[Elecraft] OPT1 low volume - solved

[Ward Willats]

Many of you offered help with the low signals I was getting when I 
switched in OPT1 on my newly built SSB adapter.

Thanks to Gary explaining how I could just whack on the signal path 
through the ladder filter with one of my multimeter probes (not even 
connected to the multimeter) and use the resulting static and noise 
to trace the circuit, I worked backwards from the output jack and 
located a capacitor (C11) whose lead was broken off and floating in a 
small fillet of solder on the top of the board -- so it looked fine 
but made a crappy connection. I've no idea how I achieved this 
miraculous condition, but locating it with this technique took maybe 
all of a minute and a half. Wow.

Since this cap is a 103, Elecraft even had the prescient (but spooky) 
foresight to include a spare! A few moments with the soldering iron 
and now all is well and the rest of the SSB checkout went without a 
hitch.

I am embarrassed to say how much time I spent chasing this. Hope 
someone, someday, finds this post in the archive and it saves them 
much headache.

Thanks to Gary and all of you.

-- Ward / KG6HAF