"Without an attenuator to "match levels", people are gambling with or without the ALC connected. 73 Tom"
I agree. I was surprised to see that my IC-706MKII put out a full power spike regardless of where the output power was set (even set at 5-weatts output, the first-dit spike was 100+ watts). I measuered the drive required for my ALS-600 and built an attenuator that is switched in-line when I turn on the amplifier. This way I can always leave my transceiver set to full power and not worry about overdriving the amp, either with a first-dit spike or forgetting to reduce drive when I put the amp in-line (info in the "Articles" section at www.ad5x.com). The K3 has solved the overshoot problem, but not the "forgetting to turn down drive" problem for me. The attenuator takes care of that. I use my K3 A-output for barefoot operation, and the B-output going to the ALS-600/MFJ-998 combo. I do this since the amp and tuner are not designed for 6 meters, and don't look good on 6-meters even when bypassed. So the A-output with the K3 ATU is used on 160-6 meters for barefoot operation, and the B-output with K3 ATU bypassed is used for 160-10 meters with the ALS-600/MFJ-998. I connect A-barefoot or B-amplified outputs to the appropriate antenna with a 6x6 remote antenna switch (MFJ-4726). Yes, the K3 remembers power settings on a per-band basis, but not on an A/B basis (yet). Phil - AD5X ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
