[Elecraft] K3:Max 'G' & Crash Protection

[Mike McLendon]

I do not recall any specs for the K3 in regards to G force but I can share
the results of an uncontrolled acceleration/deceleration event. FD 2008 for
SCARS (Smith Chart Amateur Radio Society) lime many others is usually an
expedition to a mountaintop cow pasture in VA and always with the best HF
transceivers possible. SCARS operated class 2A this year with K3s. The high
elevation has RF advantages but some minor weather disadvantages as ~40 head
of cattle were killed simultaneously by a lightning strike a little over 30
years ago. There is no protection from strong storms and we often retreat to
vehicles to wait out electrical storms and avoid death etc.

This year, the operating tent had a K3 and other equipment but no people
inside and prior to the start of the event, when the straight line winds of
a thunderstorm uprooted the tent stakes and rolled the tent and its contents
over.  Of course the K3 went flying, smashing into other equipment and
coming to rest upside down underneath the table. All this after being
carefully transported 180 miles in a padded computer bag.

An external inspection revealed scuff marks and a deep dent 6-7 mm deep on
the right side panel between the voltage regulator (VR) mounting screws.
Shaking the radio revealed no rattling and the top cover was removed for a
further look. The look inside revealed that fortunately, the point of
deepest impact penetrated  above the RF board and missed the VRs! A
subsequent smoke test passed as did RX & TX field checks.

The banged up rig performed continuous duty with excellent FD performance in
CW & SSB modes as did the undamaged unit. There were no further un-managed
weather problems as we moved operations to a high-wind resistant tent. There
were mostly first time K3 operators on duty, experience levels varied but
all ops reported that they really - really liked the rig. The learning curve
for basic FD operation was very short.

I guess I'll order a new panel from customer service today and maybe a
couple of VR parts in case they suffered micro-fractures or there is
mischief down the road. In any event, I have to hose the K3 down a bit and
get the rib grease off the front panel. Very impressive integrity - nice job
Elecraft Mechanical Engineering! 

73, Mike - KE4U