[Elecraft] [POSSIBLE SPAM] Common K3 failure modes???

[David Gilbert]

I have also.  The K3IO module is pretty fragile, it seems.  Of all the 
requests I've seen here on the reflector over the years for a 
replacement item, the K3IO tops the list from my memory ... you can't 
just buy a replacement from Mouser or Digi-Key like you can the input 
diodes.  And when it goes bad, the K3 becomes essentially useless for 
contesting.

I keep saying that Elecraft should pass on the PC board artwork and 
component specs (I assume that not all of them are standard devices) for 
key discontinued modules to someone who might be interested in offering 
replacement as a 3rd party.  It's one of my key gripes with Elecraft 
that they seem to have no interest in doing so.

Dave   AB7E


On 6/22/2022 5:13 AM, Robie Elms wrote:
> I have K3IO failures as well.
>
> Robie AJ4F
>
> On Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 6:57 AM Dr. William J. Schmidt <bill at wjschmidt.com>
> wrote:
>
>> My K3 failures always come in the form of either K3IOx failures (extremely
>> common) or the 10W module.  Everything else seems to hang together.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net>
>> On
>> Behalf Of Geert Jan de Groot
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2022 3:30 AM
>> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>> Subject: [POSSIBLE SPAM] [Elecraft] Common K3 failure modes???
>>
>> On 22/06/2022 02:50, elecraft-request at mailman.qth.net wrote:
>>> With more K3 radios broken on the bench than working at my contest
>>> station
>>> (J68HZ)  and NO spare modules to work with,
>> I am actually wondering about that. One of the magazines I read, the German
>> Funkamateur magazine, has a story each month about a group doing some
>> DXpedition and nearly every month they report about equipment getting
>> broken
>> during such an event. As these things often use Elecraft, there are reports
>> of K3's failing.
>>
>> But I wonder the failure mode because the stories don't report anything
>> about that. I know of a few failure modes:
>> - Diodes at input blown up because of extremely strong signals
>> near-frequency. Bandfilters may help, as does careful frequency planning
>> and
>> some antenna distance. (ages ago I used a FT747 which uses a light bulb as
>> protection - after a heavy radio weekend I had the lightbulb open and one
>> of
>> the input coils fused!)
>> - PA kickback causing the low-power amplifier transistors to fail - there
>> has been discussion on the list to add transzorb diodes
>> - Encoders for filter settings etc may fail - easy to replace
>> - volume knob was bumped on, causing potmeter broken - just replaced it
>> - Plastic knobs cracked - partially solved by Elecraft warranty, partly
>> solved by buying new ones myself ($$$$ with shipping and customs)
>> - Audio amplifier dying because of a short circuit at the output. There is
>> a
>> mod kit for that.
>>
>> I wonder about other failure modes. How does a K3 die at a contest station,
>> or a DXpedition, and what can be done to prevent?
>> What are the failures on the broken radios you are reporting about?
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Geert Jan PE1HZG
>>
>>
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