[Elecraft] Older K3/100s can be updated to avoid possible "ERR12V" problem

[Stewart]

I had a look inside my K3 today. Although it is an early one, S/N 307
it has a new RF board with gold pins.However, these mate with the KPA103
Interface Module which has sockets that are tinned.

I thought that there was a danger that over a period of time the tin would
migrate onto the gold surface and cause oxide issues.

Shouldn't it be gold to gold, and tin to tin ?

73
Stewart G3RXQ
On Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:41:16 -0500, nr4c wrote:
> That's odd, as yours is newer than mine, and I'm pretty sure mine has
> gold plated pins on all connectors.  And, my K3 was delivered Aug3,
> 2010.  Well after the 2009 date.
>
> ...bill  nr4c
>
>
> On Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:37:36 -0200, Adriano Perazio wrote:
>> Mine is s/n 4795 and showed this problem last week. After turn off it
>> disapeared. So must be it.
>>
>> PY2ADR
>>
>> -----Mensagem Original-----
>> From: Jack Berry
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 2:20 PM
>> To: Wayne Burdick ; Elecraft Reflector
>> Cc: elecraft_k3 at yahoogroups.com
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Older K3/100s can be updated to avoid
>> possible
>> "ERR12V" problem
>>
>> Wayne,
>> Define "older K3" please. Can you let us know when you started
>> shipping K3's
>> with gold contacts; date or S/N?
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Jack - WE5ST
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com>
>> To: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
>> Cc: elecraft_k3 at yahoogroups.com
>> Sent: Tue, February 14, 2012 9:53:28 AM
>> Subject: [Elecraft] Older K3/100s can be updated to avoid possible
>> "ERR 12V"
>> problem
>>
>> Early K3s had tin plating on the connectors that supply 12 V DC to
>> the
>> KPAIO3 and KPA3 modules. We discovered that in some climates the tin
>> plating can eventually corrode, reducing voltage to the PA module,
>> especially when operated at high duty cycle. This can result in an
>> "ERR 12V" warning ("check circuit breaker") and the amplifier going
>> into bypass mode. Power output drops to 12 watts max in this case. In
>> some cases the power is temporarily restored after turning the K3 off
>> and back on.
>>
>> The cure is to replace the tin-plated contacts with new ones which
>> have gold plating. It's fairly easy to replace just the pins
>> involved.
>> I believe we've been shipping the gold-plated connectors since
>> sometime in 2009.
>>
>> If you have an older K3/100 and you're planning to use their K3 in
>> high humidity or salt air, or if you've seen the warning message, you
>> should replace these connectors. They will be supplied free of charge
>> on request (email "parts at elecraft dot com").
>>
>> If you further questions on this topic, please email k3support.
>>
>> 73,
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>
>>
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