Alcator C-Mod Weekly Highlights November 3, 2003 Most C-Mod physicists attended the 45th DPP APS meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico last week. No plasma operation was planned or carried out. Work continued on lower hybrid and ICRF systems and machine maintenance. Plasma Operations will resume this week. Physics ------- Most of the C-Mod physicists attended the APS meeting last week. Seven invited talks, 12 contributed oral presentations, and 23 posters were presented on C-Mod related physics. All of these presentations will be available on line at http://www.psfc.mit.edu/cmod/sciprogram/aps_abstracts.html in the next few days. Operations ---------- General maintenance to power, cryo, and diagnostics systems was performed last week. The diborane system was checked out and is ready to perform the first boronization of the current campaign, which is expected to take place this week. Electron cyclotron discharge cleaning of the vessel continued all week. Lower Hybrid Systems -------------------- We continued to bring the two recently reworked klystrons back into operation with a careful conditioning process. Over a several day period the peak power levels and pulse lengths have been increased on the first tube,which is now producing 1 second pulses at 208 kW. Conditioning of the second tube has just begun. ICRF Systems ------------ Two 35 Ohm transformers have been added to the D-Port antenna transmission line system. These components will be tested this week as part of a load tolerant system capable maintaining a good match to the transmitters during large excursions in antenna loading. Diagnostic Neutral Beam ----------------------- Work continued last week on the arc current correction circuit for the diagnostic neutral beam. The slope corrections to the arc current have reduced the variation in beam current to less than 0.75 A during a typical 50 ms pulse. Travel and Visitors -------------------- Ian Hutchinson, Steve Wolfe and Robert Granetz participated in the Post-APS Error Magnetic Field Workshop in Albuguerque, NM. Hutchinson made a presentation entitled "Non-axisymmetric Fields, Plasma Rotation, and Locked Modes on Alcator C-Mod".