[Elecraft] Problem with K3 #353 at Field Day

[James R. Kauten, MD]

We had 3 K-3’s at our field day QTH this year.  Two worked flawlessly,  
however, mine; #353 developed some front panel issues.  I have had no  
problems with my K3 prior to this.  The rig would work as usual for a  
period of time then with no error messages; the front panel controls  
would not function normally.  Here is a summary of what happens:

Band—cannot switch bands up or down
Mode—cannot switch mode
Menu and Disp—do not work
Xmit and ATU tune-- do not work
RX Antàturns on NB
Antàturns on NR
All potentiometers work
Push function of 4 knobs, shift, width, speed/mic, and CMP/PWR do not  
work
VFO A knob—changes VFO A
VFO B knob—changes VFO B
A/B, REV, AàB—do not work
PREàturns on notch, toggles between auto and manual
AGCàplays contents of M3 voice keyer when on SSB
Xfilàshows M1—M4 in display window
NB, NR, NTCH—do not work
SPOT—toggles between LO/HI and Shift/Width (shows LO and FC)
CWT—toggles PWR and CMP settings in display
AFX—toggles between LO/HI and Shift/Width (shows HI and BW)
VàM, MàV—do not work
M1, M2, M3, M4, REC—do not work
RIT, XIT, CLR—do not work
None of the long press functions work (yellow labels)

I can power the rig off and on.  The rig will intermittently begin  
working properly for a while then the front panel repeats what is  
described above.  We had to remove this rig from the operating  
position 20 minutes before the start of field day.  Heat is not a  
problem as we were in an air-conditioned room and we had not been  
generating RF.

I am running firmware version 3.19 and reloaded it after the first  
time the front panel locked.  I have looked through the manual but see  
no mention of these phenomena.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
________________
Jim Kauten, MD
kautenmd at me.com
kauten at atnex.net
________________