I believed Eric's statement to be true however Ron has experienced problems with his radio performing unsolicited QSY's after her performed the mod but forgot to change the menu setting.
I have the mod in my radio and just tried to get something to happen w/ my radio set back to SPI1. I tried on all bands and even ran a tune into a dummy for a bit to get things to heat up a bit. Anyway if you're not hearing the noise then waiting a bit probably won't cause you any issues. ~Brett On Sun, 2009-08-23 at 20:08 -0700, Joe Planisky wrote: > Hi Ron, > > > Eric and my statements are quite correct, both of them! > > OK, I'm really missing something then. Eric said (emphasis mine): > > > There is no downside to making this h/w mod, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT > > ENABLE THE MENU OPTION. > > That sounds very much like he's saying you can make the mod and not > change the SPI bus clock rate to SP2. > > But you just said (again, emphasis mine): > > > If you add the diodes and resistors per the App Note, ... YOU *MUST* > > CHANGE THE SPI BUS CLOCK RATE TO "SP2" FOR PROPER (STABLE) OPERATION. > > I don't see how they can both be correct. > > The reason I would like clarification is that I sometimes go back to a > previous FW release to compare operation with the new release. If > what you say is true, that implies that once I make the hardware mod I > can't go back to the 3.19 release without potentially having VFO > stability issues. If that's really and truly the case, I don't want > to do the mod until I'm sure I won't ever want to go back to anything > older than 3.24. > > 73 > -- > Joe KB8AP > > > > > On Aug 23, 2009, at 7:05 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > > > Eric and my statements are quite correct, both of them! > > > > If you add the diodes and resistors per the App Note, which provide > > better > > termination on the synthesizer control lines, you *must* change the > > SPI bus > > clock rate to "SP2" for proper (stable) operation. > > > > V 3.24 (or later) firmware has a menu command that allows you to > > change the > > SPI bus clock rate as needed. > > > > The K3 works perfectly with that change, but with much reduced noise > > while > > turning the VFO on the 6, 10 and 60 meter bands, at least for those > > who > > experienced the noise. > > > > A few people have downloaded the newer firmware (3.24 or later) and > > tried > > changing the SPI clock rate without installing the diodes and > > resistors that > > terminate the synthesizer control lines. Doing that leads to unstable > > operation. > > > > Similarly, I installed the diodes and resistors (while illustrating > > the App > > Note), forgot to change the SPI clock rate, and found my VFO unstable. > > > > After some head-scratching I realized my oversight, changed the SPI > > bus > > clock rate to "SPI 2" and everything is perfect again. > > > > So the K3 is perfectly stable without installing the parts, no > > matter which > > version of the firmware you install, provided you leave the menu > > command for > > the SPI Bus rate at CONFIG:MD SPI 1. > > > > Similarly the K3 is perfectly stable with the diodes and resistors > > terminating the synthesizer control lines provided you change the > > SPI bus > > rate to CONFIG:MD SPI 2 > > > > Ron AC7AC > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] > > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Joe Planisky > > Sent: Sunday, August 23, 2009 6:24 PM > > To: Elecraft Reflector > > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Hardware Updates > > > > Now doggonnit, let's get our stories straight! > > > > Ron D'Eau Claire says: > > > >> ... if you add the resistors and diodes and do not > >> change the timing, the VFO may become unstable, > > > > Eric Swartz says: > > > >> There is no downside to making this h/w mod, even if you do not > >> enable > >> the menu option. > > > > Am I missing something, or are these two statements contradictory? > > Maybe Wayne can be the tie-breaker :-) > > > > 73 > > -- > > Joe KB8AP > > > > > > > > On Aug 23, 2009, at 4:08 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > > > >> Well, it shouldn't hurt to do the mod, but I agree with David if you > >> can't > >> find any noise. > >> > >> The reason 3.24 is required is that it provides a menu entry for > >> changing > >> the bus timing as described in the procedure. A slightly different > >> timing is > >> required for stable operation once the diodes and resistors are > >> added. > >> > >> If you try to load the firmware and change timing without adding the > >> resistors and diodes, or if you add the resistors and diodes and do > >> not > >> change the timing, the VFO may become unstable, making un-commanded > >> QSYs. > >> (On my K3 they were in 100 Hz steps.) > >> > >> The default timing in all the firmware, including 3.24 and up, is > >> correct > >> for K3's that do not have the diodes and resistors added, so you > >> need do > >> nothing after upgrading your firmware if you haven't added the > >> parts. Your > >> K3 will continue to work FB just as always. > >> > >> A revised mod procedure will be posted Monday to make that point > >> clear. > >> > >> 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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
