[Elecraft] Fw: K3 Birdie 28004.560 kHz

[Wes (N7WS)]

I've added a couple of more photos. The center pin is most assuredly there.  I 
wanted the juxtaposition to show the difference in metallurgy between the cable 
connector and the socket, and demonstrate that the photo color balance wasn't 
"coloring" (sorry) the issue.  The other photo show the mother board and 
although it is more difficult to see the connectors in the photo, to the eye, 
the difference between the XREF board connectors and the ones on the motherboard 
of obvious.

Replacing the cables wouldn't hurt, however, IMHO it's the XREF board that 
really needs replacing.  All of these connectors reside in the same 
air-conditioned, non-humidified environment.  The day I wrote my original 
(unanswered email) the RH in Tucson was 6%.

The only time this radio has been out of this environment is when it spent two 
months at Aptos getting birth defects fixed.

Wes  N7WS

On 2/24/2014 10:21 AM, Rick WA6NHC wrote:
> While the picture is nice and sharp, even when zooming in it is not clear 
> about the center pin existence because of the angle of the shot.  The pin 
> would just happen to line up with the slot on the other side of the connector, 
> not enough contrast or color variation to see it clearly.
>
> However, what IS clear is the level of corrosion. /That /should be of interest 
> to the support team.  It appears that a temporary solution is to clean the 
> metals, very carefully, until a new cable arrives (twist in place?).  But it 
> won't be a permanent solution since the board connector is also corroded.  
> Unless exposed to a long term harsh environment (high humidity sea air) it is 
> rather surprising.  You might want to check other TMP connectors to see if 
> they're in the same or similar condition.
>
> If the others are not in the same shape, it's possible you have a bad 
> connector, but to also have a bad plug at the same location would defy most odds.
>
> Please keep us informed.
>
> 73.
> Rick wa6nhc
>
> On 2/24/2014 9:08 AM, Matt Zilmer wrote:
>> Hi Wes,
>>
>> These are very well resolved photos.  From what I can see, there's no
>> center pin on the top TMP plug - but this may be an illusion. If it
>> were true, you'd have more problems than a birdie.
>>
>> If I were you'd I'd request a new TMP cable and see how that works to
>> fix the birdie problem.  Contact k3support at elecraft.com and see what
>> they can do to assist.
>>
>> 73,
>> matt W6NIA
>>
>