[Elecraft] K2 assembling problem - "ELE" on power up

[jez]

Hi there,

some months ago I ordered a K2 and started assembling. Thanks to not having
a proper power supply and being a bit short on time I had a break of two
months, recently though I got a power supply and resumed in assembling my
K2. I also have the KSB2 option and thus installed it's additional parts to
the front panel board as suggested on page 29 of the manual. I'm on page 43
now ("Alignment and test Part 1") and when doing the first test with power
switched on I have the famous "ELE" problem.

I've found some info about this problem on this list (mainly here from Gary
AB7MY:
http://www.qsl.net/v/ve3mcf//elecraft_reflect/K2_ELE_Display_at_power_up.txt),
though I couldn't get it to work yet. What I've tried so far:

- Checking for mixed up component values, wrongly orientated diodes or IC's
on control, front panel and RF board -> everything ok
- Resoldering every connection that is accessible on control, front panel
and RF board. I have a bit of solder experience and I'm sure there is no
missing or poor solder connection
- Installed two new TPIC6B595 on the front panel board 
- Doing all the resistance checks on all the three boards - everything ok
- checked for stuck pushbuttons or bent over IC pins which might not connect
in its socket - no problem here

After all this I resetted the K2 by pushing down the 4,5 and 6 buttons while
switching on the K2, but the problem remains. It displays "INFO 201" and you
can hear the relays switching, but nothing happens after that. Turning power
off and on again, the K2 displays "ELE" again.

The K2 in this state is drawing about 100mA @13V. Unfortunately I have to
oscilloscope, just a digital multimeter is available to do some tests.


Maybe I should add the following info: When installing IC's I touched a
grounded surface before handling the IC. In the meantime I have a ground
strap, which is connected to my power supply which has a special jack for
doing that. I've installed the two replacement TPIC6B595 using the ground
strap, all other IC's are installed with the "touching grounded
surface-method".


I'm a bit lost here now, as I ran out of if ideas of what could be wrong
with my K2 here. Any ideas what I could try or where the problem might be?


Thanks in advance for any helpful reply!
Thomas
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