Troubleshooting
The most common symptoms andtheir causes are listed below, in three categories (general,transmit, and
receive). Most problems are relatedto firmware or control settings.
Subsequent sections cover Parameter Initializtion (pg. 61) and Module Troubleshooting (pg. 62). If the
problem persists, please contact Elecraft support (see pg. 10) or post a question on our email reflector.
General
Error message appears on the LCD (ERR PL1, etc.): Refer to Module Troubleshooting (pg. 62).
Can’t turn power off:An external device or the KIO3 module may be pulling the POWER ON line low.
Disconnect all external devices one at a time. If that doesn’t reveal the problem, try unplugging the KIO3’s
digital I/O board, then the KIO3 main board. Also see Module Troubleshooting (pg. 62).
General problem with transmit and/or receive: Many problems can be caused by low power supply
voltage or by a noisy or intermittent supply. Check your power supply’s on/off switch, voltage, fuses (if
applicable), and DC cabling. The K3 provides both voltage and current monitoring (pg. 36). Also see
Transmit and Receive troubleshooting sections, below.
General problem with firmware behavior: (1) Check all relevant menu settings (see MAIN and CONFIG
menu listings in the previous section). In addition to the information inthe manual, each menu entry
provides helptext bytapping DISP . (2) Try loading the latest microcontroller and DSP firmware. Review
the release notes for changes that may be related to your symptoms. (3) If the above suggestions don’t help,
you cantry reinitializingthe firmware (pg. 59). Be sure to save important parameter settings first.
NEW K3UTIL SOF TWARE REQUIRED message appears on the LCD: This indicatesthat you must
install a new version of the K3’s firmware upgrade program (K3 Utility) in order to loadthe latest K3
firmware. After installing the new version of K3 Utility, reload all new firmware (MCU, DSP, etc.).
FPF LOAD PENDING message appears on the VFO A and B displays: Use our K3 Utility software
application to load the FPF data file from a PC. Refer to K3 Utility’s help information for details.
N/A message (Not Applicable): The function you’re trying to use does not apply in the present mode or
context.
VFO B is blank: You may have CW or DATA text decode display turned on (TEXT D EC , pg. 30) with the
THR (threshold) control set too high for text decode to proceed.
VFO A or B display doesn’t change when the corresponding knob is rotated: You may have the
affected VFO locked (pg. 14).
Transmit
TX LED is on all the time: This could indicate that PTT is being held on by external equipment. (Verify
that CONFIG:PTT-KEY is set to OFF-OFF if not keying via the RS232 connector. Try disconnecting
everything connectedto the ACC and RS232 connectors.) In voice modes, this could be caused by having
the VOX gain set too high. Disconnect the microphone, then set the VOX menu parameter lower.
HI CUR or HI SWR warning (K3/100): Check load Z and supply voltage. If voltage is low and/or load Z
is under 50 ohms, current can go up for a given requested power level. Reduce power if necessary.
HI TEMP warning (K3/100): When operating QRO from a battery, low voltage may cause an erroneous
temperature reading (see CONFIG:PA TEMP for details). Otherwise, PA heatsink temperature has
exceeded 84C(PA drops into bypass mode). Check fans, power supply voltage and current, and load
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