[Elecraft] P3 - Ref Lvl

[Don Wilhelm]

Fred,

It sounds like you may want to check the coax to see if it is OK.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/16/2011 3:45 PM, Fred Jensen wrote:
> My P3 is new, I'm just getting used to it.  Quite suddenly today, the
> leftmost third of the baseline noise started to rise upward.  Tuning
> doesn't change it, it's still the leftmost 1/3.  Happens at any span
> setting, and rises about half way up the scale.  It's sort of variable,
> jumping up and down a bit and has the band noise on it just like it
> normal if it was straight across the bottom.
>
> I discovered that putting my hand on the top of the P3 anchored it back
> to the bottom.  A clip lead from the IF Out BNC outer shell to the
> station ground also anchored it solidly down.  The antenna coupler,
> power supply, K3, and KPA500 are all grounded to the single copper strap
> on the back of the shelf which is connected to a UFER ground directly
> under the shack, and to the utility safety ground ["green wire"]  There
> is no ground lug on the P3.
>
> I would have thought the coax IF connection would have grounded the P3
> chassis to the K3.  I'm wondering if I've got some grounding problem in
> the P3.  It has worked fine since I built it and first turned it on and
> this is the first time I've seen this anomaly.
>