[Elecraft] Odd K3 behavior
My K3 #2545 has been exhibiting some very intermittent odd behavior lately. In CW QSK mode, when I hit the paddles, it goes into tx normally, but the receiver appears to stay muted and there is no audio, nor any indicatio of band noise on the S-meter. It will continue to tx normally, and the red led tx indicator goes out as expected. This can happen when VOX is on and it is making normal power, or when VOX is off, and there is no tx power (so not RFI). When this happens, no amount of keyer paddling will bring it back. However, power cycling brings it back to life, and it then functions normally for the rest of the operating session. So far, I think, this only happens at the beginning of an operating session from a cold start. The rig is connected to an Elecraft amp and two transverters through an auxbus breakout box (N6TV?), a laptop, P3, and last visited the mothership 2-3 years ago when it received all available updates save a KAT3A. Any ideas on narrowing down the problem? Thanks. 73 Eric WD6DBM __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] Odd K3 behavior on CW
Over the weekend, I noticed a few characters would “disappear “ while sending. By that I mean, part of a CW transmission would not got out even though I hear the full character in the monitor but no output power. What is this a sign of? Am about to return to factory for encoder switch replacement and a full tune up. Now something new! Regards, Mark, K1RX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Odd K3 behavior when P3 used
Howard at Elecraft figured this out. You must set the Transmit Timeout on the P3 to 0 (zero). You do this by pressing Ctrl-Alt-S on the USB keyboard plugged into the P3. The default for this value is 3000 It is listed as The length of time an idle signal will be transmitted in RTTY and PSK modes after the last character is sent. The timing is in milliseconds and ranges from 0 to 90,000 Again, this only occurs if you are using the Text Messages with a P3, and then switch to another type of keying like a paddle or straight key, or any device like a K1EL keyer attached to the key or paddle ports. What the Text Messages allow you to do, is map any key on the USB keyboard to be a CW Macro. I use the F keys on a USB keyboard to be canned messages, and then switch to my paddle for other things I need to send. You can set this to work on SSB as well, as you can configure any key to be a Macro as well, and play one of your Voice memories by pressing a key on the USB keyboard. Since this setting in the P3 has nothing to do with CW, I hope there will be a fix in a future firmware release. Keith KB9WMJ - Original Message - From: kb9...@wi.rr.com To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2014 12:12 AM Subject: [Elecraft] Odd K3 behavior when P3 used I am having a strange issue since I installed my P3. If I use one of the P3 Text Message keys to send CW(any memory) and then switch to my paddle (plugged into paddle jack), or even my K1EL keyer (plugged into Key jack) there are 2 glitches when I start sending CW. This occurs every time. Lets say I set my key speed on the K3 set real slow to 8WPM. If I press a key on my USB keyboard to send CW, it sends normally. If I continue to use the keyboard everything is perfect. If I switch to my paddle, and lets say hold the Dah in. I get the 1st Dah with a 1/10th second pause, and then the 1st Dah continues, and then the second dah comes and it does the same thing. Everything after that will be perfect. The same hold true if I'm using my K1EL instead of the paddle. There will always be 2 pauses. The K1EL is setup as a straight key Once those 2 pauses happen, they never happen again, until I switch back to any P3 text message. Also, it does not matter how long I wait after using the P3 memory to switch to my paddle. Keith KB9WMJ __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] Odd K3 behavior when P3 used
I am having a strange issue since I installed my P3. If I use one of the P3 Text Message keys to send CW(any memory) and then switch to my paddle (plugged into paddle jack), or even my K1EL keyer (plugged into Key jack) there are 2 glitches when I start sending CW. This occurs every time. Lets say I set my key speed on the K3 set real slow to 8WPM. If I press a key on my USB keyboard to send CW, it sends normally. If I continue to use the keyboard everything is perfect. If I switch to my paddle, and lets say hold the Dah in. I get the 1st Dah with a 1/10th second pause, and then the 1st Dah continues, and then the second dah comes and it does the same thing. Everything after that will be perfect. The same hold true if I'm using my K1EL instead of the paddle. There will always be 2 pauses. The K1EL is setup as a straight key Once those 2 pauses happen, they never happen again, until I switch back to any P3 text message. Also, it does not matter how long I wait after using the P3 memory to switch to my paddle. Keith KB9WMJ __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] Odd K3 Behavior
My six year old K3 (#217) has been behaving oddly the past few weeks. The NB button sometimes doesn't work at all, either short press or press-and-hold, and sometimes when I press and hold it to bring up the LEVEL settings it behaves as though I'm pressing SPEED/MIC knob -- i.e., the display will toggle between CW speed and Mic level. Also, the left side of the BAND and MODE buttons sometimes do nothing when pressed; the right side of these same buttons continue to work. There may be other similar problems with other buttons, I can't remember. These are the two that I notice repeatedly since I change band, mode and NB settings often. Nothing out of the ordinary triggers this; one minute it works fine, the next it doesn't. I can sometimes get the rig to behave normally by cycling the power, other times by pressing another button that does work. Other times nothing works, until it just starts acting normally by itself. I've reloaded the latest revision firmware as well as an older revision from 2010 that I had on my PC. I've also reloaded old and current configuration files. Goofiness persists. Could something on the front panel PCB have gone awry on me? I have a KPA500 and a PC connected to the rig, if that is relevant. I've not tried to duplicate the trouble with everything disconnected yet. Any ideas? 73. Paul WW2PT __ 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] Odd K3 Behavior
I could be the steel connector pins on the front panel having some corrosion on them. My early is back in CA for retrofit of gold pins for similar stuff. Check with Elecraft 73 Jay -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Paul Lannuier Sent: Friday, January 17, 2014 9:43 AM To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] Odd K3 Behavior My six year old K3 (#217) has been behaving oddly the past few weeks. The NB button sometimes doesn't work at all, either short press or press-and-hold, and sometimes when I press and hold it to bring up the LEVEL settings it behaves as though I'm pressing SPEED/MIC knob -- i.e., the display will toggle between CW speed and Mic level. Also, the left side of the BAND and MODE buttons sometimes do nothing when pressed; the right side of these same buttons continue to work. There may be other similar problems with other buttons, I can't remember. These are the two that I notice repeatedly since I change band, mode and NB settings often. Nothing out of the ordinary triggers this; one minute it works fine, the next it doesn't. I can sometimes get the rig to behave normally by cycling the power, other times by pressing another button that does work. Other times nothing works, until it just starts acting normally by itself. I've reloaded the latest revision firmware as well as an older revision from 2010 that I had on my PC. I've also reloaded old and current configuration files. Goofiness persists. Could something on the front panel PCB have gone awry on me? I have a KPA500 and a PC connected to the rig, if that is relevant. I've not tried to duplicate the trouble with everything disconnected yet. Any ideas? 73. Paul WW2PT __ 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] Odd K3 Behavior
Paul, Your low serial number K3 most likely does not have gold pins on the front panel to RF board connectors. You can probably fix it by removing and reseating the front panel assembly. Some have reported that a small bit of DeOxit will help, but I cannot personally vouch for that. If that fixes it, know that you can change the connectors to the gold ones, or have Elecraft do that for you - contact support for the part numbers. If you did not assemble that K3, you can find the front panel removal instructions in several of the Elecraft documents - one of which is the K3 Front Panel Modification http://www.elecraft.com/K3/mods/K3%20Rev%20B%20FP%20Mod%20v1r6.pdf - you do not have to do the mod, just skip to Section B which covers the front panel removal and reassembly. 73, Don W3FPR On 1/17/2014 9:43 AM, Paul Lannuier wrote: My six year old K3 (#217) has been behaving oddly the past few weeks. The NB button sometimes doesn't work at all, either short press or press-and-hold, and sometimes when I press and hold it to bring up the LEVEL settings it behaves as though I'm pressing SPEED/MIC knob -- i.e., the display will toggle between CW speed and Mic level. Also, the left side of the BAND and MODE buttons sometimes do nothing when pressed; the right side of these same buttons continue to work. There may be other similar problems with other buttons, I can't remember. These are the two that I notice repeatedly since I change band, mode and NB settings often. Nothing out of the ordinary triggers this; one minute it works fine, the next it doesn't. I can sometimes get the rig to behave normally by cycling the power, other times by pressing another button that does work. Other times nothing works, until it just starts acting normally by itself. I've reloaded the latest revision firmware as well as an older revision from 2010 that I had on my PC. I've also reloaded old and current configuration files. Goofiness persists. Could something on the front panel PCB have gone awry on me? I have a KPA500 and a PC connected to the rig, if that is relevant. I've not tried to duplicate the trouble with everything disconnected yet. __ 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] Odd K3 Behavior
Thanks to all who have replied on- and off-list. I will start by cleaning the connector pins as best I can and reseating the front panel. This appears to be the most obvious place to start. I’ll report back with the results. 73, Paul WW2PT On Jan 17, 2014, at 9:27 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Paul, Your low serial number K3 most likely does not have gold pins on the front panel to RF board connectors. You can probably fix it by removing and reseating the front panel assembly. Some have reported that a small bit of DeOxit will help, but I cannot personally vouch for that. If that fixes it, know that you can change the connectors to the gold ones, or have Elecraft do that for you - contact support for the part numbers. If you did not assemble that K3, you can find the front panel removal instructions in several of the Elecraft documents - one of which is the K3 Front Panel Modification http://www.elecraft.com/K3/mods/K3%20Rev%20B%20FP%20Mod%20v1r6.pdf - you do not have to do the mod, just skip to Section B which covers the front panel removal and reassembly. 73, Don W3FPR On 1/17/2014 9:43 AM, Paul Lannuier wrote: My six year old K3 (#217) has been behaving oddly the past few weeks. The NB button sometimes doesn't work at all, either short press or press-and-hold, and sometimes when I press and hold it to bring up the LEVEL settings it behaves as though I'm pressing SPEED/MIC knob -- i.e., the display will toggle between CW speed and Mic level. Also, the left side of the BAND and MODE buttons sometimes do nothing when pressed; the right side of these same buttons continue to work. There may be other similar problems with other buttons, I can't remember. These are the two that I notice repeatedly since I change band, mode and NB settings often. Nothing out of the ordinary triggers this; one minute it works fine, the next it doesn't. I can sometimes get the rig to behave normally by cycling the power, other times by pressing another button that does work. Other times nothing works, until it just starts acting normally by itself. I've reloaded the latest revision firmware as well as an older revision from 2010 that I had on my PC. I've also reloaded old and current configuration files. Goofiness persists. Could something on the front panel PCB have gone awry on me? I have a KPA500 and a PC connected to the rig, if that is relevant. I've not tried to duplicate the trouble with everything disconnected yet. __ 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] Odd K3 behavior
I am experiencing the following behaviors with one of my K3s: -I am unable to vary the PB shift. I rotate the knob without change -The wings on the PB display are present even if I change the PB width -In CW the + is on in the lower right hand corner of the display Any assistance is greatly appreciated 73 HH, MC, HNY Gregg w6izt __ 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] Odd K3 behavior
Turn off CONFIG:CW QRQ ... if CW QRQ is enabled several other functions are disabled. Check the Owners Manual for details. 73, ... Joe, W4TV On 12/20/2013 5:41 PM, Gregg W6IZT wrote: I am experiencing the following behaviors with one of my K3s: -I am unable to vary the PB shift. I rotate the knob without change -The wings on the PB display are present even if I change the PB width -In CW the + is on in the lower right hand corner of the display Any assistance is greatly appreciated 73 HH, MC, HNY Gregg w6izt __ 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
