[Elecraft] Output power being eaten

[Ed Cole]

There are situations when running a driver at it full output is 
desirable.  Or when running at very low output is not as stable.

Two examples:

I have a 6-dB 30w attenuator on the input of my 2m 1500w LDMOS Amp 
(MRF1K50H) which ensures that my 25w transverter will not overdrive the 
amp.  The attenuator is a small board with high power resistors obtained 
from W6PQL:
http://www.kl7uw.com/2M_W6PQL_1500W_PA.jpg

My 600w 1296 amp requires 10w drive and is 100-foot from the 
transverter.  The LMR600 line loss is 6-dB so I use a 3-dB chip 
attenuator to get a stable 1.5w drive into the 10w driver at the amp:
http://www.kl7uw.com/23cm_driver_1.jpg

That allows me to run my transverter at 12w in the shack (max output is 
18w).

Of course I am using a K3 with KXV3 to drive to my transverter (no 
overshoot).  No external ALC for the K3.

73, Ed - KL7UW