[Elecraft] KX3 - CW glitch with KXPD3/keyer?/Cleaning

[Richard Fjeld]

I'm far behind on e-mail, so apologies for being late on this comment. Also, I notice that when I use a slashed zero in my call, a ? is substituted. 

FWIW,
Yes, true in part as was the experience from the old analog data days, but the 'self-cleaning' action was usually due to a wiping action that most relays had for that specific purpose.  

I have some of the cleaner Ron mentioned.  I have not used it for relays yet, 
but use it for rotary switches, and mechanical wipers, etc.  In short, places 
that suffer from oxidation.  Not all problems are oxidation.  This is where smoking was a problem.  A nicotine film would develop on the surfaces of everything in a radio. Anything that made contact with another conductor could fail to conduct. 

The same can be true of the air quality at your operating position.  Look at your furnace/AC filter with this in mind.  Remember, air is being fan-forced through most radios.

When we bring a radio from the cold temps into a heated building with humidity, condensation develops on the cold surfaces which leaves a film on them.

We once wrapped the ventilators with cheese-cloth at a work location in the city,  several stories above the street level.  Even though the air had passed through standard furnace filters, the cheese-cloth became covered with a black-ish, oily film.

You might think the air is better in rural areas.  It is just different.  For example, I live in an area surrounded by lakes, farm land, and trees. I checked the soffit vents under the eaves after 15 years, and they were packed thick with a mat of fibers from the air. I now check/clean them once a year.  It helps the A/C.

"That problem did not exist before modern solid-state gear. Significant
voltage/current flowing through the contacts provided a "self cleaning"
action that broke down oxidation and other contaminants. Unless one
carelessly used the key on a circuit that produced arcing, it was extremely
rare for key contacts to require attention. "  Ron AC7AC

73,
Richard Fjeld, N0CE