all the way down to 11V. I haven't tried 11 V, but I've run mine at full output well under 12 V with no problems at all. That's not recommended in SSB and most data modes since the IMD of the power amp isn't as good at the lower voltages, but it should still work FB and meet all Elecraft specs at the lower voltage. Is it possible there were brief, severe drops in the voltage caused by the varying loads that were too short to show up on the voltage display? Such a drop could easily trigger a shut down. Since it's an unexpected power-down, it might also confuse the MCU causing lost data that can result in other operational anomalies when power is restored as well. Ron AC7AC -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Hector Padron Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 6:00 AM To: David Y. Cc: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day I agree with Dave,I had in the first half an hour a problem at FD with my K3 and it was a Pyramid PS that had a poor regulation,the K3 quit and it went off by itself and few mins later we figured out after powering it back that voltage at the K3 display was droping from 13.8 to 12V when keying on CW at 110W out,so we switched PS to an Astron 35A and it remained at 13.8V droping only 200mV.Then I spent 6 hours with no problem at all with it. Aparently voltage regulation is very important to keep the K3 up and running properly.My two cents to the topic. AD4C __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Sounds like the FP board may have developed a problem. Please contact k3supp...@elecraft.com for assistance. 73, Lyle KK7P __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day
Jim, Is the K3 working correctly again now that you have it back home??? If so, I would question the power setup used on Field Day. Did you happen to check the voltages the K3 was seeing? Lots of times on Field Day power connections are questionable. The K3 does not like low voltages, which can often be the case on an outing like that. The fact that the other K3's worked O.K. may not be indicative, since you may have had a different connection setup, or even been on a different power connection. Just a thought! Dave W7AQK - Original Message - From: James R. Kauten, MD kau...@atnex.net To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 10:02 AM Subject: [Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day We had 3 K-3’s at our field day QTH this year. Two worked flawlessly, however, mine; #353 developed some front panel issues. I have had no problems with my K3 prior to this. The rig would work as usual for a period of time then with no error messages; the front panel controls would not function normally. Here is a summary of what happens: Band—cannot switch bands up or down Mode—cannot switch mode Menu and Disp—do not work Xmit and ATU tune-- do not work RX Antàturns on NB Antàturns on NR All potentiometers work Push function of 4 knobs, shift, width, speed/mic, and CMP/PWR do not work VFO A knob—changes VFO A VFO B knob—changes VFO B A/B, REV, AàB—do not work PREàturns on notch, toggles between auto and manual AGCàplays contents of M3 voice keyer when on SSB Xfilàshows M1—M4 in display window NB, NR, NTCH—do not work SPOT—toggles between LO/HI and Shift/Width (shows LO and FC) CWT—toggles PWR and CMP settings in display AFX—toggles between LO/HI and Shift/Width (shows HI and BW) VàM, MàV—do not work M1, M2, M3, M4, REC—do not work RIT, XIT, CLR—do not work None of the long press functions work (yellow labels) I can power the rig off and on. The rig will intermittently begin working properly for a while then the front panel repeats what is described above. We had to remove this rig from the operating position 20 minutes before the start of field day. Heat is not a problem as we were in an air-conditioned room and we had not been generating RF. I am running firmware version 3.19 and reloaded it after the first time the front panel locked. I have looked through the manual but see no mention of these phenomena. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Jim Kauten, MD kaute...@me.com kau...@atnex.net __ 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 __ 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