While some in this forum marvel at the way things go together in this radio, I was not pleased with the standoff situation. Using screws to attach standoffs in later to be inaccessible locations, and adjusting standoff lengths with stacks of washers is acceptable in a homebrew or prototype radio, but I think that in a production piece they should be of the correct length and permanently staked into place.
Flame away. Wes N7WS --- On Wed, 12/30/09, Brett Howard <br...@livecomputers.com> wrote: From: Brett Howard <br...@livecomputers.com> Subject: [Elecraft] K3 Bottom Front Panel Issues To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Cc: pa...@elecraft.net Date: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 3:29 AM Ok I know I need to buy new screwdrivers. I'm in the process of buying a set of Whia drivers. I feel that the driver I've been using fits fairly well but the Whia set I have at work seem to fit a little better. Anyway I'm starting to have issues with my bottom front panel after getting into this radio as many times as I have... After the DVR, the audio low pass filter, several additions of filters, the sub RX, and every mod on the website (except for the resistor change for the P3) I'll be doing it when the P3 arrives... Anyway the center most screw position was the one giving me the most fits before. This wasn't near as big of an issue when I didn't have the sub receiver. But now that I have that piece in place being able to put a screwdriver on the top side has become much more work intensive. I've also tried using lock-tite to hold the standoffs onto the screws from the board side so that Its very easy to remove the screws from the bottom and I figured if I ever had to replace the RF board that replacing a few standoffs at the same time would be easy... Anyway I've cammed out of some of the flat head screws ever so slightly here and there and Elecraft graciously provided me with a few replacements to get rid of the ones that were starting to look bad. But this other issue is starting to get really quite ugly. I've gotten to the point where I no longer want to even try opening it because of how far I have too take it apart because of these issues. I got an FM filter for Xmas and because the left front screw and the center most screw wouldn't come out of the bottom I ended up having to pull the front panel and the sub RX in order to install a filter. (granted the Sub RX had to come out partially to get the filter in place but had to come out all the way for the other work). Anyway I think I'd like to replace some of these parts with new ones as the excessive use and attempts with lock-tite have been less than successful. I'm wondering if I should try to make up a BOM of what I need from the Elecraft manual (using elecraft part numbers of course) and then place an order or if I should just head to my parts catalog house and try there. Finally my last question quite concerns me.... I've noted that from several applications on and off that the board has gotten scratched here and there around the screw holes. Being that these are commonly ground points I'm quite worried that I'm not getting the grounding that I should... Just after installing the FM filter I noted that when I plug my mic into the front panel that I get about a .5S unit drop in noise level when the mic is plugged in. Granted I think this is the first time I've even listened to the radio w/ the mic unplugged (even though I rarely ever use it)... But this makes me wonder what may be up here.... FWIW I have put shorting wires around the L's in the back for the "Improving the immunity of the Rear-Panel RS232 and Audio Connectors to RF" modification. I greatly appreciate any advice. Sorry for asking these questions in this format with so much unfounded fear but I ask as I don't really have the time to do a lot of trial an error and documentation/testing like I'd like in order to make the right decision. I kinda figure that those with many of these around would be able to much more quickly answer to questions such as what happens if some of those ground connections are less than optimal... If all else fails and the compromised grounds causes issue I think with some exacto and copper tape work I can make those areas very robust to lock washers. Greatly appreciated gentlemen. ~Brett (KC7OTG) ______________________________________________________________ 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
