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

[Christian Adamec]

Hello,

Again, thanks for all the responses. After receiving my S16 switch and  
installing it, the message no longer appears. I did all the checks and  
tests that you all suggested and there were no problems. Looks like the  
missing switch was the problem.

Thanks,
Chris KC9GSV

On Feb 3, 2005, at 7:28 AM, W3FPR - Don Wilhelm wrote:

> Chris,
>
> Jack Brindle sent along the following information on your problem - He  
> could
> have the proper answer here (unless you have not yet installed any  
> options).
>
> Try removing all the options and adapters from your K2 and see if your
> problem disappears.  You won't have to install 'unmodules' or jumper  
> wires
> for this test (the K2 may not pass signals during your testing - but  
> that
> won't matter for nailing the problem area).
>
> If the MENU does OK (no 'not inst' messages) with everything removed,  
> then
> put the options back one at a time and continue to test MENU to see  
> which
> one causes the problem to start.  Once found, look at that option  
> module for
> the problem.
>
> If you still have the problem with all option modules removed, there  
> is yet
> one possibility that the KIO on the RF board could be acting strangely.
>
> Let me know if you find anything.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jack Brindle [mailto:jackbrindle at earthlink.net]
> Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2005 12:06 AM
> To: w3fpr at arrl.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] It Works, but "Not Inst" Message
>
>
> Don;
>
> Let me throw something else in that seems to have been missed. I'll let
> you translate it for Chris if need be. When you go into the MENU mode,
> the main processor actually does try to communicate with various
> modules across the AuxBus. Which is communicates with is determined by
> the specific menu item that comes up. As an example, if you have a KRC2
> installed and go to the ACC entry, the K2 will immediately poll the
> KRC2 for the information to be displayed on the LCD. In the case of the
> KRC2, if one is not found, then the K2 will display "---". For other
> devices, if it cannot communicate with the device it will display "NOT
> INST" The easiest example is a tap of the ANT 1/2 button without a KAT2
> installed or KAT100 attached.
>
> Thus it appears to me that he actually has a module with a problem
> talking on AuxBus in his K2, and not a problem with the front panel. My
> suggestion would be to remove individual modules (KNB2, KSB2, etc) one
> at a time to see if the problem remains. I'd bet that when he removes
> one of these then things will start working again. Going further, the
> module with problems probably has an MCU with a resonator instead of a
> crystal. I believe the MCU is slow to wake up, and is simply missing
> the first request from the main MCU. Thus it could actually be the IO
> processor. So, what could the problem be? A resonator. Now let's see
> how my detective work is these days.
>
> On Feb 2, 2005, at 6:28 PM, W3FPR - Don Wilhelm wrote:
>
>> 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
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
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>>
> - Jack Brindle, W6FB
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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