[Elecraft] Elecraft K3: Top Cover Ventilation Slots

[Dave Lankshear]

Recently, I was asked to look over a K3 that had been purchased from someone
who had never managed to get the best out of his K3's setup.  

 

When the filters in the main and sub rx were being checked for type and
location, I discovered a loose "foreign body" inside the K3.  It reminded me
of the metallised pushbutton from the top of a ballpoint pen and when
checked, it was conductive.

 

Fortunately, no damage was done to the K3, but it made me think of its
vulnerability, albeit remote, from foreign objects accidentally entering the
K3 via the upper panel's ventilation slots.

 

At the RSGB's national Hamfest at Newark, recently, I was fortunate enough t
find a small quantity of fine plastic mesh that I've now fixed beneath the
slots of my own K3's top cover, making it completely safe against the odd
SMT flyer or errant nuts and washers that occasionally "escape."  The
plastic forming the mesh is only the thickness of a fine thread and is on a
1mm pitch, so no ventilation issues will be caused.

 

I mention this as other owners may wish to conduct their own risk
assessment, remembering that lost small parts obey Murphy's Law in that they
will roll, fall or leap into a location where it has the highest probability
of causing the most expensive damage.

 

Incidentally, I obtained some foil backed bituminous soundproofing material
called Dynamat, used for noise reduction in motor vehicles, and attached
that wherever practicable to the top cover's underside. This yielded a
noticeable improvement to the sound quality from the K3's internal speaker.
For the K3's twin outboard speakers, I used a pair of car speaker pods lined
with Dynamat, and am very pleased with the results.

 

73 Dave G3TJP