Elecraft

K3: 'Line In' problems

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AC7JW

K3: 'Line In' problems

Greetings everyone;

I just got the new K3 assembled, and I'm really enjoying it. However, I
have an issue with the "line in" not working, and I wonder if anyone
else has seen this with a recently purchased K3.
I'm trying to use the "line in" for PSK 31, but the input is not
working. I've read previous posts, so I've ensured that the MIC SEL is
set to Line In, and that the mic gain for Line In is is not at zero.
When I move the cable to the rear panel Mic Input, and set the MIC SEL
to rP.L, everything works fine.

I've tried the released firmware from January, and the current beta
firmware, and neither helps. Is there anything else I might be missing?

Thanks,

Jason AC7JW

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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: K3: 'Line In' problems

Jason,

Since you can drive the K3 from the mic input, I am wondering if you
have enough signal available to drive the K3 LINE IN at its expected level.

Do you have an in-line attenuator in the cable you are using at the K3
LINE IN? Or are you using an interface box that has an internal
attenuator? If so, you may not be getting enough signal into the LINE
IN jack.

Try connecting the Line-out from the soundcard directly to the K3 LINE
IN jack using a straight stereo cable. The K3 does not need any
interface box or in-line attenuator.

73,
Don W3FPR

Jason Reber wrote:

> Greetings everyone;
>
> I just got the new K3 assembled, and I'm really enjoying it. However, I
> have an issue with the "line in" not working, and I wonder if anyone
> else has seen this with a recently purchased K3.
> I'm trying to use the "line in" for PSK 31, but the input is not
> working. I've read previous posts, so I've ensured that the MIC SEL is
> set to Line In, and that the mic gain for Line In is is not at zero.
> When I move the cable to the rear panel Mic Input, and set the MIC SEL
> to rP.L, everything works fine.
>
> I've tried the released firmware from January, and the current beta
> firmware, and neither helps. Is there anything else I might be missing?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jason AC7JW
>
>

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Matt Zilmer

Re: K3: 'Line In' problems

In reply to this post by AC7JW

AC7JW

Re: K3: 'Line In' problems

Thanks for the input, everyone. This is a great group.
The problem ended up being a solder whisker on CN2, pins 7 and 8, on the
Audio I/O board. Pins 7 and 8 of CN2 are the bypass caps for the line in
center and shield. This effectively made the line in jack a dead short.
A quick touch of solder wick followed by a reflow of pins 7 and 8 on CN2
fixed the problem. I'm sure glad Elecraft put the schematics on their
website; That made it very easy to get to the bottom of the problem.

Line in is working great now, along with everything else. I've ran the rig
on RTTY, PSK31, SSB, and CW, and everything is working great.

Thanks again for the input.

Jason AC7JW

> Most Line Out signal levels from PC soundcards seem to have a little too
> much drive for the K3's Line In You might want to consider a 5-10 dB
> attenuator to allow enough granularity in the level control out from the
> PC. I had this problem and built up a little 8 dB Pi attenuator for a
> 600 ohm line. Formulas for this can be found in the ARRL Handbook or at
> http://www.daycounter.com/Calculators/PI-T-Pad-Attenuator-Calculator.phtml.
>
> matt W6NIA
> K3 #24
>
>
> Apr 13, 2009 06:35:57 AM, [hidden email] wrote:
> Jason,
>
> Since you can drive the K3 from the mic input, I am wondering if you
> have enough signal available to drive the K3 LINE IN at its expected
> level.
>
> Do you have an in-line attenuator in the cable you are using at the K3
> LINE IN? Or are you using an interface box that has an internal
> attenuator? If so, you may not be getting enough signal into the LINE
> IN jack.
>
> Try connecting the Line-out from the soundcard directly to the K3 LINE
> IN jack using a straight stereo cable. The K3 does not need any
> interface box or in-line attenuator.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> Jason Reber wrote:
>> Greetings everyone;
>>
>> I just got the new K3 assembled, and I'm really enjoying it. However, I
>> have an issue with the "line in" not working, and I wonder if anyone
>> else has seen this with a recently purchased K3.
>> I'm trying to use the "line in" for PSK 31, but the input is not
>> working. I've read previous posts, so I've ensured that the MIC SEL is
>> set to Line In, and that the mic gain for Line In is is not at zero.
>> When I move the cable to the rear panel Mic Input, and set the MIC SEL
>> to rP.L, everything works fine.
>>
>> I've tried the released firmware from January, and the current beta
>> firmware, and neither helps. Is there anything else I might be missing?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Jason AC7JW
>>
>>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

G4BVY

Re: K3: 'Line In' problems

In reply to this post by AC7JW

Hi Jason,
I've got exactly the same problem but I've been too busy on CW to
investigate it !

Roger - G4BVY

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Jason Reber
Sent: 12 April 2009 18:44
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] K3: 'Line In' problems

Greetings everyone;

I just got the new K3 assembled, and I'm really enjoying it. However, I have
an issue with the "line in" not working, and I wonder if anyone else has
seen this with a recently purchased K3.
I'm trying to use the "line in" for PSK 31, but the input is not working.
I've read previous posts, so I've ensured that the MIC SEL is set to Line
In, and that the mic gain for Line In is is not at zero.
When I move the cable to the rear panel Mic Input, and set the MIC SEL to
rP.L, everything works fine.

I've tried the released firmware from January, and the current beta
firmware, and neither helps. Is there anything else I might be missing?

Thanks,

Jason AC7JW

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html