[Elecraft] K3 Repair

[Duncan Carter]

I purchased an assembled K3 because I didn't want to do the whole 
assembly project because of problems that I have with doing a lot of 
close work.  I'm experienced with electronics repair in general, having 
operated service facilities for industrial instrumentation and having 
always repaired my ham radio equipment.  Since the purchase, I've done 
the following:

1.  Fixed a band pass filter problem caused by a semi-defective trimmer 
capacitor which caused low drive on 30 meters.  The capacitor had a 
sticky point and was repaired by turning it several times after 
unsticking it with a screwdriver, sturdier than an alignment tool and 
setting it to the other side of the capacitor.  I had consulted Elecraft 
and got trouble shooting advice from them.  Elecraft service suggested 
returning it to them but I preferred to do it myself.  The 
troubleshooting process also involved removing the antenna tuner and 
installing some jumpers which I subsequently removed as the tuner 8 MHz 
trap turned out to not be the problem.  Troubleshooting also involved 
performing some calibration tests and measuring signal levels on the 
KXV3 although those turned out to be unnecessary steps.

2. Installed two filters which was a trivial excercise.

3. Installed the K44XV and exchanged the KXV3A which was necessary for 
the transverter installation.  I also installed two more filters at the 
same time.

4.  Installed an exchange dsp board, the K3DSPUPGD upgrade, which was 
quite straight forward.*

*The most difficult part of these upgrades and repair was getting the 
two meter IF and antenna cables plugged back into the transverter.

So, even if you purchase an assembled K3, you can do repairs and 
upgrades yourself and have email and telephone support as needed.  The 
K3 instructions are explicit and quite adequate, even if you didn't 
build it from a kit first.  If you take reasonable care and follow the 
instructions, you can avoid shipping and waiting.
*
*Dunc, W5DC

Ed Lambert wrote:
> As a prospective K3 customer, I have been following this link with very
> great interest. I would be interested in knowing what percent of K3
> deliveries require return to Elecraft for repair and of that cohort, what is
> the percentage of K3's that were fundamentally defective upon delivery as
> opposed to damaged by customer (mis)use.
>
> For me the weakness of the K3 is the (probably necessary) departure from the
> "kit model" of the rest of the Elecraft line where self repair is the order
> of the day. The repair of a K3, it seems to me, almost certainly requires a
> factory return, which, from this thread, is somewhat unappealing. 
>
> I am interested further discussion on this thread in order to help me
> determine whether my very limited funds go toward a K3 purchase or the
> purchase of a second, but "fully tricked out", K2/100.
>
> Ed Lambert, KD3Y (K2 1999, KX1 1492)
>
>
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