[Elecraft] KX-1 problem

[Neil]

Hi all,

I hooked up my KX-1 to a friend's dipole the other day and
the sun stopped shining.
Well, almost. My external 12V power supply shut itself off.
Ouch. Why pulling
so much current? 

The dipole had a balun... I had not needed one for my
previous antennas. There was
12V on the feedline and the balun was shorting it out. C44,
in the final's collector
circuit, was the culprit. Shorted. Of course, there could be
other problems I haven't
found yet.

I've pulled the cap from the board, and need to purchase a
replacement. That's next.
Of course, I'll go through the voltage chart and verify
everything is within spec.
But there's another problem I think is probably related that
I notice it when operating
from a campsite recently. The LED work light is very very
dim. Other than that,
the KX-1 operated as usual into a 1/4 wave vertical I often
use for portable operation.
The shorted cap problem didn't show up with that antenna (no
balun, no V+ short).

Has anyone heard of this cap going south? Any suspicions
about what might have
caused it, and how to avoid it in the future? Thanks for any
thoughts you KX-1ers, 
or Elecraft folks, may have.

BTW, I love this little rig. 

Best, Neil  KH6EAM

Neil Murphy
www.ghostdog.com
650.375.0886 wrk
650.533.2015 mobile