[Elecraft] The case of the reclusive decimal point:

[Don Wilhelm]

Stewart,

You said you have resoldered the LCD connections, but what about the 
other end of the wire?
Granted, the 'wire' in this case is a PC trace, but the same rule holds, 
both ends must be firmly connected for current to flow unimpeded.

Check Front Panel U1 pins 15 and 21 carefully, in fact, check all the 
soldering at the U1 pins.

Not meaning to criticize your work without seeing your soldering, BUT ...

There is a tendency among builders to apply too much solder, and that 
will mask a solder connection that was not properly heated.  If your 
solder connections do not have a concave appearance on the fillet 
(especially if they have a convex surface), too much solder may have 
been applied - the solution is to wick away most all the solder and 
reheat/resolder each suspicious connection.  A good solder connection 
will have an almost invisible edge on both the solder pad and the 
component lead.  Someone on this reflector stated it quite nicely - "The 
solder connections should look like mountains, but not volcanoes!"

Check out the soldering tutorial on the Elecraft website if you do not 
know what a good solder connection should look like - there are good 
diagrams in that document.

73,
Don W3FPR

Catherine Flick & Stewart Fletcher wrote:
> K1 Gurus:
>
> I have a K1 that does not display the decimal point.  It has appeared occasionally, but most of the time it is invisible. On one camping trip it was visible for 2 hrs. This weekend it was visible in the late night for 4 hrs , but not visible in the early morning, and it was definitely cold at both times.  At the home shack it is almost never visible.  The only times I have seen it are when I am camping..maybe it is telling me something?  I sometimes am able to see a shadow of its existence if I look at the display at an acute angle.  I have examined the display connections and re-heated the joints adjacent to the point.  I have passed a toothbrush over those same connections and the decimal has re-appeared for a short look around but then returns to its lair.  I assume this is from static electricity.  Could humidity have anything to do with the problem?
>
> Assuming that this decimal can be made to unveil itself long before its brother sun spots make regular appearances, I would like some advise on how to encourage it along.  Otherwise this K1 display seems to be functioning correctly.
>
> Thanks!
> Stewart KE7LKW K1 #2257
>
>