[Elecraft] K2/100 Fuse Holder Melting

[N4NAB John]

I was working CW at 50 watts and happen to look up and see a whiff of smoke
on the rig end of the fuse holder. The rig never cutoff and the the meters
on the Astron indicated normal current and voltage. I immediately killed the
power.

The fuse holder was too hot to touch but I did disconnect it from the rig
and the PS and took it over to the bench for inspection. The rig end was
melted . Further inspection showed no elevated temps on the APP on the rig
or the APP on the power cable.

After the holder cooled down I separated the fuse holder and dropped the
glass fuse out. The cap on the rig end had separated fell out also when I
removed the fuse and the end of the glass was black. 

Concerned about the K2 and the power supply I connected an alternate power
cable and every thing checked out with no signs of a problem.

I searched the reflector and found several similar cases and concluded the
fuse holder was not making a good tight connection with the fuse as pointed
out in other posts.

Rather than replace the holder with another glass type fuse I opted for a
mini-blade fuse thinking it was a more positive connection/solution. I found
a mini-blade holder at Radio Shack ( after not finding them at two auto
supply stores) PN 270-1237 as well as the mini-blade fuses. I bought two and
have installed one in each leg of the power cable.

I suggest Elecraft take a look at an alternate fusing for that KAT100 cable.

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r/ John N4NAB
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