James; Congratulations. You did everything right. Consulted with users, located defective part, bypassed the choke with wire as suggested and order replacement. That's exactly what I would have done. A job well done! 73 N4LQ Steve
----- Original Message ----- From: "James Sarte" <[email protected]> To: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <[email protected]> Cc: "Elecraft Reflector" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2010 4:53 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3: Right paddle key not working? > Hi Ron, > > Yes, replacement of the whole RF board would be very time and labor > intensive; certainly something that I'd like to avoid at all possible > costs. I would rather send the K3 back to Aptos, and use my Icom in the > interim, then take the K3 apart to that level. > > Just last night, I removed the side panel with handle, the rear panel and > everything attached to it. I also removed the KIO3 and transverter board > so > I could see what was on the other side of the RF board under the choke. > Putting it back together, I had to spend some time looking at the manual - > not because I couldn't remember how it was assembled, but because I > couldn't recall the different screw sizes and types and which holes they > thread in to. I can only imagine how much longer it would take me if I > had > to swap the whole RF board out! > > Anyway, I've asked Dale to send me two of the RFC4 chokes in case I damage > one while performing the swap. If I can't get it right, then I'll send > the > K3 back to Aptos. > > 73 de James K2QI > > > On Sun, Nov 14, 2010 at 4:35 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire <[email protected]> wrote: > >> You handled it just like I would, James, and I've repaired communications >> equipment, LF through microwave, professionally as well as built >> countless >> kits and scratch-built Ham rigs, many of my own design. >> >> I don't know if the fellow behind "The Smiths" built his K3 from a kit, >> but >> you and I both know that replacing the RF board is a big job involving >> completely disassembling the K3 back to a "kit" except for the front >> panel >> assembly. I've done it. Time is required, just as with the original >> assembly. Rushing, while assuming one remembers exactly what to do, will >> certainly lead to time-consuming mistakes. >> >> RF chokes on leads leading outside the rig are for RF suppression - to >> keep >> RF in or, in this case, certainly to keep RF that might trigger the >> circuit >> out. >> >> You'd know instantly if there was a problem. Your rig would key when you >> operated something else, or stick in transmit if it's own RF trigger the >> key >> line. >> >> In your situation I'd replace the choke too, but if it were too difficult >> to >> get to, I'd add a similar value choke to points I could reach physically >> as >> close to the existing choke as possible. >> >> 73, >> >> Ron AC7AC >> >> >> >> > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > 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:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
