[Elecraft] question about Elecraft receivers

[Don Wilhelm]

I believe you have been hearing about the wattmeter diodes in the KPA100.
That has nothing to do with the receiver at all.  The receiver will 
withstand quite an excessive surge.

The situation is that the K2/100 power control circuits depend on 
measuring the transmitted power right at the antenna.  As a result, the 
diodes in the wattmeter measurement circuit are quite close to the 
antenna feedpoint and static surges such as caused by nearby lightning 
can cause damage to those diodes.

The best solution is to remove the antenna connection when the K2 is not 
in use - the best method is to use an antenna switch to connect a dummy 
load to the transceiver.

Again, this has nothing to do with the receive sensitivity of the K2 or 
the K3, it is only related to the ability to control the power output.  
When the wattmeter diodes are damaged, the KPA100 will go to full power 
output -while displaying zero (or low) power.

I have not heard of many incidents with diode damage with the K3, but 
with the K2, we hear of this problem frequently.  I do not know why the 
K3 has escaped damage to the wattmeter diodes, since its power control 
mechanism is similar to the K2.

If you want to be safe and protect your transceiver (no matter what the 
brand or model) from surges on the antenna (from wind, rain, snow, or 
nearby lightning static), then disconnect the antenna from the 
transceiver when not in use.  In the best case, connect the transceiver 
to a dummy load, and if you cannot manage that, at least make the 
circuit between the antenna feedline and the transceiver an open circuit

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/7/2011 10:13 PM, KC6CNN wrote:
> I have read several post about something burning out due to close by
> lightning.
> I have not heard of this many before.
> My question is because of the high sensitivity of the receivers are the
> elecraft's prone to this?
>
>