Re: SP3 ISSUE

[Mike VE3YF]

I received my pair of SP3's last week and I also had a problem, where I could get stereo but 1 spkr would always be weaker in audio than the other. I contacted Elecraft and they couldn't figure it out either. They were fully prepared to ship me an new set (Matched). Over the weekend I was doing some re-wiring of cabling and found that the original 4 cables that I was using were not up to par, could have been purchased offshore. I replaced the 4 cables with ones made in NA and the speakers worked perfectly.

So for anyone having speaker problems, definately check out the cables. In my case I didn't use the supplied cables as they were not long enough for my situation. But excellent support from Elecraft on wanting to ship me out a new set of speakers.

I also found that the original cables that I was using checked out ok with a meter, but once in the circuit they worked like crap.


73 De Mike
VE3YF

http://www.ve3yf.com
[http://www.ve3yf.com/]
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[Guy Olinger K2AV]

Happens over and over. #1 thing that goes wrong in the shack ... cables,
adapters and connectors, busted, wrong, wrong wiring, don't fit, etc.  And
it's often the LAST place we look.

Speaker cables/connectors need to be very low resistance. One point of
issue is machine-crimped pins in a connector that grab insulated wires and
penetrate the insulation. It's possible for the pin crimping to contact
only a few strands of the stranded wire and pass automated continuity
checking but be entirely unsatisfactory for the low R speaker use. Also a
bit of patina on a pin or mating surface can do the same thing.

Glad you found it before you sent 'em back. That's sooooo embarrassing. I
tore apart an amp once, in the middle of a multi-multi contest effort,
where the problem turned out to be the RCA plug on the cable for the
amp's relay connection. That was sooooo embarrassing.

73 and happy holidays,

Guy K2AV

On Thursday, December 24, 2015, Mike VE3YF <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I received my pair of SP3's last week and I also had a problem, where I
> could get stereo but 1 spkr would always be weaker in audio than the other.
> I contacted Elecraft and they couldn't figure it out either. They were
> fully prepared to ship me an new set (Matched). Over the weekend I was
> doing some re-wiring of cabling and found that the original 4 cables that I
> was using were not up to par, could have been purchased offshore. I
> replaced the 4 cables with ones made in NA and the speakers worked
> perfectly.
>
> So for anyone having speaker problems, definately check out the cables. In
> my case I didn't use the supplied cables as they were not long enough for
> my situation. But excellent support from Elecraft on wanting to ship me out
> a new set of speakers.
>
> I also found that the original cables that I was using checked out ok with
> a meter, but once in the circuit they worked like crap.
>
>
> 73 De Mike
> VE3YF
>
> http://www.ve3yf.com
> [http://www.ve3yf.com/]
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email] <javascript:;>
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email] <javascript:;>
>

--
Sent via Gmail Mobile on my iPhone
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[Edward R Cole]

Experience!
Back in 1980 I was beginning my new career as two-way radio tech
working in a BLM radio shop (had been mw engineer in old career in
CA) and asked help troubleshooting from a "50's oldster".  He told me
that most new-young techs make the mistake of looking for high-tech
problems when most "troubles" are simple.

So check:
1.  power source; signal input/output - first  (that includes cables
and connectors)(and test equipment-meters)
2.  Control settings (pilot error stuff)
3.  Look, Feel, Sniff (often the problem will be very evident to
those senses)(that hot blackened thingy)
4.  Then get out the schematic and repair manual
5.  Call customer service (not always step five).

Of course if you ARE customer service then ask the "old guy" ;-)

Just yesterday two old trusted test cables went "open ckt" and a
trusted coax went high SWR.
My spectrum analyzer that "seemed dead" had a switch in the wrong position.
If voltages seem wrong check the ground wire.
Experience!

73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
     "Kits made by KL7UW"
Dubus Mag business:
     [hidden email]

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[Don Wilhelm-4]

All,

I can vouch for that as well.  I recently had a K2 on the workbench
recently and observed that the receive response was not as good as
expected.  I connected it to my signal generator which verified the poor
response.  Then when turning the K2 on its back to do some probing, all
the problems when away.
Bottom line was that I had a bad coax jumper in my assortment of BNC to
BNC jumpers.  Wiggling the ends of the coax revealed which end it was
and that end was immediately cut off.  BTW, it showed no problem in
transmit, only receive.

Bad cables are often the culprit when experiencing a problem. Before
digging into the equipment, check the cables.  That will fix the problem
in 75% or more of the cases.
Build your own experience base and stow it away in your brain for later
occurrences.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/24/2015 5:29 PM, Edward R Cole wrote:

> Experience!
> Back in 1980 I was beginning my new career as two-way radio tech
> working in a BLM radio shop (had been mw engineer in old career in CA)
> and asked help troubleshooting from a "50's oldster".  He told me that
> most new-young techs make the mistake of looking for high-tech
> problems when most "troubles" are simple.
>
> So check:
> 1.  power source; signal input/output - first  (that includes cables
> and connectors)(and test equipment-meters)
> 2.  Control settings (pilot error stuff)
> 3.  Look, Feel, Sniff (often the problem will be very evident to those
> senses)(that hot blackened thingy)
> 4.  Then get out the schematic and repair manual
> 5.  Call customer service (not always step five).
>

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[Edward R Cole]

And for all of us Elecraft owners - Don "is" the "old guy" with
experience!  Lucky us - and I mean that.
Happy Holidays to all you Elecrafters and don't drink too much coolaid.

73 from the northland, Ed - KL7UW
----------------
From: Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] SP3 ISSUE
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

All,

I can vouch for that as well.
==snip

73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
     "Kits made by KL7UW"
Dubus Mag business:
     [hidden email]

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