[Elecraft] [K3] Tune Up of ALS-600

[Phil & Debbie Salas]

When you set the ALC on CW, this also sets the ALC for your peak SSB power. 
And you're right - you should adjust the ALC so it just comes on with the 
drive necessary to get your desired output.

That being said, I don't use ALC.  My ALS-600 needs about 65 watts to drive 
it to full output.  Rather than mess with adjusting the drive and/or 
connecting up ALC, I place a relay-switched 2dB attenuator in-line with the 
amplifier.  The attenuator automatically goes in-line when I turn on the 
amplifier so I can just leave my K3 set for 100 watts all the time.  The 
attenuator is inexpensive and easy to make, and works great.  Any full power 
transmit spikes related to a transceiver's ALC not acting fast enough on the 
first dit or speech peak will obviously not be there as the transceiver 
output is already at full power.  This attenuator is described in the 
"Articles" section of my website at ww.ad5x.com.

Phil - AD5X