Alcator C-Mod Weekly Highlights
				Oct. 30, 2000

Last week was a maintenance period at Alcator C-Mod. No plasma operations were
scheduled. 

Operations are scheduled to resume this week. 

Engineering
------------

A quick vent of the vacuum vessel, with helium backfill, was performed in
order to reconnect the diagnostic neutral beam system, which had been removed
following a loss-of-vacuum accident in September. The repair to the DNB
beamline was completed last Thursday. A new bellows protection shield was
installed, along with additional beamline instrumentation, to prevent similar
incidents in the future. C-Mod was pumped back down Thursday afternoon and a
low temperature bake at 60C begun.  On Friday, the bake was brought up to 100C
and continued at this level over the weekend.

The TF and PF busses were configured for reversed-field and current operation,
in preparation for experiments to be carried out beginning this week. New
power system instrumentation and interlocks were also added in support of
upcoming testing with increased pulse lengths. The new instrumentation will be
tested and debugged in parallel with normal machine operation. Long-pulse
engineering tests are scheduled for the end of November.

ICRF System
-----------

The J-port ICRF antenna feed lines were returned to a two-strap configuration,
with the center pair of current straps energized as a dipole and the outer
straps grounded. The antenna will be run in this mode for the next series of
plasma experiments. 

Lower Hybrid Development
------------------------

We have been working for the last few weeks on the design of the low power RF
system, and phase and amplitude real-time control of the klystrons.  Two more
klystron carts have been returned to MIT from PPPL.  Four klystrons can be
mounted on each cart.  A third cart is back in-house after being sent out to
be cleaned and enameled.  This cart is now ready for the re-installation of
sockets, power supplies, water cooling equipment, etc.


Visitors and Travel
-------------------

Most of the C-Mod physics staff participated in the APS Division of Plasma
Physics Meeting in Quebec City last week. Forty-two papers describing C-Mod
research, including three invited talks, were presented. 

Dr. K. Ushigusa, leader of JT-60U Experimental Division I, visited C-Mod last
week for discussions under the U.S.-Japan collaboration agreement on
High-Density Operation in Alcator C-Mod. Dr. Ushigusa met with Bruce
Lipschultz, Jim Irby, and Steve Wolfe of the C-Mod team.