[Elecraft] re K3 shut down due to static

[Gary Bartlett VE1RGB]

    Thanks for that one, Fern.  I have the same problem with static 
discharges on #095 and I was going to try the same fix.  I'm glad to 
know that it will work.  Elecraft is aware of this problem, by the way, 
and in fact I think even Wayne was involved.  There must be paint on the 
inside of the front panel in the area of the VFO A shaft on your rig and 
mine,  but I''m certainly not going to try to take mine apart to verify 
my theory!

    It took me more than a day to determine just why my rig would shut 
done for no apparent reason, but it turns out that plastic wheels on a 
plastic floor covering on a dry day in winter is a powerful source of 
unwanted energy, at least to a K3.

    I don't have much else going on at the moment to fret about, so I 
think I'll now worry for a while about what potential long-term damage I 
may have done to some critical chip buried in the bowels on the radio as 
the result of repeated electro-static shocks of sufficient consequence 
as to shut the radio down. Or, maybe not. ;-)

    73
    Gary, VE1RGB

Fern Rivard wrote:
>     A while back, I had a problem where sometimes my K3 would shut down and immediately power back on when I would attempt to touch the main vfo knob. I had installed the encoder properly by inserting a star type of washer on both sides of the front panel to provide a good ground. However, I suspected that it was likely a poor  ground of the VFO A encoder but I didn't really want to remove the front panel from the rig (to do the ground on the back side of the front panel) as I had quite a time to install the front panel on there to start with. So, I removed the PTO A knob, nut and washers and carefully removed just enough paint around the hole where the encoder was mounted so that the star type of washer would bite into bare metal to ascertain that I had a good ground but being very careful as to not scratch the front panel so it would be good idea to use a bit of masking tape just in case one slips.
>     Now, I haven't a problem since so I suspect that this is what the problem was with a poor or none existent ground to the A PTO encoder. Jus thought that I'd pass this one just in case somebody else experiences the same problem. Now what I would do if putting a new K3 together is to remove enough paint on the back side of the front panel around the holes of both the A PTO and B PTO encoders (I never did have the problem when touch the B encoder).
>     Cheers from Fern   VE7GZ
>
>
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