This e-mail appeared Nov 24, 2008 on the Omni VII yahoo group:
(edited on 12/13/08)

I own an AL80b with a single 3-500z.  I drive it with 100
watts.  The tube is likely to burn out if driven with 150 watts.  I
did increase the output of my Omni VII to 100 watts to match the
output of my Icom 756 Pro 3, which showed to have 100 watts output on
a bird 43 watt meter with a 100 watt element.  Here is how I
increased the output of my Omni VII.  This procedure is not
recommended by Ten Tec, but it worked for me.


You will need to have a second rig to listen for splatter on ssb
before and after any adjustments.  You also need a way to measure 100
watts pretty accurately.  I had a second rig, an Icom 756 Pro 3, and
a bird 43 wattmeter with a 100 watt element.  The Omni VII will need
to be put on a 50 ohm load (not your amplifier).  Set the power to
100%.  Before doing any adjustments, check your output power on cw
key down on all bands.  The ALC light on the front should be
operating properly.  Check for ssb splatter on all bands.  You should
not be splattering.  When I overdrive my Omni VII on ssb, I can cause
it to generate some splatter.  But its very clean when not
overdriven.  Note whether you get an over-current indication on any
band in either cw or ssb.  My over-current message is most likely to
occur on 12 meters.  The over-current will limit the maximum power
you can get out of your Omni VII.  I ran into the over-current
problem big time when the power was increased to about 110 watts.  At
100 watts out, the over-current should not be a problem if the swr is
near 1:1.  I don't think you would ever be able to reach 150 watts
without running into the over-current limitation.


There are two settings that control the power.  One setting is the
ALC on the top left about midway back (FWD pot).  The other setting is
a power adjustment on the bottom.  Note how these pots are set before
changing them.  You will find they are touchy when adjusted.  In cw
mode with 100% power, rotate the top ALC pot so the ALC light goes
off.  Now the only thing limiting the output is the bottom
pot.  Increase the power using the bottom pot.  When that is set (I
recommend no more than 105 watts), then reset the top ALC setting to
get the proper ALC action on cw and ssb while still running a full
100 watts output on cw.  Do the tests on all bands for over-current
and proper ALC action on ssb and cw.  Check for splatter on ssb.


Fiddling with these pots might cause you to have to send your rig
back to TenTec for a tuneup.  I'm sure they could use the extra income - hi.


73 es gud luck, de k5gp