[Elecraft] K3 lost sensitivity

[Joe Subich, W4TV]

Which version of the KXV3 is installed?

Check D1, D5 on the KXV3 Main board and D1 on the connector
board.  One of the techs will be able to tell you immediately
which one to look at.  The later version of the KXV3A and
now KXV3B have beefed up (doubled?) the affected diode.

73,

   ... Joe, W4TV


On 2015-07-12 2:54 PM, Dave Hachadorian wrote:
> Late in the IARU Contest yesterday, I apparently got some RF into the front end of one of my K3's and blew something. Here are the symptoms:
> 1. The radio transmits just fine, with 100 watts output on the internal meter, and SWR appears normal.
> 2. I can hear signals, but they are much weaker than they should be on all bands.
> 3. Signals are equally weak whether I connect the antenna to ANT1, ANT2, or the BNC External ANT IN.
> 4. When I switch the K3's internal preamp and attenuator, the signals get louder and weaker, as they should, but always much weaker than normal.
>
> I seem to remember someone having this problem before, but was unable to find the thread on the reflector. Was it something about a low-pass filter in the signal path?  I'll contact customer service tomorrow, but was hoping someone remembered the most likely cause today, so I wouldn't be stewing about it.  I really want to get the two radios going for the NAQP RTTY next weekend, so I hope it's field-repairable.
>
> I'll start digging into the schematics now.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Dave Hachadorian, K6LL
> Yuma, AZ
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