[Elecraft] [K3] Shorting K3 PHONE jack outputs (WAS OT: Stereo to mono adapters)

[James Sarte (K2QI)]

OK, now I'm REALLY confused.

>From what I've read on the reflector, and what others have told me, it
is OK to insert a mono plug into either the front or rear phone jacks.
 It was also made very clear that inserting a mono plug into the rear
SPKR jack was a big no-no, even if the settings were set to SPKRS=1.

Now, I just got an email from Dale Farmer who told me that I should
not insert a mono plug into the phone jacks, as the plug will
obviously short the amplifier channels.  On the other hand, and
contrary to what everyone else told me, he said it was OK to insert a
mono plug into the SPKR jack as long as speakers setting was 1.  His
reasoning was, that if speakers were set 1 in the menu, the right
channel amp would be isolated and thus no damage could happen.

But here's what confuses me. According to page 20 of the manual, it states:

> PHONES
>
> STEREO or MONO; 16
>
> The front and rear-panel headphone jacks are both
>isolated with series resistors. This allows you to use
>mono phones on one jack and stereo on the other, if
>required. You’ll need stereo phones for AFX (audio
>effects) and stereo dual receive (with sub receiver).
>Ω min. recommended

Now what am I to believe here???  If I understand what was written in
the manual, then it's ok to use a mono plug in those jacks as they're
buffered by a series of resistors.

73,
James K2QI