[Elecraft] Tuned w/o antenna connected

Lane software.research.development at gmail.com
Thu Jul 9 20:53:24 EDT 2026


I just made a big mistake. I thought I had my antenna's connected
after weeks of plug/unplugging from a series of bad weather on a K3s
and I tuned on 80m without having my antenna cables connected to the
directional coupler. After a bunch of relay clicks, the KAT500
faulted. I also have a KPA500 connected.

After reconnecting my antenna to the directional coupler and
restarting everything, I tried to listen and the noise floor is quiet.
Then I tried to retune, but the K3s displays 17.2-1 and doesn't change
any further (where it used to tune to 1.1-1), and the KAT500 keeps
blinking the "AUTO" light during a tune, and nothing else happens. I
can hear nearby stations, but not really anything else. It's like all
the bands are quiet now.

Did I damage something? Thoughts?


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