[Elecraft] It Works, but "Not Inst" Message

[W3FPR - Don Wilhelm]

Chris,

The 'not inst' message is normal when the NB or ANT1/2 bttons are tapped -
it is NOT normal for that message to appear when the MENU or DISPLAY buttons
are tapped or pressed.

First check the orientation of RP1 on the Front Panel board - the dot (or
stripe) on the R-PAK (RP1) must be at the pin 1 end (look for the round
solder pad at the pin 1 end - the rest are square pads).  After that, check
for any solder 'bridges' at the pins of RP1 and the pins of U2.  Also be
certain that RP1 is the correct value (100K - look for a  '104' somewhere
within the R-Pak labeling).  Check especially for shorts between pins 2 and
3 of RP1 and pins 4 and 5 of RP1 - a short between either or both of these
pins wouuld cause the symptoms you are reporting.

Since you say that it happens mainly when MENU is tapped, the short between
pins 2 and 3 are the most likely culprit - you may want to check this with
an ohmmeter.  If all is well, you should measure approximately 200k with one
probe on RP1 pin 2 and the other probe on RP1 pin 3 - if it is significantly
lower than 200k, you are on the path of the problem (short or high
resistance leakage path).

Bottom line - either something is shorted to something it should not be or
there is some sort of 'sneak path' reulting from incorrect orientation of
RP1. Refer to the schematic of the Front Panel for verification of my
analysis.

73,
Don W3FPR


> -----Original Message-----
>
> I would like to thank everyone for responding. Unfortunately, I still
> do not have this problem solved. Very frustrating! After some more
> poking around, here is what I can say about this. It only happens when
> I press 'Menu', not when pressing 'Display'. It is intermittent,
> although it happens more often than not. After pressing 'NB', it seems
> to go away for a while. I have checked all my soldering on each board.
> I could not find any solder bridges anywhere, nor any globs of solder
> not on a pad. I checked the direction of all diodes and the are all
> correct. Hmmmm...
>
> Thanks,
> Chris KC9GSV
>
>