[Elecraft] K3: Flex and jacks mounted to PCB

[DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL]

I think that 1/32" is probably pretty close.  3mm and the buttons
would just about disappear from sight.  LOL.  Probably the FP board
right at the VFO A/B button moved more than 1/32nd, but not much
more...how about 3/64th?  :-)

Yes, the front panel MIC jack is mechanically held in place by the
circuit board.  While it sure was a tight fit getting through the FP
"hole," there is no restraint at that point in terms of
connecting/disconnecting your female mic connector while
screwing/unscrewing (ie, twisting) the retaining nut.  But isn't this
the same as on the K2?  Did any one's mic connector on the K2 fail?
And I just checked my now nearly fossilized FT301S qrp rig (gotta be
close to 30 years old) and the mic connector on it is not directly
(mechanically) fastened to the FP either.

As I tighten up on the FP mic connector on the K3, I do see some
"twist" taking place on the jack.  But I can't imagine that the mic
connector will see a lot of use...at least not nearly as much use as
the VFO A/B button, or the other keypad buttons.  :-)  I am sure that
if you took a pliers to the mic plug and really cranked down on it,
that you could do some real damage.  But you'd also get some real
damage if you used a hammer to insert Paddle In plug.  :-)

And BTW, all of the I/O jacks and the Paddle, Key Out, PTT In, etc are
also held in place by "only" their attachment to the circuit board.
Again, I can't see too many folks cycling these jacks multiple time
per day, as is done with the Keypad, so it's "no big deal" for me.

If you want a radio that you can drop by parachute into a war zone, ,
take some bullets and keep working, get a KWM2.    :-)

de Doug KR2Q