[Elecraft] K3 EEPROM init (was: assistance with learning about an Elecraft S3 needed)

[George Danner]

That is why - if you own an Elecraft that has a Utility, make sure you use
the Utility to store the configuration file very early in its life!
My definition of early in its life means before you change *anything* in
the menu(s) - especially those that need permissions.
That way if you need to resort to a EEinit, you will have a config file to
reload the original factory (or known working) configuration.
I would also recommend saving the configuration when any changes to
calibration are made.
My way of keeping a good recent configuration file is to store a
configuration prior to upgrading firmware.

I think I remember that Elecraft might have the original config files for
each unit shipped; but obviously not for any in-field upgrades.

73 George AI4VZ

On Sun, Oct 27, 2024 at 2:18 PM Geert Jan de Groot via Elecraft <
elecraft at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> > *** Wow.  Thinking back, was it a mistake to put in a "break this radio"
> > function?
>
> I don't think so, and if there is an issue, frankly, then it right in
> front of the frontpanel, operating the VFO knob.
>
> Seriously: every modern radio these days, depends on settings that are
> "done by software". Looking at Yaesu, radios like the FT897/857/817 have
> a service menu, and it allows adjustment of RX gain paths, TX gain
> paths, max RF output levels, S meter settings, bandfilter adjustments
> and the like. This is the successor to adjusting trimmers and pots, and
> it is required to adjust-out electric part variance. With today's parts,
> doing physical trimmers is not viable anymore.
>
> For instance, to create a radio that can do "100W output", the actual
> design needs to be able to do more than 100W so that if there is a stage
> where the gain is a bit less (part variance), the radio would still
> deliver 100W according to specs.
>
> In come various yaesu forums where Joe Golden Screwdriver talks about a
> "secret hidden menu" which allows his radio to go up to 130W instead of
> 100W. A lot of excitement, I-found-what-yeasu-didn't-tell-you and all that.
> However, even if the radio is electrically able to do 130W, the cooling
> design is not set up for this and hence, with 130W, the finals overheat,
> fail and the next thing is Joe Golden Screwdrive complaining loudly
> against Yaesu creating "bad equipment" and all that.
>
> It is so bad that on newer radios, the service mode isn't just "a
> combination of buttons at power-on", it requires more to keep Joe Golden
> Screwdriver out. You may want to look up how to go to service mode on
> the IC-705 for instance.
>
> Just think of the IF filter corrosion issue a few years ago; what was an
> incompatibility between the compound used to seal these 455kHz filters
> and the way PCB's were washed.
> Huge amounts of people started modifying their radio, adding unnecessary
> decoupling capacitors and all.
>
> The K3 radio, compared to the competition, has a huge number of optional
> modules that can be added and for which sometimes settings are required.
> Think the IF filters, think the RF synthesizer, think adding an optional
> 100W module, or a tuner, or the optional 2nd radio. For this, sometimes
> parameters must be set and for some, you need to run diagnostic tests.
>
> In hindsight, Elecraft might have considered two resets, one that only
> reset user parameters and the other one the whole radio, but it isn't as
> easy because is an IF filter offset setting a user parameter or not?
>
> The one thing I would like the K3 firmware to get fixed is about the 50W
> / 5W calibration issue. If you don't know: don't ever set your radio to
> 50.0W (use 50.1 or 49.9) or 5.0W (use 4.99 or 5.01) or 0.5mW on the
> transverter port. Search the archives for the reason why.
>
> At the end of day, when adding / removing options (which is a much more
> severe problem these days since many radios go on the 2nd hand market
> with options added, removed, or changed), you need to know what to do.
> It is in the manual. I don't think hiding the EEPROM reset further would
> have made any difference.
>
> And I don't think making EEINIT available is a mistake.
>
> 73, Geert Jan PE1HZG
>
>
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