| Author |
Message |
    
Stogie
Junior Member
Username: Stogie
Post Number: 10
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 1:39 pm: | 
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Hi,
Recently switched antenna from a wilson 2000 to a monkey made in my old 379. Had a CB shop check my SWR's they said the best they could get was 1.3
After I got home I thought I would go out and get my own SWR meter, so I could check for myself in the future etc. So off I went to radio shack and bought one of their $35.00 ser/power meters.
Got home, hooked it up to check, and found my swr's as follows:
Freq. SWR
25.6152 1.2
26.0551 1.2
26.0652 1.22
26.5051 1.60
26.5152 1.65
26.9551 2.15
26.9652 2.20 Ch 1 am
27.2051 2.75 Ch 20 am
27.4051 2.90 Ch 40 am
27.8651 3.40
As I tune further up in the bands it keeps going up
I called the CB shop and they said the radio shack meters are known to be junk, and theirs were much more accurate and better. They used a type which just hooked to the antenna coax without any power on etc. I never did see them trim my antenna, perhaps they forgot? From the numbers I get I assume the antenna is to long?
I took back the swr meter to radio shack and ordered a DOSY SWR/power meter good to 4000 watts from copper. If it comes in by Saturday I'll post results. What do you think?
1. Bad meter?
2. They forgot to trim antenna
3. Something else going on?
Thanks,
Richard
Stogie 525
CEF 345 |
Tech808
Moderator
Username: Tech808
Post Number: 2835
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 5:44 pm: |
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Richard,
Our Monkey Mades we ran on our 2000 Pete 379 (Short Nose) and on our 2000 KW L-900 had the Stingers cut exactly to 44 + 7/8 Inches.
They were inserted into the Antenna Exactly 1 + 3/16 Inches.
We ran a 9' Co-phased harness that I made myself out of Mini 8 and Amphenol PL-259's hooked to our Ranger 2970DX.
This gave us a 1.1 to 1.3 across the Entire CB band, channel 1 thru 40.
It could be a bad Meter or They did not trim it or something else.
On our 2000 Pete 379 We ran power direct from the batteries and ran extra wires from the Mirror Mounts Direct to the frame.
The grounding system on the Petes are Terriable.
And the factory coax is about the next best thing to a coat hanger and leaves a LOT to be desired.
For some reason the big truck builders build a truck they think everyone is going to use a little 4 watt CB and nothing else.
I would suggest that you check the Coax, Ground and Stinger Length to start with.
Let me know what you find.
Hope this Helps.
Lon
Tech808 |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 1323
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 7:06 pm: |
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HA JUNK !
Nothing wrong with a radio shack meter ...... It an't a bird but what do you need a test to see if your antenna is working or lab results! I realy love thoes shops that tell you " THEIR " meter is the only one that works! I have a array of cheep meters mose cb ones and guess what they work ok even at 2 METERS ! The one you ordered should be a good one i had a DOSY and it's a GOOD meter you should realy like it....... My meter i use here cost $19 and i checked it aganst my bird ....... GOLLY ! they read about the same! Lon is right i think they didnt cut the antenna right and remember your COAX will efect your reading too..... if your in doubt of a reading add a peice of coax in line and see if it changes things ..... Yep thoes BAD RADIOSHACK METERS ....
dang ...... radio shack! |
Highlander
Advanced Member
Username: Highlander
Post Number: 544
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 8:33 pm: |
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I'd try shortening it till you get the center where you want it. Just shorten it a little at a time, checking it each time. I usually set mine to have the center freq right around channel 20. Looks like you are centered WAY down low right now. |
Stogie
Junior Member
Username: Stogie
Post Number: 11
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 02, 2004 - 8:02 am: |
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Thanks for the replies....
I am running 18' of new coax from box to antenna, 12' from box to radio. All new. Not that I need the length for the way things are setup. it's just what they recommended to me. I have all the excess coiled up in an 8.
I had 1.1 & 1.2 from 1 -40 with the wilson, my old Pete is all steel & alum with a 3406B mech. Everything is wired directly to the batteries. I also will be running a ground strap from the antenna mount to the frame. I will post results from Dosy and will measure stinger today to see what the length is. Do they come in a standard length? If I knew I could see if it's been cut.
Thanks,
Richard
Stogie 525
CEF 345 |
Viking
Intermediate Member
Username: Viking
Post Number: 140
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Friday, July 02, 2004 - 10:45 am: |
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The problem I have with my Dosy is that I need at least 4(ish) watts to even get the meter to calibrate for SWR's (most of my radios are turned down to about 2W). That's where a good ol' reliable Radio Shack meter will work for you (ok, well, me). If the meter's not lab calibrated and it shows a 1.1 instead of 1.3, so what. Of course if it shows a 1.1 when it's actually a 3.1, then we got problems. The Radio Shack meters will not do that though. |
Dindin
Intermediate Member
Username: Dindin
Post Number: 239
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 02, 2004 - 8:35 pm: |
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Viking,just checked my Dosy tfc3001,swr and mod both will cal down to .6 watts.after recal at 4 watts it still shows swr at 1.1 on ch20.also checked 10 watt power scale and swr, both track on the money with the meter on the Galaxy DX2547.now the freq counter on the Dosy is another story.It's pretty flaky(very unstable)! |
Geekster
Junior Member
Username: Geekster
Post Number: 49
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 11:57 am: |
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Out of the box what frequency range is the Wilson 200 good for and what SWR can be expected from the range of 25-28Mhz? |
Alsworld
Advanced Member
Username: Alsworld
Post Number: 834
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 1:51 pm: |
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Viking,
My Dosy 4002 does the same. It takes me 4 1/2 watts at the minumum just to set SWR. Mine has always read SWR higher than any other meter I've compared it to.
Alsworld |
Viking
Intermediate Member
Username: Viking
Post Number: 142
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 12:29 pm: |
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That's what I have, the 4002. Other than the 4W requirement for SWR reading, I haven't had any problems with the readings. My thoughts are, if it shows below 1.5, don't worry about it. Don't get me wrong, it took me about 8 years to figure that out. Also, nobody likes checking their power output on my meter because it shows less peak than other meters. Again, my thoughts, if the meter goes from left to right while talking, it must be good. |
Stogie
Junior Member
Username: Stogie
Post Number: 12
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 1:36 pm: |
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Well, my Dosy 4001 came in, checked SWR's with and without amp. Without amp in line it was 1.4 on CH1 and 1.6 on CH 40. took 1/8" off and its now 1.4 and 1.5. Very different from radio shack meter.
With the amp in line with the meter after the amp the SWR's go way up, 2.5 and 3.0 on CH1 and ch40. Is this normal for an amp?
I called CB shop and they said don't worry about it, that the high reading with the amp is meaningless. Any thoughts?
Richard
Stogie 525
CEF 345
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Tech237
Moderator
Username: Tech237
Post Number: 71
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 9:13 am: |
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I have used Radio Shack SWR meters for years. Checked most against a 50 dummy load. I have yet to have one be out by more than 1%.
Right now I have a 3 Range Power/Modulation/SWR meter sitting in line with my B7W Dipole on the TS-520, a second one in line with my HTX-10 and a smaller straight SWR meter on my Cobra.
Now I'll admit to using an MFJ Antennalyser to set my antennas up but the R/S meter are good.
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Tech237
Moderator
Username: Tech237
Post Number: 72
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 9:14 am: |
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I should have added that while operating I do not pay attention to what the SWR actually is just keep an eye out for meter swings out of the norm.
If such happens then I recalibrate and check properly. |
Geekster
Member
Username: Geekster
Post Number: 52
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 9:54 am: |
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SWR should not change with higher power levels unless there is a problem with the feedline or antenna. (I am assuming that you recalibrated for full scale on FWD when applying power).
The problem with measuring SWR at low power levels is diode linearity. Choosing the correct diodes and or a compensating circuit will eliminate this problem.
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Tech548
Moderator
Username: Tech548
Post Number: 123
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 4:20 am: |
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Stogie
Neither a Wilson 2000 or Monkey Made will cover the full frequency range that you stated. And personally I don't know of any antenna that will.
A lot of people seem to think that if an antenna cost a lot of money and has big coils, then it must be a great antenna. Those big coils certainly are an eye catcher but their windload at 70+ MPH can be tremendous. The problem I find with them is the fact that 99% of them are only 1/4 wave antennas-----big massive coils and a short whip. If I was in RF competition using 10 thousand + watts of power in a non moving vehicle, then yes, I would opt for the Monkey Made. That's what they were designed and built for...thousands of watts of RF power.
If I was limited to only a Monkey Made or a Wilson 2000 that was going to be used on a moving vehicle, I'd take the Wilson. It can do about anything the M-M can do but with less strain on it.
Out of all the antennas I have experimented with, I found the 6' 1/2 wave Anttron 1700 to be one of the most broad banded mobile antennas I have ever played with. They are capable of covering 180+ channels when using 18' of coax and with a good groundplane under them. Since they are so wide banded, they do nothing but compliment any 10 meter radio.
I have lost count how many mobile antennas I have tested for local long-distance (non skip) talking. I'll stay with my 6' Anttron 1700's until something better comes along.
Note: Stogie, the above statements are just my personal opinions based on 30+ years of experience with mobile antenna trial and error and should not be the deciding factor in your choice of antennas.
Jeff, Tech548. |
Stogie
Junior Member
Username: Stogie
Post Number: 13
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 6:15 pm: |
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Jeff (tech548),
Interesting comments.. The only reason I was testing at such a large freq. range was that I was trying to figure out what was going on. My SWR's still head north with power, I get the best SWR's ar 3.5 watt deadkey. At 12 watt DK they go up around 25% - 30%. They are stll lowest way down low around 26.065, right at 1.2. I've tryed different length antenna coax 18',12' 9' etc. I've tried different length jumpers from the radio to the meter and box. Seems to want 18' coax for the antenna, and from the bradio to the meter (or box) does not seem to make any difference. tried 1',3',6',9' and 12'all new. Have my antenna now set 25 degrees forward from vertical.
I really think the monkey made brings in the signals a bit better, though it does have a bit more noise than the Wilson. However if I can't get my SWR's down using the amp, I will go back to the Wilson 2000 or try something else.
Stogie 525
CEF 345 |
Semo_rebel
Member
Username: Semo_rebel
Post Number: 64
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 16, 2004 - 12:41 am: |
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Nearly any SWR meter can be wrong. I used to use a Rat Shack SWR/Field Strenght meter with no problems. Most meters have internal pots, VRs, or the such that can get knocked out of whack by bumps and vibration.
I prefer my MFJ SWR analyzer. Which is what the original poster seemed to describe. |
Stogie
Junior Member
Username: Stogie
Post Number: 15
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 16, 2004 - 2:12 am: |
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Did some more work on my setup in my Pete. Found that with a 3' coming out of my radio to the amp (which is really to short due to where it belongs in the truck) and a 1' jumper to the meter, and 18" to the antenna I got my SWR's down to a steady 2.0 which is less than when I was using a 12' jumper and a 6' which gave me SWR's of 3 deadkey and 1.85 at the top of swing.
How much does having the meter inline affect SWR's? It's a DOSY 4001. Seems they might go down further without it inline?
Thanks,
Stogie 525
CEF 345 |
Tech548
Moderator
Username: Tech548
Post Number: 134
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 16, 2004 - 5:40 pm: |
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Stogie
Yes, I understood what you were doing. And that's exactly the way to do it when trying to find its best resinating frequencies.
On another note, I've seen many antennas on big trucks with such a forward rake (angle) on them that they look like a charging bull running down the highway. Not only does it look silly but it also has a dramatic effect on the transmitted signal.
Leaning them too far forward sends the RF signal straight down into the ground and straight up into the air. Mobile antennas were not designed to perform at radical degrees of angle. Just be carefull how much of a lean you put on them.
Jeff
Tech548 |
Stogie
Junior Member
Username: Stogie
Post Number: 17
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 10:58 pm: |
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Thanks to everyone for your suggestions...
I spent the entire day grounding everything on the truck, ran a separate ground wire from each (4) batteries to the frame plus from the alt. to the frame, strapping from the antenna mount to the visor, and 3 from the body to the frame from various points. All strapping under 18".
Now I have 6' of coax from the radio to the amp, 12' from the amp to the meter, and 18' from the meter to the antenna.
SWR's are now 1.4 on ch 1 and 1.5 on ch. 40 with amp off. Still are high when amp on, but I'm told it doesn't matter.
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Semo_rebel
Member
Username: Semo_rebel
Post Number: 65
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 12:26 am: |
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Yes Jeff, but a slight angle is a good idea. The reason I say that is that if the ant is too flexible when the driver goes down the road the ants lean back too far and again the signal would be lost.
However some drivers believe that when they lean them forward it acts like beams and they are directing their signal forward.
Personally I wouldn't reccomend more than 5-10 degrees forward depending on the flexibility of the ant. If it is a solid ant with a whip on the end no more than 5 degrees period. If it is like a 5/16ths inch thick fiberglass ant I wouldnt recomend an angle at all.
My 2 cents.
Here's two more cents....
If your antennas bend back at highway speed, you will NOT 'lose your signal'.
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Bob_p
Intermediate Member
Username: Bob_p
Post Number: 296
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 1:12 pm: |
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Kind of a late follow up here, but my Dosy reads SWR much higher than the meter in my Radio and the two Radio Shack meters I have, one of which is new SWR Power meter. I also have a PDC 600 that reads about the same as the Radio and Radio Shack meters, so I have to wonder about the accuracy of the Dosy SWR readings. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 1522
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 2:33 pm: |
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easy check on vswr
if you OWN a dummy load use it to check a meter you should get a low swr. If you DONT own a load get a non reactive 50 ohm resistor such as a carbon one and use it as a load again it should sho a good match ........ if it does your meter is working! |
Bob_p
Intermediate Member
Username: Bob_p
Post Number: 297
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 8:07 pm: |
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Thanks Bruce I'll end up getting a cheap dummy load. But I have to think that since there are three old and one brand new meter that supports the better SWR the Dosy would logically be the one out. But I will get a dummy load before I get another meter.
73
Bob |
Bob_p
Intermediate Member
Username: Bob_p
Post Number: 301
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, September 03, 2004 - 6:51 pm: |
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Just bought a DL-100 and a Decibel db4303b dummy load. The tech at Dosy was telling me they were checking out with a 1.1.1 SWR on their meter. But I believe there must be something wrong with the reading since they were different drom each other, as well as from other meters. Plus when he took one of the meters out to check it out at a friends house it did not match what his friends meter was showing as his SWR. My friends meter is a Syncron SWR Watt meter, and it shows he has a 1.7.1 SWR. the Dosy showed he had a 1.1.1 SWR. I was using a two PDC SWR meters a PDC 5 and a PDC 600 then a Vanco SWR 100, and three Radio Shack meters, one brand new. They all show a 1.2.1 SWR or under on the regular 40. The Dosy's were showing a 1.5.1, 1.7.1. and a 2.0.1 SWR. I will have two dummy loads now to check any problems I might have in the future with futurt meters. But I honestly think there was something wrong with the boards on the Dosy meters I received. I could be wrong, but it sure looks odd. |
Tech548
Moderator
Username: Tech548
Post Number: 278
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, September 03, 2004 - 11:10 pm: |
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Yep. Kinda makes ya wonder dont it?
Jeff |
Bob_p
Intermediate Member
Username: Bob_p
Post Number: 306
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 2:57 am: |
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Jeff I can clearly see why you did not want to say what your opinion was earlier on the other post about Dosy. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 1525
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 11:03 am: |
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BOB
REMEMBER VSWR is a result of XL, XC and R you can show LOW readings on one meter while another shows a slightly higher one. I use a noise bridge it will show all of them. This meter is of little use for most CB'ers however ...
A SWR bridge will show you a ratio like 2:1 but it won't tell you much more. Now a noise bridge measures both resistance and reactance and if the antenna is not resonant at the frequency you want, it will tell you how much of the
impedance is resistance and how much is reactance. All this said its EASY to see why 3 meters will show diffrent readings ALL may be right. |
Bob_p
Intermediate Member
Username: Bob_p
Post Number: 308
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 1:24 pm: |
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Bruce I understand what your saying but all I can do is trust the tools I have at hand. What your saying is even though I have 6 meters that read I have a 1.1.1 or slightly higher SWR accross the regular 40, and a high SWR at 29.700. The Dosy meters could still be right reading a 2.0.1 at the regular 40 and a flat SWR at 29.700. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 1528
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 6:25 pm: |
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BOB
My traped dipole reads 1.3/1 at 7.250, 14.250, 21.300 HOWEVER it's VERY INTRESTING to go read it with the bridge RESISTANCE and inductive and cap reactances go all over the place ....HOWEVER add them up and the swr meter is right!
Bottom line is your meter will tell you is you have a working antenna ....... under 2/1 is a working antenna .... EXACT numbers can be found but why bother.....
NOW as for any meter you do not TRUST and reads diffrent that several others ..... THAT diffrent i would have doubts its working too ....
I use a BIRD and a DRAKE and back them up with a CHEEP cb one .....reading do differ but track UNLIKE THAT DOSY. If it's within the warntee have it looked at.
Bruce |
Bob_p
Intermediate Member
Username: Bob_p
Post Number: 312
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 8:24 pm: |
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Bruce I returned the meter and they sent two others to try, and offered a refund. I tried the meters and they read differently from each other in SWR and power. I understand the power readings are really not accurate on any of the cheap meters. But the Dosy meters gave me different readings in power and SWR so I have to think they were sending me seconds or refurbs to replace the first one that I had. The first one seems to have had a short that caused the finals in my Cobra 148 GTL to fail. That's another story, but the short of it is the meter was somehow breaking up my TX and sometimes the TX would be very low on the recieve end or the radio would show it was transmitting and the Dosy wouldn't show any movement on the power scale at all. I took the Dosy out of line and the problem was cured. I stupidly put the Dosy back in line and was trying to make a final determination exactly what the problem was and the TX stopped all together on the Cobra.
Anyway the two they sent me have been returned and I am thinking about replacing them with an Astatic 700. I've heard pretty good things on that meter. But that little Radio Shack meter I bought for $35.00 or so made me pretty happy. It read exactly the way the PDC 600 read. With a 1.2.1 SWR and about 160 watts swing on SSB out of the Copper tuned RCI 2970DX on a well grounded I-Max 2000. The only problem is the meter is small and hard to read at a distance for me anyway. |
Tech548
Moderator
Username: Tech548
Post Number: 280
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 2:32 pm: |
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Bob
In one of your above posts, you said that you have a "flat" SWR at 29.700. I just have to ask....why are you even taking SWR readings there?
If you don't use or are not licensed for those frequencies, then SWR readings at those frequencies mean nothing.
I realize that your new I-Max 2K will easily band (cover) about 4Mhz but that's not to say that you will have a perfect SWR through-out that whole 4Mhz range. On the outer edges you should see your SWR up to around a 2.1: or more and from there it will start climbing quite rapidly.
What's important here are the SWR readings that you have in the frequency range that you will or actually do use. For now, don't worry about taking SWR readings on frequencies that you don't or can't use.
Many SWR Meters react differently in different ranges because not all SWR Meters are designed the same. And some are not designed to cover the whole HF range. But that's a whole different subject here that I won't get into now.
Bottom line here is this. As Bruce said, "anything under a 2.1 is easily workable". And personally, I have no qualms about using a 2.1 or even a 2.5 on SSB.
When you receive your new Astatic-700, then start taking notes again. Until then, I think you are worrying about nothing. You apparently have good coax and a good antenna. It doesn't get much better than that my friend.
Jeff
Tech548 |
Bob_p
Intermediate Member
Username: Bob_p
Post Number: 314
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 3:36 pm: |
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Hi Jeff
I’m a no-code tech working on my code, and waiting to see what happens when or if the FCC decides to pass the new band structure. So I was looking into the future, and the SWR of the Dosy reading a flat SWR up there when the PDC and other meters were showing a large U shaped curve just added fuel to my thought the Dosy was not reading correctly. The PDC and Radio Shack Meters were showing above a 2.5.1 SWR up there and near a 1.1.1 near 27.200. So it did not make any sense that the Dosy would read 2.0.1 at the center near 27.200 and near flat SWR at 29.700, which as you know would be the high end of the General Class 10 meter privileges. Over all the Dosy was just reading so differently from the other meters, it was causing me some confusion with the info I was receiving.
I had talked to George at Dosy who said he had calibrated the meters and was sure they were right but when I asked him to put them on a real antenna on a real base and compare the SWR to the meter that was already at the station he said they did not agree and excused that by saying that they were different boards. I asked if they were within a point or two and again he said no, but again they were different boards and so he did not expect that they would read the same or even near the same.
I can under stand them not reading the same being different boards, but I would think they should be close.
73
Bob |
Tech548
Moderator
Username: Tech548
Post Number: 283
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 1:48 am: |
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Bob
Welllll, you know my thoughts on these meters. I've been playing with them for quite a few years now and I'm pretty well set in my ways and of course I have my preferences. And you will too when you get your new Astatic-700.
I don't really know if or what changes has made to them since the PDC line was purchased by Astatic, but if they are basically the same meter as when PDC had them, then you'll be happy. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Until then, this is my last word on the matter so let's let sleeping dogs lay until you let us know what your SWR results are after you get your new Astatic-700.
Jeff
Tech548 |
Bob_p
Intermediate Member
Username: Bob_p
Post Number: 321
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 1:31 pm: |
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Tech548
Hi Jeff
I will post the results the day the meter gets here. I have to believe it will be close to the other PDC 600 I have or no more than a point or so different. I read someone said the changes that Astatic made where for the most part where just the increased power rating lighted back and such. But that the core of the meter was the same. I sure hope that's right.
By the way more and more of us are getting togethter on echo-link. I don't know iof your interested, but thought I would throw that out there.
As always thank you for taking the time for responding to my post
73
Bob |
Therealporkchop
Member
Username: Therealporkchop
Post Number: 62
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 10:47 am: |
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Man, that dang ole radio shack man...dag on you got dang ole problems man,we got dag on answers man..talkin' bout ole swr's dag on ole radio burned up man..(Boomhower) |
Kilowatt
Member
Username: Kilowatt
Post Number: 61
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, October 17, 2004 - 12:26 am: |
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I like the Radio Shack meters, myself. They do a pretty good job, and if I happen to break one doing a mobile installation, it's no big deal as they are inexpensive.
On SWR readings, they should be just about as accurate as anything else as long as it is calibrated correctly.
Just my two cents! |
Sg569
Junior Member
Username: Sg569
Post Number: 24
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 7:52 pm: |
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I ahve always used a rat shak meter,and it has not been off more than .2-.3 for swr and it has been dropped and worse ( I know not good) it still reads the same. I had someone else check my swr w/ thier meter and it read the same as that rat shak meter of mine. no complaints here
sg569 |
Pig040
Advanced Member
Username: Pig040
Post Number: 635
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 10:43 am: |
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I always use an MFJ antenna analyzer to check my antennas, and find that My Aries meter read consistently higher than the mfj, by a little, the meter on my Kenwood closely mirrors the mfj, and my el cheapo radio shack field strength/swr meter at 1/3 the cost of the aries agrees with the KW and MFJ. The Dosy I formerly owned was off the hook, high on power, and low on swr.
Rich |
