[Elecraft] K3 transmit audio cuts out

Keith Heimbold ag6az at hotmail.com
Fri Jul 27 19:20:44 EDT 2012 

I am implementing these suggestions. I have a balun design 1:1 current choke that I plan to put at the entrance of the shack. I loaned it out but just asked for it back. I will ferrite up the key line to the Quadra amp. I have added some ferrites to the microphone.

Thanks for the suggestions! I will report back if these recommendations help.

Thanks,

Keith
AG6AZ

Sent from my iPhone please excuse typos

On Jul 27, 2012, at 4:04 PM, "Adrian" <vk4tux at bigpond.com> wrote:

> 
> Keith, OK on that. I have had a similar experience;
> 
> Clamp ferrites on the mic line are beneficial, about 6 or so(wrap the core
> as much as possible, allowing to shut).
> 
> # A series rf choke and 0.1uF bypass(to gnd) at the amp end keyline is
> beneficial also.
> Clamp ferrites also on the keyline help if you don't wish to do #.
> 
> Choking the coaxial feed at the SteppIR feedpoint, and again at shack entry
> is helpful, if not already done.
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Keith Heimbold [mailto:ag6az at hotmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, 28 July 2012 8:23 AM
> To: Adrian
> Cc: Elecraft Group
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 transmit audio cuts out
> 
> Adrian,
> 
> I am looking at this as an rfi issue first and foremost. I am going to clean
> up a little bit inside the shack. That particular K3 has been suffering with
> unusual noise with my new SteppIR three element that was put up less than a
> month ago. 
> 
> To answer your question, the K3 was in transmit mode the entire time when
> the audio was cutting out. Very odd.
> 
> If it turns out to be not a rfi issue then I will investigate the K3 a
> little more. I am shipping my other K3 to Elecraft tomorrow for a couple key
> mods and upgrades (negative ALC and band control which is important to me
> for a possible future KPA500 purchase) and it will be out of pocket for
> three or so weeks so I want to make sure that it is good to go.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Keith
> AG6AZ
> 
> Sent from my iPhone please excuse typos
> 
> On Jul 27, 2012, at 1:16 PM, "Adrian" <vk4tux at bigpond.com> wrote:
> 
>> Keith, From your original post you seemed to say that the signal 
>> output dropped whilst the K3 was still in TX, i.e. you say " during 
>> PTT transmit ". So was the TX indicator active during "my transmit 
>> audio cutting out" ?
>> 
>> This would indicate no problem with the ptt, but the audio - signal 
>> circuit chain, or rfi issues. Can you clarify please?
>> 
>> I guess Don interpreted your original post different to myself. I 
>> would test sending dits into a DL for the same period to check power 
>> level consistency before looking at other areas.
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net 
>> [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Keith Heimbold
>> Sent: Friday, 27 July 2012 10:53 PM
>> To: don at w3fpr.com
>> Cc: Elecraft Group
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 transmit audio cuts out
>> 
>> Hi Don,
>> 
>> Thanks for the quick recommendation. I will give that a try this morning. 
>> 
>> I did a complete switch out of the headset, PTT switch and adapter and 
>> experienced the same cutout. I did consider this being an RFI issue. I 
>> was doing a bit more ragchewing then usual last night.
>> 
>> I will try your recommendations and report back.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>> Keith
>> AG6AZ
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone please excuse typos
>> 
>> On Jul 27, 2012, at 5:48 AM, "Don Wilhelm" <w3fpr at embarqmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Kieth,
>>> 
>>> In cases like that, the first things to check are the external cables
>>> - in
>> your particular case, the PTT.
>>> If you are using the mic jack PTT, try the one on the back panel - if 
>>> that
>> cures the problem check your cables again.
>>> 
>>> The other possibility is that something happened in your antenna 
>>> system
>> and you are experiencing RF feedback.  Run the K3 barefoot into a 
>> dummy load
>> - if the condition persists into a dummy load, then you can conclude 
>> that the K3 might be to blame.
>>> 
>>> 73,
>>> Don W3FPR
>>> On 7/27/2012 8:36 AM, Keith Heimbold wrote:
>>>> While operating last night on 20m on my K3 serial 1391, I had an 
>>>> issue
>> with my transmit audio cutting out during PTT transmit. Also power 
>> output simultaneously dropped out completely in mid sentence. I could 
>> see this both on the power meter and hear it on monitor.
>>>> 
>>>> I currently use a Heil proset 4 and a heil hand switch with that 
>>>> rig. I
>> then decided to switched headsets and switch to my heil proset 5 and 
>> my foot switch which is on my other K3 to determine if it was an issue 
>> with headset / PTT switch combination.  Upon transmitting it continued 
>> to cut out the audio and power. I was alerted by the ham I was 
>> communicating with that I was having an issue with my audio.  This 
>> issue continued to persist so I decided to shutdown the system.
>>>> 
>>>> My configuration last night also consisted of this K3 unit being
>> connected to my Yaesu Quadra amplifier to my SteppIR three element 
>> Yagi. I was operating at about 500W.
>>>> 
>>>> This is the first time I have had any issue with this K3 unit though 
>>>> I do
>> experience some unusual receive issues with spurious and higher noise 
>> levels with this unit versus my other K3 and my KX3.
>>>> 
>>>> Turns out that I am coincidentally sending up my other K3 1526 to
>> Elecraft today for several mods and some additional features to be 
>> added. I would like to get the older 1391 unit working before sending 1526
> up north.
>>>> 
>>>> Any thoughts on what might be happening or troubleshooting options 
>>>> would
>> be great.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> 
>>>> Keith
>>>> AG6AZ
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Keith
>>>> 
>>>> Sent from my iPhone please excuse typos 
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