[Elecraft] attenuator in amp was Re: K3 and Expert 1K-FA

[Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-655-8604]

Hm, I wonder if the KPA500 has or can have provision for this.  That
amp can be driven to full output by 30 watts or so, IIRC.  With the K3
(or K2), power control could be done automatically by having the amp
tell the radio that it's active over the serial interface, but it's
clear the KPA500 has much provision for being used with radios other
than the K3.

73, doug

   From: Alan Bloom <n1al at cds1.net>
   Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:32:18 -0700

   On Wed, 2010-04-21 at 12:23 -0400, Tom W8JI wrote:

   > The correct approach would be an 
   > attenuator pad so the radio could run at near full power and 
   > not have a chance of overdriving the amp, ...

   I don't understand why more people don't do that.  For example, a 3 dB
   attenuator between the transceiver and amplifier ensures that a 100W
   exciter won't overdrive an amplifier that requires 50W of drive.  The 3
   dB loss on receive is hardly ever an issue but if you're worried about
   it, just put the attenuator inside the amplifier, after the T/R relay.

   Seems like a simple, foolproof solution.