[Elecraft] KX1 -weird KXPD1 problem

[Don Wilhelm]

Dave,

My guess is that your problem is in the key jack and not with the paddles.
Something is shorting both the dot and dash contacts together when your 
KXPD1 is tightened.
Is the KX1 key jack positioned to exactly match the silk-screening on 
the board?  If not, it should be.  If you need to reposition it, you 
might find a way to heat all 3 pins at the same time and move it into place.
If you can't find the cause, I would suggest replacing the key jack.  It 
is possible that the contacts inside the jack are slightly distorted 
from normal and only show the problem when the KXPD1 is securely tightened.

73,
Don W3FPR

David Wallace wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Having a bizarre issue with the KX1 paddle... just got it put together 
> the other day.
>
> When I plug the paddles in, they work as they should, no problem. As I 
> tighten the thumbscrew, it continues to work... but after that last 
> turn to get it really tight against the KX1, instead of a 'dit' or a 
> 'dah' from either paddle, I get a 'di-dah' from *both* of them. I 
> figured that if I put an extra washer in there (despite the fact that 
> the errata specifically says use only one washer) that would solve the 
> problem. I emailed Elecraft to make sure that was ok and was told that 
> it was fine - but unfortunately it didn't fix it. It doesn't seem to 
> matter how far that screw is in - it doesn't start behaving wrong 
> until that last final tightening of the screw.
>
> The key jack on the KX1 is completely flush with the KX1 case. The 
> paddle seems to be put together fine, but with one slight possible 
> issue - the plug itself is slightly less than flush with the body of 
> the key itself, but we're talkin less than a MM here. Should I 
> unsolder the wires and back it out a half turn perhaps?
>
> Thanks for any help!
>