[Elecraft] Ailing K2

[Andy]

Yup,

 

When I worked for Sperry Univac we used to call that "reducing the mean 
time between failure". Not just lightning though, not following anti-static 
precautions can have the same effects. The kit doesn't last in working 
condition for as long as it should do.

Cheers

Andy, G8TQH

----------------------------------------
From: "Fred Smith" <mfsj at mo-net.com>
Sent: 18 April 2013 10:07
To: "Tommy Mitchell" <tzmitch at gmail.com>, elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Ailing K2

Tommy

Lighting is one of those things that keeps on giving in many ways as far 
as
the electronic components in your radio. You may be able to replace XYZ
items and it fixes the problem for now, it's the thing's that it weakens
that all do not show up at the same time but continue to fail. That is the
reason why so many insurance company's choose to replace the unit instead 
of
repair, the same is true for radio repair shops. These "can be" an ongoing
issue that keeps on giving for some time. YMMV This is worth just what you
paid for it 8>)

73,
Fred/N0AZZ
K3 Ser #'s 6730/5299--KX3 # 2573--K2/100--KAT100
P3/SVGA--KPA500--KAT500--W2

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Tommy Mitchell
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 7:58 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] Ailing K2

I sent this to Elecraft support, but I thought I'd post it here too to see
if the collective wisdom of the group might have anything to add.

Tonight during dinner I noticed my K2/100 (w/ KAT100) was showing no noise
on the S Meter.  I unplugged the headphones and could hear no signals at
all, as if the antenna was disconnected.  If I tried to tune, the ATU 
would
light up (sometimes) and it would run a tuning cycle, but I don't know if 
it
was finding a match. No noise at all on the bands.

I started taking the panels off and the next disconcerting bit was when 
bits
of plastic started falling out.  Q11 and Q8 are both split in half with 
most
of the body of Q11 loose in the chassis and the base side of Q8 split from
the collector & emitter.

I had left my radio on this afternoon while I was a few doors up the hill
working and we had a short thunderstorm.  There were no close strikes 
(very
little lightning at all) but yeah, I should have disconnected things but
didn't realize I had left it in that state.  A visual inspection doesn't
show anything else obviously wrong aside from some slight scorch mark 
where
Q11 went boom.  No traces look blown and there are no signs that any of 
the
caps or resistors in that area are damaged.

Aside from Q11 & Q8, are there other likely candidates for replacement or
places to check?  The ATU & PA100 pass a visual inspection.  The storm is 
a
pretty strong correlation, but are there any other likely scenarios that
could cause this failure?

Thanks,

Tommy
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