[Elecraft] K3 Power Amp Shut Down Problem

[wayne burdick]

Don Nelson wrote:

> My K3 appears to be working just fine once the power amp shut down 
> problem
> was fixed....The problem appears to have been an intermittent BNC 
> connector
> on the coax cable that I was using....

> (d) the K3 documentation needs to enumerate the actions the firmware 
> may take
> to change the state of the radio, in particular when the PA power is 
> shut down....

Hi Don,

Sorry to hear about the connector and/or K3 PA issues.

Regarding documentation, the K3 owner's manual has an extensive 
troubleshooting section. Starts on page 61. The first item on page 61 
(in the General troubleshooting section) mentions "ERR" messages that 
you might see on the K3's display. This refers you to page 64 where 
there's a full list of possible error codes.

More likely your K3 shut power down because the intermittent connector 
presented a sudden change in SWR or PA current drain. In this case you 
should have seen a HI CUR or HI SWR warning on the VFO B display. These 
are described at the bottom of page 61 in the Transmit troubleshooting 
section. Remedial actions include "check load Z" (impedance). These 
warnings persist for a few seconds, and repeat until the K3 has dropped 
power or gone into QRP mode. Of course you could have missed the 
messages if you were looking somewhere else.

I'd like to improve the firmware or documentation where possible; 
please send me any suggestions.

73,
Wayne
N6KR


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