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K1 Relays Not Working

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Richard Crispi

K1 Relays Not Working

Hi,
I'm in the process of building K1 #3224 and all was going well until this
evening. I'm at the point in Chap. 7 Alignment and Test, Part 1 "Band-Pass
Filter Alignment" (pg. 40). I was able to align B1 (40 meters) but when I
attempted to start B2 (30 meters) I realized that the relays were not
switching and I could still hear the 40 meter signals although the
frequency display showed the 30 meter frequency. Everything else up to
this point seems to be working fine but no relays are switching; not on
power up or when I try to change bands.
All the resistance checks I did according to the manual were right on. I
checked for misplaced components, shorts, unsoldered components, components
in backwards or in the wrong place on the filter board but everything
checks out OK.
I measured the voltages on U1 on the filter board and got the following:
Pin1 0v
Pin2 0v
Pin3 0.85v
Pin 4 5.94v
Pin 5-12 0v
Pin 13 5.5v
Pin 14 5.9v
Pin 15 2.2v
Pin 16 2.1v
Pin 17-18 0v
I was powering the radio with 12.9 volts.
According to the DC voltage table on pg 7 Appendix E the only voltages that
are off are the voltages on pins 15 and 16. According to the filter board
schematic in Appendix B these two pins connect to Z1 the resonator.
Any ideas?
Regards,
Rich Crispi K1YRW

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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: K1 Relays Not Working

Rich,

I assume this is a 2 band filter board.

Either the KFL1-2 board firmware (U1) is not working, or the 6R/AUX
signal is not getting the the filter board U1 pin 13, or there is a
problem with the relay switching paths.

First check the resistance across each relay coil (pins 1 and 10) of
each relay. Each relay should be about the same.
Then check the soldering on the header for RF Board J7 - re-flow the
solder with a hot (750 degF) iron.
Be certain the filter board R1 is 100 ohms and well soldered.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/22/2013 7:40 AM, Richard Crispi wrote:

> Hi,
> I'm in the process of building K1 #3224 and all was going well until this
> evening. I'm at the point in Chap. 7 Alignment and Test, Part 1 "Band-Pass
> Filter Alignment" (pg. 40). I was able to align B1 (40 meters) but when I
> attempted to start B2 (30 meters) I realized that the relays were not
> switching and I could still hear the 40 meter signals although the
> frequency display showed the 30 meter frequency. Everything else up to
> this point seems to be working fine but no relays are switching; not on
> power up or when I try to change bands.
>

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Richard Crispi

Re: K1 Relays Not Working

Hi Don,
Thanks for your reply. It is much appreciated. The problem was a couple
of unsoldered points. My tired old eyes didn't see them at 2am when I sent
the call for help out. After several hours sleep and a good breakfast the
bad connections appeared like magic HI HI! Finished the K1 yesterday
afternoon and it seems to be working well. Now on to building the antenna
tuner.
Thanks to all for your help. You guys are great.
73,
Rich K1YRW

On Mon, Jun 24, 2013 at 12:14 AM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Rich,
>
> I assume this is a 2 band filter board.
>
> Either the KFL1-2 board firmware (U1) is not working, or the 6R/AUX signal
> is not getting the the filter board U1 pin 13, or there is a problem with
> the relay switching paths.
>
> First check the resistance across each relay coil (pins 1 and 10) of each
> relay. Each relay should be about the same.
> Then check the soldering on the header for RF Board J7 - re-flow the
> solder with a hot (750 degF) iron.
> Be certain the filter board R1 is 100 ohms and well soldered.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
>
> On 6/22/2013 7:40 AM, Richard Crispi wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>> I'm in the process of building K1 #3224 and all was going well until this
>> evening. I'm at the point in Chap. 7 Alignment and Test, Part 1
>> "Band-Pass
>> Filter Alignment" (pg. 40). I was able to align B1 (40 meters) but when I
>> attempted to start B2 (30 meters) I realized that the relays were not
>> switching and I could still hear the 40 meter signals although the
>> frequency display showed the 30 meter frequency. Everything else up to
>> this point seems to be working fine but no relays are switching; not on
>> power up or when I try to change bands.
>>
>>
>

G4BVY

Failure of RS-232 Comms to K3 - when cold?

My set up is using the US-Navigator as a USB to RS232 interface to
communicate with the K3.

I have noticed over the years that I do not always achieve RS232
communication when the K3 is first switched on. There is normally a delay
from minimal up to a "few minutes".

On two recent occasions I have failed to achieve communication when out
portable. The only difference here is the temperature - much colder!

Has anyone else noticed similar behaviour? Currently I do not have another
USB/RS232 convertor so I cannot definitely state whether it is a K3 or a
Navigator "feature".

Roger - G4BVY

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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: Failure of RS-232 Comms to K3 - when cold?

Roger,

I have never seen a similar failure reported here on this reflector, and
I recommend that you try the K3 on another serial port (a real RS-232
port if possible) to determine whether it is a problem in the K3 or a
problem with the USB to RS-232 adapter in the Navigator.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/24/2013 8:29 AM, Roger Dixon wrote:

> My set up is using the US-Navigator as a USB to RS232 interface to
> communicate with the K3.
>
> I have noticed over the years that I do not always achieve RS232
> communication when the K3 is first switched on. There is normally a delay
> from minimal up to a "few minutes".
>
> On two recent occasions I have failed to achieve communication when out
> portable. The only difference here is the temperature - much colder!
>
> Has anyone else noticed similar behaviour? Currently I do not have another
> USB/RS232 convertor so I cannot definitely state whether it is a K3 or a
> Navigator "feature".
>