[Elecraft] K2/100 SSB ALC Problem

[Don]

I almost never use SSB mode so have a lot still to discover about my K2 in 
ssb mode.

I was on 40 meters ssb last night at 20 watts or so and found that the rig 
kept rebooting.  It was caused by an output that was actually well over 100 
watts.

Later, connected to a dummy load and monitoring output with a scope across 
the load I found that.

    1  The rig always turns on with the metering set to RF mode ... just as 
the manual says.

    2  With the metering in RF mode the power is not controlled at all.  No 
matter where the power level is set (11 to 100 watts with the KPA100 
engaged) the output peaks at over 100 watts.   When I switch the bar display 
to ALC the output is controlled as I would expect ... at whatever the power 
has been set to.

    3  CW mode is normal.


I had thought that ALC would be active and in control even when the metering 
is set to display power instead of ALC level but that does not seem to be 
the case.

I'm using an Icom IC-HM7 mobile mike (amplified).  It seems to have about 
the right amount of output because, at low power settings, the ALC display 
shows a *lot* of ALC (all bars lit most of the time) but at 100 watts the 
ALC display barely flickers which indicates that the mic barely has enough 
output to drive the rig to 100 watts.

Don K7FJ