Tim Wescott wrote:
If one were very clever one may be able to make the last leg of the
attenuator a pair of back-to-back diodes that would clip at a moderately
low level, protecting the module while still allowing it to work when you
_do_ set the radio to low power.

I don't think it is a good idea to have a signal clipped by diodes,
then amplified by a wideband amplifier and fed into a transmitting antenna.
But hey, to each his likings!