K3 power tripping out

[G4AFU Paul]

For some unknown reason my K3 (897) tripped out 3 times last night when on 160m cw.
I was running 90w out with a 1 to 1 swr - auto ATU installed.
Each time I brought it back to life by hitting the POWER button.

It is a little disconcerting when in mid QSO!

Has anyone else had this happen to them?
73 de Paul G4AFU

[Jon Kåre Hellan]

G4AFU Paul wrote:
> For some unknown reason my K3 (897) tripped out 3 times last night when on
> 160m cw.
> I was running 90w out with a 1 to 1 swr - auto ATU installed.
> Each time I brought it back to life by hitting the POWER button.
>
> It is a little disconcerting when in mid QSO!
>
> Has anyone else had this happen to them?

This happens to me when SWR is a bit off, and also happened with my previous rig. I haven't measured,
but I suspect that it's pulling more current, making the power supply voltage drop. I can usually
avoid the condition by turning power back a little - say to 70 or 80 W. The power supply is rated for
25 A.

73
Jon LA4RT
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[Craig WØLV]

I have had this happen to me, mkae sure the power connector plugged in fully.  The type that is used by Elecraft tends to not stay plugged in completely, as the wire is pretty stiff it tends to pull out sometimes.

Craig K6ML

G4AFU Paul wrote

For some unknown reason my K3 (897) tripped out 3 times last night when on 160m cw.
I was running 90w out with a 1 to 1 swr - auto ATU installed.
Each time I brought it back to life by hitting the POWER button.

It is a little disconcerting when in mid QSO!

Has anyone else had this happen to them?
73 de Paul G4AFU

[w7go]

Yep, same here.
I agree, I think it's the power cable.

73,

Tony W7GO

Craig KA0CT wrote:

> I have had this happen to me, mkae sure the power connector plugged in fully.
> The type that is used by Elecraft tends to not stay plugged in completely,
> as the wire is pretty stiff it tends to pull out sometimes.
>
> Craig K6ML
>
>
>
> G4AFU Paul wrote:
>  
>> For some unknown reason my K3 (897) tripped out 3 times last night when on
>> 160m cw.
>> I was running 90w out with a 1 to 1 swr - auto ATU installed.
>> Each time I brought it back to life by hitting the POWER button.
>>
>> It is a little disconcerting when in mid QSO!
>>
>> Has anyone else had this happen to them?
>> 73 de Paul G4AFU
>>
>>    
>
>  

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[AC7AC]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Mike Maloney]

Excellent points made by Ron, AC7AC.  Probably would not be a bad idea to check DC input volts and amps with B knob in the meter mode for a given power on each band to see what demands are being placed on the power supply. 

Voltage drop due to resistance of power plug connector/s might also be detected.

This would also be porportional to amp demand and might also be detected by an increase in temperature at the connector interface.

73, Mike AC5P

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[AC7AC]

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[Adam Koczarski]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] [mailto:elecraft-
> [hidden email]] On Behalf Of G4AFU Paul
> Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 5:30 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: [K3] [Elecraft] K3 power tripping out
>
>
> For some unknown reason my K3 (897) tripped out 3 times last night when
> on
> 160m cw.
> I was running 90w out with a 1 to 1 swr - auto ATU installed.
> Each time I brought it back to life by hitting the POWER button.
>

I was just reading through the new KDVR3 manual and noted the following.

"Hardware Upgrades
The following changes have been implemented in newer K3s to avoid the
possibility of shorts or intermittent
operation in some K3s. All the hardware needed is supplied with your KDSP3
kit."

My 3 day old K3 already came with these updates. Could yours need them??

http://www.elecraft.com/manual/KDVR3_Option_Installation_Rev_A.pdf

Adam - ka7ark
http://ka7ark.com



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[Alan Bloom]

On Thu, 2008-12-04 at 06:10, Jon K Hellan wrote:
> G4AFU Paul wrote:
> > For some unknown reason my K3 (897) tripped out 3 times last night when on
> > 160m cw.
...
> This happens to me when SWR is a bit off, and also happened with my
> previous rig. I haven't measured, but I suspect that it's pulling more
> current, making the power supply voltage drop.

If the power supply voltage drops, the K3 has to draw more current to
get 100W output.  That can cause the over-current sensor in the K3 to
trip.

I found that, in addition to voltage sag in the power supply itself, I
was getting three-quarters of a volt drop just in the power supply cable
(the one that was supplied with the K3).  I don't need all that length
so I cut it in half to reduce the voltage drop.

Al N1AL


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[G4AFU Paul]

Ron,
Many thanks for taking the time for a considered reply.

Also to all the other respondents.

I've checked the power cable and connectors - all is seated correctly and firm.

I'll just turn the wick down on my K3.

This reflector is surely the bees knees!
73 de Paul

Ron D'Eau Claire wrote

While a bad connection in the power certainly can cause this, it's worth
checking your power supply "crowbar" point. As you know, most power supplies
have over-current protection (crowbar circuit) that shuts them down if the
current exceeds some preset level, even instantaneously.

Some supplies, like my Astron, shut themselves down completely, requiring me
to cycle the power switch on the Astron to restore power and alerting me to
just what happened. But others don't. They just shut down for as long as the
over-current condition occurs, so all you need do I push the K3 POWER button
to restore operation.

You are quite right that the current varies according to the SWR. It also
varies by band because the overall efficiency of the K3 varies slightly over
the bands. I have an Astron 20 which is fine with the K3 but close to the
current limit on some bands making it more sensitive to absolutely low SWR
on some bands since it draws nearly 20 amps at 1:1 at 100 watts output.

Another common issue is an improperly mating Anderson PowerPole connector.
It should require a solid "tug" to disconnect the power cable from the rig,
indicating that the flat leaf spring contacts are mating fully.

One cause of bad mating is that the contacts are not fully inserted into the
connector housings. If they are, you cannot remove the contacts by pulling
on the wires. The contacts snap over an edge near the open end of the
connector when they are fully inserted.

Of course that's true for the connectors on the back of the K3 too, but
those come pre-assembled and should be right.

Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----
From: [e-mail]
[mailto:[e-mail]] On Behalf Of Jon K Hellan
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 6:10 AM
To: G4AFU Paul
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [K3] [Elecraft] K3 power tripping out

G4AFU Paul wrote:
> For some unknown reason my K3 (897) tripped out 3 times last night when on
> 160m cw.
> I was running 90w out with a 1 to 1 swr - auto ATU installed.
> Each time I brought it back to life by hitting the POWER button.
>
> It is a little disconcerting when in mid QSO!
>
> Has anyone else had this happen to them?

This happens to me when SWR is a bit off, and also happened with my previous
rig. I haven't measured,
but I suspect that it's pulling more current, making the power supply
voltage drop. I can usually
avoid the condition by turning power back a little - say to 70 or 80 W. The
power supply is rated for
25 A.

73
Jon LA4RT
_______________________________________________

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[G4AFU Paul]

Adam,

I don't have the KDVR3 fitted.

I suspect it's because I'm running too much output power causing the K3 current sensors to trip.

I'm going to try reducing my output power a little and see if that cures it.

73 de Paul G4AFU

----Original Message----
From: [hidden email]
Date: 04/12/2008 17:46
To: "G4AFU Paul"<[hidden email]>
Subj: RE: K3 power tripping out

> -----Original Message-----
> From: elecraft-bounces@... [mailto:elecraft-
> bounces@...] On Behalf Of G4AFU Paul
> Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 5:30 AM
> To: elecraft@...
> Subject: [K3] [Elecraft] K3 power tripping out
>
>
> For some unknown reason my K3 (897) tripped out 3 times last night when
> on
> 160m cw.
> I was running 90w out with a 1 to 1 swr - auto ATU installed.
> Each time I brought it back to life by hitting the POWER button.
>

I was just reading through the new KDVR3 manual and noted the following.

"Hardware Upgrades
The following changes have been implemented in newer K3s to avoid the
possibility of shorts or intermittent
operation in some K3s. All the hardware needed is supplied with your KDSP3
kit."

My 3 day old K3 already came with these updates. Could yours need them??

http://www.elecraft.com/manual/KDVR3_Option_Installation_Rev_A.pdf

Adam - ka7ark
http://ka7ark.com



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