[Elecraft] K3-Intermittant Power Out

[Ray WA6VAB]

I have K3.... From I seen... I would re-seat as many boards / assy's as
possible.    Ray WA6VAB.

On Sat, May 30, 2026, 8:43 AM Mike Flowers via Elecraft <
elecraft at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> Hi Steve,
>
> I had a similar situation where my K3’s receiver would go deaf
> intermittently.
>
> I was advised to open up the K3 and ensure that all the TMP plugs were
> firmly seated in their sockets.
>
> As I did this procedure, I did not ‘feel’ that any of the plugs was not
> secure, but apparently one was.  Afterwards, the problem has not
> reoccurred.
>
> It’s easy to do, harmless if you’re careful, and worth a shot.
>
> -- 73 de Mike Flowers, K6MKF, NCDXC - "It's about DX!"
>
> > On May 30, 2026, at 08:31, Steve Mollman via Elecraft <
> elecraft at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> >
> > 
> > Intermittent no power out ontransmit. My K3 has developed an
> intermittent problem of no power output whenin transmit mode.
> >
> > 1.     The situation occurs in all modes (CW, Data and SSB) atrandom
> times varying from 15 minutes after turning the unit on to an hour or
> solater. The “TX” LED lights and there is a side tone but no power out
> isgenerated.
> >
> > 2.     I am sometimes (but not always) able to restorefunctionality by
> cycling the unit off and then on.  If that doesn’t work,turning the unit
> off and letting it set for about an hour usually restoresfunctionality.
> >
> > 3.     Switching antennas and using a dummy load results in nochange.
> The no power out situation persists.
> >
> > The unit is factory built, servicedand upgraded to most K3S standards
> and equipped with the second receiver ATUand additional filters. The gold
> contacts were factory installed.
> >
> > I did talk to Elecraft about it andtheir only suggestion was to tighten
> the screws on the bottom of thecase.  The screws were all tight and there
> was no change.
> >
> > I have always hated intermittentfailures as they are usually very
> difficult to isolate.  Does anybody haveany ideas?
> >
> > Steve Mollman-KD9HL
> >
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