SWR pegging out

[loosecannon]

lets all back up and take a deep breath shall we? LOL

did anyone else pick up on the fact that this guy is using a cobra mag mount antenna as a base station antenna???

gadget, your SWR is high because you are trying to use a mobile antenna on a base station, and a "not so great" mobile antenna at that.

so what exactly do you have this antenna stuck to?

your air conditioning unit?
probably not going to work too well, but you MIGHT be able to achieve an acceptable SWR doing it this way.

your mobile mag mount needs a large metal surface underneath it like a car roof.
this part actually makes up half the antenna.
without it you are not going to get out very far at all, and could damage your radio.

im also pretty sure that you are not understanding the questions that are being asked of you.
no biggie, we all have to start somewhere.

do this, exactly as i say to do it:

1. connect your antenna coax directly to the back of the radio.
do not put any meters or anything else in line. set your radio to channel 20.

2. turn your DYNAMIKE control all the way down. (counter-clockwise)

3. set the switch by the meter to CAL position.

4. key the microphone, and while it is keyed, adjust the knob labeled
"SWR CAL" until the needle sits right where that little triangle is where the meter says CAL.

5. unkey the microphone.

6. switch the switch by the meter to the SWR position.

7. key the microphone, and write down the reading.
if its between the 1 and the 2 on the SWR scale, tell us that the SWR is around 1.5.
if its between the 2 and the 3 on the SWR scale, tell us that the SWR is about 2.5. see where im going with this?

8. now repeat this procedure on channels 1 and 40. you MUST re-calibrate the meter every time you change channels. post back what your SWR numbers are on 1, 20, and 40.



now, if someone has put whats called a "variable power" in your radio, and used the RF GAIN knob for it, then it will indeed increase your power output when you turn it up.

to be on the safe side, set it at about 10 o'clock position and dont move it throughout the testing.
LC

 

[Robb]

You right, LC!
You da man . . .

 

[hookedon6]

lets all back up and...now, if someone has put whats called a "variable power" in your radio, and used the RF GAIN knob for it, then it will indeed increase your power output when you turn it up...

don't most swr meters also have a "power" function?,.....
just set the meter to PWR and cycle thr RF GAIN pot,... does the output power vary?

 

[gadget]

lets all back up and take a deep breath shall we? LOL

did anyone else pick up on the fact that this guy is using a cobra mag mount antenna as a base station antenna???

gadget, your SWR is high because you are trying to use a mobile antenna on a base station, and a "not so great" mobile antenna at that.

so what exactly do you have this antenna stuck to?

your air conditioning unit?
probably not going to work too well, but you MIGHT be able to achieve an acceptable SWR doing it this way.

your mobile mag mount needs a large metal surface underneath it like a car roof.
this part actually makes up half the antenna.
without it you are not going to get out very far at all, and could damage your radio.

im also pretty sure that you are not understanding the questions that are being asked of you.
no biggie, we all have to start somewhere.

do this, exactly as i say to do it:

1. connect your antenna coax directly to the back of the radio.
do not put any meters or anything else in line. set your radio to channel 20.

2. turn your DYNAMIKE control all the way down. (counter-clockwise)

3. set the switch by the meter to CAL position.

4. key the microphone, and while it is keyed, adjust the knob labeled
"SWR CAL" until the needle sits right where that little triangle is where the meter says CAL.

5. unkey the microphone.

6. switch the switch by the meter to the SWR position.

7. key the microphone, and write down the reading.
if its between the 1 and the 2 on the SWR scale, tell us that the SWR is around 1.5.
if its between the 2 and the 3 on the SWR scale, tell us that the SWR is about 2.5. see where im going with this?

8. now repeat this procedure on channels 1 and 40. you MUST re-calibrate the meter every time you change channels. post back what your SWR numbers are on 1, 20, and 40.



now, if someone has put whats called a "variable power" in your radio, and used the RF GAIN knob for it, then it will indeed increase your power output when you turn it up.

to be on the safe side, set it at about 10 o'clock position and dont move it throughout the testing.
LC

i got a larger antenna, its kinda like a firestik, and it works alot better. my ANT light no longer continually shines when i key my mic, and my SWR is holding steady at 1.2, so its running pretty good. i gotta get offa here, because theres a tornado warning, and there was a tornado spotted less than half a mile from my house.

 

[jazzsinger]

don't most swr meters also have a "power" function?,.....
just set the meter to PWR and cycle thr RF GAIN pot,... does the output power vary?

why would you need a power meter to see if the rf gain is variable power?

a swr meter measures fwd power against ref power (albeit the scale may be marked in swr ratio),therefore all you have to do is set it on cal/set depending on the meter,calibrate it to the set mark,then move the variable power/rf gain control,if the needle moves up or down from the set mark then the control is varying the tx power.

you can use any swr meter for that test,even the cheapest nastiest one available, fair enough it won't give any power readings but it will show if the power is being varied.

in much the same way you can use a radio's s meter to see if the swr is bad,the meter is calibrated to read around 4w when into a 1.0:1 swr from a non reactive dummy load,(assuming some retard hasn't set it to bang of the end of the scale)if that needle moves from that setting on an antenna, the more it moves up or down the more the swr is varied from 1.0:1, its another cheap and nasty trick if you don't have a swr meter or prefer running without one inline.

 

[n0zna]

get a good one,your antenna is 99% of your radio...73s de JW

 

[hookedon6]

why would you need a power meter to see if the rf gain is variable power?

there are MANY methods to determine if the output is variable, but,....... this guy is new, REAL new. he may think a bridge circuit is a racetrack near a river.

perhaps the easiest way is to vary the pot and simply observe the power supply ammeter reading.

 

[loosecannon]

there are MANY methods to determine if the output is variable, but,....... this guy is new, REAL new. he may think a bridge circuit is a racetrack near a river.

perhaps the easiest way is to vary the pot and simply observe the power supply ammeter reading.

yeah hookedon6, i agree that he is very new and we need to start as simple as possible.

judging from his responses to the questions asked, i wasnt sure if he actually had an external SWR meter, or if he meant that he could see the meter from the outside of the radio.


hey gadget, good luck in that tornado!!!
hell of a time to put up an antenna.
LC

 

[gadget]

yeah hookedon6, i agree that he is very new and we need to start as simple as possible.

judging from his responses to the questions asked, i wasnt sure if he actually had an external SWR meter, or if he meant that he could see the meter from the outside of the radio.


hey gadget, good luck in that tornado!!!
hell of a time to put up an antenna.
LC

storm was awesome, pulled the antenna down before the storm, and im glad we did. extreme winds and golf ball sized hail.

 

[hookedon6]

storm was awesome, pulled the antenna down before the storm, and im glad we did. extreme winds and golf ball sized hail.

it was all around me too (i'm in TN for the summer) a few years ago, the eye of hurricane CHARLIE went over my other house in SW Florida, but,.... these storms were much worse! almost 200 people dead