[Elecraft] K3 VFO-B knob replacement notes

[Geert Jan de Groot]

Hi,

Recently I purchased a K3 and found I need to give it some love as it 
has been a bit behind on maintenance.

One of the issues is that the VFO B knob has cracked. This is Elecraft 
part number E980090, listed as K3 spare part.

Unfortunately, that knob is no longer available, and here is where the 
fun starts.

What is sent instead, is Elecraft part E980275. Both E980090 and E980275 
are listed but only E980275 is available.
The replacement knob is smaller, the old knob is 1 3/8", the new knob is 1".

Just replacing the knob won't work because the felt washer sticks out.

Also, the encoder is too long and the new knob sticks out - the felt 
washer doesn't work.

Called Elecraft sales and there is some confusion.

The errata of the build instruction of the K3S (not K3) explains what 
has happened:
- The new knob is smaller
- it needs a different felt washer, replace E700033 with E700416
- the encoder needs an additional lock washer, E700150.
- So, if you order a replacement, order all of this and plan to have to 
take the front panel apart.

None of this is on the elecraft website. I also did not find anything in 
the reflector archives. And it's not in the K3 documentation, only the 
K3S documentation.

This is kind of painful, since in addition to the price of the spare 
parts I ordered to get the K3 up to date ($173) I spent $80 on shipping, 
customs and postal admin overhead and I now find I have an incomplete 
mod kit.

I will need to cut the wrongly-ordered felt washer to size and find a 
replacement lock washer to make the encoder sink deeper to match the new 
knob.. Again, this isn't listed in the spare parts on the website or on 
the reflector; it is now documented on the reflector, at least.

Geert Jan