Hi,
Being a new ham, I have never used a grid dip meter or actually seen
someone use one. I've read the historical movement from people using
grid dip meters to "SWR analyzers". I've also read that using a a real
grid (tube) dip meter is the way to go.
That being said, I need to determine the resonant frequency on some
parasitic elements for a cubical quad I am building. Not having time
to scour the used market for recommended makes/models, I bought the
MFJ-201 Dip Meter new. Ok, time to test this thing out - I read the
vague owner's manual and headed outside to try to dip my 75 meter
loop. I made a small loop in the wire in a corner close to the ground
and moved the coil on the MFJ dip meter around the loop (in the loop)
after setting the sensitivity as directed by the manual. I spun the
thumb wheel all the way from 2.0Mhz up to 8Mhz.
No dips - no nothing. Same experience I had when I tried using the dip
adapter coil for my MFJ-259B (which I have read is also worthless).
Ok - what am I doing wrong? The owners manual talks about "loosely
coupling" to the circuit under test. What does that mean exactly? Is
this MFJ-201 just as useless as the MFJ-259B with the dip adapter?
-Scott, WU2X
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