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The lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) system is an important system in superconducting steady state tokamak (SST-1). It is used to drive and maintain the plasma current for 1000 s with a duty cycle of 17%. The LHCD system is being designed to launch 1 MW of radio frequency (rf) power at 3.7 GHz. The rf source is comprised of two high power klystron amplifiers, each capable of delivering 500 kW rf power. In this article, the results obtained during installation and commissioning of these klystrons are presented. Two klystrons (model TH2103D) have been successfully installed and commissioned on dummy loads, delivering ∼200 kW power for more than 1000 s. The maximum output power that could be obtained is limited due to the available direct current (dc) power supply. The test system is comprised of a TH2103D klystron, a low power rf (3.7 GHz/25 W) source, two high power four port circulators, two high power dual directional couplers, two arc detector systems, and two dummy water loads. To avoid rf breakdown in the rf components of the transmission line, the system has been pressurized with dry air to 3 bar. To energize and operate the klystron, a high voltage dc power supply, a magnet power supply, an ion pump power supply, a -65 kV floating anode modulator power supply, and a filament power supply are used. An arc detector unit has been installed to detect and initiate action within a few microseconds to protect the klystron, waveguides, and other rf passive components during arcing. To protect the klystron in the event of an arc, a fast responding (<10 μs), rail gap based pressurized crowbar unit has been used. The entire system is water cooled to avoid excess temperature rise during high power continuous wave operation of the klystron and other rf components. The tube requires initial conditioning. Thereafter, the output rf power is studied as a function of beam parameters such as cathode voltage and beam current. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]