On Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:00:11 -0800, Sam wrote:
> The way i understand it is that with a solid state final
>amp in the driver, you don't need ALC.
That's pretty much true of all modern amps and modern transceivers. You
adjust the power output control of your transceiver (in this case, the Omni
VI) to get the "right" power out of your amp. With an amp you've never used,
start with some low drive power like 20 watts, tune the amp for max output,
then bring up the drive power until you're close to rated output and re-tune
the amp. The tuning of a tube power amp will change with output power.
That's because the impedance of the tube changes depending on its power.
Setting a transceiver for full output and depending on ALC reduce the power
is a sure recipe for key clicks and splatter. The only GOOD use of ALC is as
"belt and suspenders" -- that is, adjust your Omni VI as I've described, but
do hook up the ALC (if the rig accepts ALC) so that when you goof and connect
the wrong antenna (or the antenna breaks) the ALC will tell the rig to back
off on the drive power.
73,
Jim K9YC
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