[Elecraft] K3 reset/reboot

[Dave Hachadorian]

Pasted below is an exchange between myself and Elecraft on a 
similar problem that I had.  I exercised the four pushbuttons to 
the left of the main vfo knobs a few dozen times each, and it 
started working again.  I ordered four encoders at $2 each, but 
the problem has not recurred, so I'm not going to mess with 
replacing the encoders.


Dave Hachadorian, K6LL
Yuma, Arizona


Hi Dave,

The most common reason for that to happen, is that one of the 4 
encoders to the left of the main VFO knob is developing a problem 
with the push in switch that is inside the encoder. Often 
wiggling the encoders or pushing their knobs in several times 
will clear the fault. If it becomes persistent, the encoders will 
need to be replaced with new ones.

And yes, sometimes it is just a front panel poor connection. You 
can do exactly what you said about pulling off the front panel 
and pushing it back in. If you have some DeOxit (Radio Shack 
sells it), apply a small amount on the front panel connector pins 
to help stave off moisture related corrosion and poor contact.

--
73, Gary AB7MY

=========
support at elecraft.com
Elecraft Technical Support


On 9/26/2011 8:15 PM, Dave Hachadorian wrote:
Hi,

Last week, almost all of the front panel buttons on my K3 s/n 993 
stopped working.

I turned the rig off, and back on again.  The POWER switch
worked, but none of the other buttons worked.

I tried to do a switch test, but the menu/config button didn't
work, so I couldn't get into config.

I tried to do an EE INIT, but the shift/lo button wasn't working
either, so the EE INIT failed.

I kept floundering around, pushing buttons, and then everything
started working again.

In the CQWW RTTY contest this weekend, the problem showed up 
again on Sunday morning, after working fine on Friday evening and 
all day Saturday.  I gave the rig a good smack, and it started 
working for a couple of hours.  Then it failed again, and 
couldn't be fixed by further smacking.

Is there an issue with oxidation of front panel pins, where they 
engage the main board?  Maybe I should partially disengage the 
front panel by 1/4 inch, and put it on again to clean the pins? 
Please let me know, because I absolutely need this radio for 
Sweepstakes CW in November.

Thanks.


Dave Hachadorian, K6LL
Yuma, AZ