[Elecraft] KX3 tuner getting stuck at 25.4:1 SWR

[Brian Waterworth]

I had a similar problem at Winter Field Day.  Between the dummy load and
the rig on a 3' patch cord, SWR wouldn't settle to 1.0:1.  Cracked the
hatch, looked around.  Touched nothing inside.  Put the KX3 back together,
presto, SWR started behaving itself again.  The ATU now matches to expected
values and has been rock solid for the antennas I connect to the rig.

So, I can support part of Don's suggestion to open it up from personal
experience.

regards,
Brian
VE3IBW

On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 2:20 PM, Don Wilhelm <donwilh at embarqmail.com> wrote:

> Nate,
>
> Since the problem is intermittent, I would not suspect a problem with an
> active component.
>
> You might want to remove the bottom cover and check to be certain the
> hardware on the BNC jack is tight and the LPF on the BNC connector is
> properly positioned.  You may have to lift the KXAT3 to check - see Figure
> 43 of the KX3 Kit Assembly Manual.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 4/16/2017 4:55 AM, nate t wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I was working with my KX3 earlier today, RX only, using an endfed, while
>> running on batteries, RXing WSPR and PSK31.
>>
>> After running for a bit, the ATU seemed to stop working. Attempting to
>> retune on 40m, it would stick at a 25.4:1 SWR.
>>
>> Tried switching down to 20m and it retuned right away to a 1.3:1.
>> Applying external power to the unit, I tried tuning again on 40m (battery
>> was reporting 10V if I recall correctly); It then tuned the end fed up, but
>> only to a 1.7, which it will typically match to a 1.0:1, it would also get
>> stuck at the 25.4:1 SWR on some of the attempted tunes.
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
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