KX1 -weird KXPD1 problem

[djmd]

Hello,

Having a bizarre issue with the KX1 paddle... just got it put together
the other day.

When I plug the paddles in, they work as they should, no problem. As I
tighten the thumbscrew, it continues to work... but after that last turn
to get it really tight against the KX1, instead of a 'dit' or a 'dah'
from either paddle, I get a 'di-dah' from *both* of them. I figured that
if I put an extra washer in there (despite the fact that the errata
specifically says use only one washer) that would solve the problem. I
emailed Elecraft to make sure that was ok and was told that it was fine
- but unfortunately it didn't fix it. It doesn't seem to matter how far
that screw is in - it doesn't start behaving wrong until that last final
tightening of the screw.

The key jack on the KX1 is completely flush with the KX1 case. The
paddle seems to be put together fine, but with one slight possible issue
- the plug itself is slightly less than flush with the body of the key
itself, but we're talkin less than a MM here. Should I unsolder the
wires and back it out a half turn perhaps?

Thanks for any help!

73, Dave K8DJW
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[Don Wilhelm-4]

Dave,

My guess is that your problem is in the key jack and not with the paddles.
Something is shorting both the dot and dash contacts together when your
KXPD1 is tightened.
Is the KX1 key jack positioned to exactly match the silk-screening on
the board?  If not, it should be.  If you need to reposition it, you
might find a way to heat all 3 pins at the same time and move it into place.
If you can't find the cause, I would suggest replacing the key jack.  It
is possible that the contacts inside the jack are slightly distorted
from normal and only show the problem when the KXPD1 is securely tightened.

73,
Don W3FPR

David Wallace wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Having a bizarre issue with the KX1 paddle... just got it put together
> the other day.
>
> When I plug the paddles in, they work as they should, no problem. As I
> tighten the thumbscrew, it continues to work... but after that last
> turn to get it really tight against the KX1, instead of a 'dit' or a
> 'dah' from either paddle, I get a 'di-dah' from *both* of them. I
> figured that if I put an extra washer in there (despite the fact that
> the errata specifically says use only one washer) that would solve the
> problem. I emailed Elecraft to make sure that was ok and was told that
> it was fine - but unfortunately it didn't fix it. It doesn't seem to
> matter how far that screw is in - it doesn't start behaving wrong
> until that last final tightening of the screw.
>
> The key jack on the KX1 is completely flush with the KX1 case. The
> paddle seems to be put together fine, but with one slight possible
> issue - the plug itself is slightly less than flush with the body of
> the key itself, but we're talkin less than a MM here. Should I
> unsolder the wires and back it out a half turn perhaps?
>
> Thanks for any help!
>  

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[djmd]

Hello all,

It's been a while since I posted this. I got many helpful responses on and off the reflector. I have finally resolved the problem, and it was probably the simplest one to check for, but something I kept ignoring. The two wires inside of the paddle were so close that when I torqued down the thumbscrew, they came in contact. I have seperated them and cannot reproduce the problem.

I will say this though - the washer provided with the thumbscrew is definitely not thick enough. The end of the screw was indeed coming into contact with the edge of the KX1 board. I have installed a slightly thicker washer and protected the edge of the board with a couple layers of scotch tape, and I am still seeing marks on the tape from the screw. I may at some point VERY CAREFULLY dremel away the edge of the board, because I'm not certain that I'm getting the paddle screwed in as tight as it could be. Or I could install an additional washer I suppose.

Anyway, I'm really happy the problem has been remedied. Thanks for all the support!

djmd wrote

Hello,

Having a bizarre issue with the KX1 paddle... just got it put together
the other day.

When I plug the paddles in, they work as they should, no problem. As I
tighten the thumbscrew, it continues to work... but after that last turn
to get it really tight against the KX1, instead of a 'dit' or a 'dah'
from either paddle, I get a 'di-dah' from *both* of them. I figured that
if I put an extra washer in there (despite the fact that the errata
specifically says use only one washer) that would solve the problem. I
emailed Elecraft to make sure that was ok and was told that it was fine
- but unfortunately it didn't fix it. It doesn't seem to matter how far
that screw is in - it doesn't start behaving wrong until that last final
tightening of the screw.

The key jack on the KX1 is completely flush with the KX1 case. The
paddle seems to be put together fine, but with one slight possible issue
- the plug itself is slightly less than flush with the body of the key
itself, but we're talkin less than a MM here. Should I unsolder the
wires and back it out a half turn perhaps?

Thanks for any help!

73, Dave K8DJW
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