On 7/21/2014 10:09 PM, Bob McGraw - K4TAX wrote:
To add to that if you wish, a Bird 43P {clean but used late model
$375} add a 250 watt HF slug {250H @ $175 new} and add 2500 watt HF
slug {2500H @$255 new} is all one needs. Plus if one drops it, it
doesn't break.
Bob,
Add those numbers together and tell me what you get. Don't take your
shoes off. :) I get $805. An it only goes to 30 MHz. And precision is 5%
of full scale. I shopped at hamfests and found a Bird 43 for about $200,
and bought a drawer full of slugs for about $100 each. I've got slugs to
measure the output of talkies on 2M and 440. :) My Birds (two) are
average reading. Actually, one is peak reading, but the required battery
has been obsolete for years. :)
Now, add these numbers: LP100A with a single probe that goes from
1.8-54 MHz, up to 3 kW. $450 Have an SO2R station? Want to study input
and output of your rig? Add a second probe -- $210. Total cost for TWO
rigs is $660. Precision is 5% of the measured value of both power and
SWR, NIST traceable. And it's peak-reading.
The W2 is also a bargin -- $250 as a kit for one probe, 1W to 2kW,
1.8-54 MHz, $100 for a second probe. It's a conventional SWR and power
meter, is peak reading. Accuracy is specified 0.5dB typical. For another
$100, you can get a sensor for 144-450 MHz. When used in an SO2R
station, it can be set to automatically switch to display the radio that
is transmitting. As compared to the LP100A, it does not read Z, so power
is subject to error based on Z of the load.
I also have a CN801. The lamps burned out after a year or two. When set
for peak reading, reflected power is still average.
For most of us, the most important functions of a power/SWR meter are 1)
to tell us if our antenna is broken; 2) telling us approximately where
our antennas are resonant, and 3) to tune our power amplifiers for
maximum smoke, thus minimizing the trash we transmit. The meters I have
allow me to do all of those things, but they don't read real power, so
I'm buying an LP100A. And I'm doing that ONLY because I'm a serious
contester and want to be as competitive as possible but still legal.
73, Jim K9YC
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