[Elecraft] K3 Erratic VFO behaviour, Switching bands and freq's

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Ian: You make good points. That's why I was careful to say that static was
not a serious issue as long as you do NOT touch anything inside the K3. If
so, such as applying cleaner to the pins, anti-static protection is needed. 

My comments are based on over 50 years of working on sensitive solid state
gear, in the field and in the lab. And they agree with Wayne's
recommendations, which we have reproduced in the various Elecraft assembly
manuals. 

The most common source of a static charge while working is the person;
clothing rubbing, feet shuffling on the floor, etc. That's why being
grounded is very important. The ideal is to wear a conductive wrist or ankle
strap connected to ground through a high-value resistor (1 meg is common) to
prevent shock. Touching a ground accomplishes the same benefit. When not
wearing a strap I touch a ground every time before touching a component or
circuit. 

73, Ron AC7AC 


-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ian
White
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2016 12:31 AM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Erratic VFO behaviour, Switching bands and freq's


Sorry, I would strongly disagree. Removing the front panel is when you need
an anti-static mat and wrist strap the MOST. 

* You are separating two quite large assemblies, each of which is capable of
holding a significant charge (and each of which cost several hundred
dollars).

* You're just about to expose a large number of unprotected internal
connector pins.

* And in all probability, you're just about to *touch* every one of those
pins when applying antioxidant.

This really is NOT a good moment to skip the static protection.  

Also, "touching a ground" is fundamentally NOT what static protection is
about! It's about safely CONNECTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER (including the
operator) to discharge any potential differences. This includes keeping them
connected together, even while subassemblies like the front panel are being
unplugged. 

In this context, the word "safely" includes the use of high-resistance
materials and connecting leads, to avoid damaging discharge currents and
minimize the risk of electric shock to the operator. That is why the
operator is connected through a *high* resistance to ground - and also why
"touching ground" can actually do damage.


Note to Pete, G0PNM: in the UK, Contralube 770 (from Maplin) has proved to
be an excellent alternative to Deoxit.


73 from Ian GM3SEK


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