[Elecraft] Day 1: Fried something already?

[Owen B. Mehegan]

Today I was finally able to get a real antenna set up to use with my  
K2. Signals were coming in nicely on all bands so I decided to try and  
make some QSOs. I have an external amplifier which I used with my old  
rig, and it's keyed via an external carrier detect switch that sits in- 
line between the rig and the amp. The switch takes 12v to work.

My first mistake may have been leaving the K2 turned on while I  
changed the cabling to wire up the amp. Before this I was just running  
the K2 to the antenna through my tuner. I hooked up the coax properly  
from rig to switch to amp to tuner, and then applied 12v to the  
switch. I heard a zap in my headphones, and quickly realized that I  
had hooked the DC up to the RF switch backwards : (  I disconnected it  
right away. Then I noticed that the noise level on 40m, where I had  
been tuned, was greatly reduced. I removed the amp and switch from the  
chain and connected the K2 to the tuner and antenna again. When I  
tried to tune on 40, I got a high current warning. Same on 12 and 10.  
The other bands work and sound fine.

I don't know how wiring the RF detect switch backwards could have  
resulted in current getting into the K2. Maybe it was just static, I  
don't know.

So I'm guessing I zapped something in the bandpass filter section of  
the K2. I've opened it up but I don't see any visible signs of trauma.  
I did smell a burnt electronics smell right after the mishap, but I'm  
pretty sure it was from the RF detect switch and not the rig. Where  
should I start with troubleshooting this?

*kicks self repeatedly*

--
owen at nerdnetworks.org (Owen B. Mehegan)
'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.'
   --William Shakespeare