Elecraft KX3 Owner's Manual - Manual (Page 45)

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§ TX LED on all the time: This could indicate that PTT is being held on by external equipment. Try
disconnecting everything connected to the left side panel except the power supply. VOX gain (VOX GN
menu entry) may be set too high. Also check the ACC2 IO menu setting.
§ H I C U R or H I S W R warning: Check supply voltage. If voltage is low and/or a low-impedance antenna
load is present, current can go up for a given requested power level. Reduce power if necessary. (The KX3
may do this automatically. If this doesn’t reduce the current or reflected power to safe levels, the KX3 will
drop out of transmit mode.)
§ H I TE M P warning: PA heat sink temperature has exceeded the safe operating limit. Use D I S P to check
power supply voltage, current drain, and PA temperature. Allow heat sink to cool. Reduce power if
necessary. (The KX3 may automatically reduce power, drop out of transmit mode, or turn itself off.)
§ KX3 enclosure is hot to the touch on the back edge: During hand-held or lap-top operation at high power
or high duty cycle, the enclosure may feel uncomfortably warm. Reduce power or use shorter transmissions.
Note: At 3.0 watts or lower, the KX3 uses a high-efficiency (lower-current) transmit mode, reducing the
rate of heating and extending battery life.
§ An asterisk (*) appears in the P W R setting display (e.g. 5.0 W * ): Transmit ALC has been turned off. To
turn it back on, go to MENU:TX GAIN , unlock the parameter by holding K H Z for 3 seconds, then tap
D L Y . This will turn off the ( - ) sign in front of A LC .
§ Can’t transmit in any mode: The ACC2 IO menu entry may be set to H I=IN H (transmit inhibit when the
GPIO pin is pulled high or is floating high).
§ Can’t transmit in CW mode: (1) Make sure the key or keyer paddle is plugged into the correct jack.
(2) To transmit immediately upon hitting the key, you must have VOX-CW enabled (hold V O X ) . If VOX is
off (PTT-CW), you must tap X M I T before sending; otherwise only a sidetone is generated . (3) You may be
in S P L I T mode, with VFO B set for a voice or data mode. Tap A / B to check VFO B’s mode.
§ Can’t use the mic in voice modes: You may be in S P L I T mode, with VFO B set for CW or data mode
rather than a voice mode. Tap A / B to check VFO B’s mode.
§ Low power output: (1) Make sure transmit is not inhibited (see ACC2 IO menu entry); (2) try redoing the
automated Transmit Gain calibration procedure (pg. 33). Note: Max power varies by band (pg. 54).
§ Inadequate transmit carrier or opposite-sideband suppression: The voice- and audio-data carrier and
opposite sideband will typically be down 60 dB or more at 10 watts output. If either is significantly higher
than this level, the Transmit Carrier or Transmit Sideband calibration steps (pg. 34 and 34) must be
performed. These procedures require a spectrum analyzer and are normally done only at the factory.
Receive
§ H I R FI warning, preamp turns off, or R X icon turns on: The KX3 protects itself from high received
signal levels. First, the preamp is turned off, if it was on. (You may be able to avoid this by using the 10-dB
preamp rather than the 20-dB preamp on the current band. See MENU:PREAMP.) The second step taken
by the KX3, if necessary, is to turn on a 15-dB attenuator stage in the I.F. section, ahead of the receiver’s A-
to-D converter. The receive overload icon (
R X ), near the A N T icon, will turn on. Once signals return to a
safe level for 5 seconds, this attenuator will be turned back off. Also see COR (next item).
§ Carrier-operated relay activated (a relay is heard, and the R X icon turns on): The carrier-operated-
relay (COR) may be activated due to the signal from a nearby transmitter. This is usually due to close
proximity between your antenna and the other station’s antenna. The COR is actually the relay for the
present low-pass filter. When the relay opens, signals will drop by 40 to 60 dB, protecting the KX3. The
relay will close again shortly after the signal drops. If the COR is being repeatedly activated, try moving the
antennas farther apart. You can also increase the COR threshold, at your discretion; see MENU:COR LVL.
§ H I C U R warning: Usually indicates speaker volume is too high; gain is reduced by the KX3 in this case.
§ No received signal: Check (1) antenna connectors; (2) squelch (FM mode); (3) RF gain too low (set RF
gain control fully clockwise, to –0 d B ); (4) bandwidth too narrow (PBT I/II control); (5) MENU:REF CAL
parameter not adjusted properly; (6) KXFL3 menu entry set to N O R but module not installed.