[Elecraft] frozen K3

[Jeff Wandling W7BRS]

Don't worry, it'll get fixed:

I ran into the very same problem.  Turned out the culprit was my Dell 
notebook computers were the cause.  The serial ports were not robust 
enough, compared to a PC.

Turn on the radio as such:

(A or B)

A:  HOLD the power button for a couple seconds.  Let it sit for about a 
minute

B:  Hold HI/LO down while TAPping power.  Let it sit for about a minute.

(I found B worked more often than A.  The key is to wait a bit.)

Then restart the Utility

Test the serial connection.

Upon success, re-attempt to load the firmware.

Even if it fails again with resync errors, keep re-trying.

After about 5-6 times it may work.

If that fails, load the MCU/DSP with a desktop computer and avoid using a 
notebook computer that reveals the condition.

If you have a spare PC handy and want to get back into the contest, try 
loading the firmware with the desktop PC first.

I've been where you are; it's unsettling.  But it'll work once you get a 
good serial port to load with.

Other things you probably already checked... snugness of connection, 
versions of firmware, working straight DB-9 cable.  If you make your own, 
as the manual says, you only need pins 2,3 and 5 -- which you can make 
with spare CAT5 network cable.

Tips from Elecraft that were explained to me recently:

If the load fails, only try to reload the same MCU that failed .. Until it 
loads keep the same version in your attempts.

Use a Desktop PC if you can.  If your notebook computer works for you 
great, but try a desktop if that gives you the resynch errors.

-jeff


--
Jeff Wandling DE W7BRS K3 #2105     http://w7brs.com/k3
jw at w7brs.com

On Sat, 15 Nov 2008, Todd Ruby wrote:

> i am in trouble here. i tried to download the beta 263 version. and the 
> utility kept trying many attempts to initiate the down load but it would not 
> commence and i kept seeing "Resynchronized at block XXX response N sent 67, 2 
> attempts"  so i used force quit and restarted it and then it became frozen 
> with MCU LD on the screen and the utility saying it is not responding. i got 
> turned off the radio and held the power button down for 10 seconds and went 
> ahead and sent in all firmware. i thought i had it back but the dsp load 
> keeps failing and giving me an error
>
>
> I am kicking myself for trying to mess with the radio in the middle of a 
> contest!!
>
> anyone have any help to offer?
>
>
>
>
> 73
> de
> todd
> WB2ZAB
>