What do I look for in a SWR meter?

[James86004]

I need a SWR meter for my VHF/UHF radios, and am a little overwhelmed with the options. Do I want one that is a wattmeter, too? Should I get one that can handle high wattages for my future base station?

 

[1911]

Generally, you get what you pay for in an SWR meter. For me, it was worth it to pony up and buy a decent antenna analyzer - I bought an MFJ 259B second-hand for $150. It has a built-in signal generator so you don't have to power-up the radio, and has a ton of other diagnostic features and tools besides just SWR. Does all bands too.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Get the tuner, it's worth the extra few buck for the amount of $$ you pay.

 

[xtatik]

Generally, you get what you pay for in an SWR meter. For me, it was worth it to pony up and buy a decent antenna tuner - I bought an MFJ 259B second-hand for $150. It has a built-in signal generator so you don't have to power-up the radio, and has a ton of other diagnostic features and tools besides just SWR. Does all bands too.

No ham should be without a 259b, or better yet....a friend with a 259b:coffeedrink:. It's the best investment you'll make as a ham. An SWR meter/bridge tells you very little about how an antenna is actually performing. Oh, and BTW, the 259b is an analyzer, not a tuner. It has no matching network. You don't want a tuner.

 

[Fish]

or better yet....a friend with a 259b

And what part of SoCal do you live in again?

 

[xtatik]

And what part of SoCal do you live in again?

take a number....get in line:coffeedrink:

 

[1911]

Oh, and BTW, the 259b is an analyzer, not a tuner. It has no matching network. You don't want a tuner.

You are correct; my mistake.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Does all bands too.

The MFJ-259 does HF and VHF but not UHF. The MFJ-266 and MFJ-269 analyzers both do 70cm.

I agree, one of the best investments a ham can make, but arguably much more so if you're doing HF. For just VHF FM, best to find a ham buddy with one since you probably will use it a lot less.

 

[Mash5]

I have one of these. I wouldn't recommend this exact one because the bevel in the plastic window makes it hard to read the needle but there are lots in this price range that are functionally identical. That said it works fine to make sure that my setup is not way messed up. I wish I had coin for an analyzer and I'm sure some day I will. For now this keeps me from using up all my fiends points just to check my setup if something is new in it. With an analyzer you can optimize your setup to that last 10% of performance but an SWR will tell you what you need to know... vis: is my setup working?
I'm sure the guys with $70,000 antenna sweeps will tell you that an analyzer wouldn't tell you much too. Buy the best you can afford and enjoy it.

 

[James86004]

Thanks for all the responses. I don't currently have an HF rig, but I do have my General license and do plan to get into HF in the next year or so, so I would rather go ahead and get the tool I need in the future than just one I need now.

So, what other test equipment should I be looking at? I have a pretty compelling need to get an oscilloscope for some non-radio reasons. Would I need anything more?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Antenna analyzer, RLC meter, good (RMS) multimeter, bench power supply, dummy load, quality soldering iron.

'Scopes are nice to have, but I'm not sure they are all that much use generally anymore. I would get one if it's cheap, but if you're spending any real money I would put it towards a spectrum analyzer.

One I've had my eye on for a while now:
http://www.newark.com/aim-tti-instruments/psa1301t/analyzer-spectrum-150khz-to-1300mhz/dp/88K0921

 

[Tennmogger]

Sometimes simple is better, especially if it's going to lay around in your truck. I like the crossed needle SWR meters because they give you an idea how the antenna is performing (reflected power), forward power out indication, how the radio is transmitting, and cost is usually well under $100. I have used a Daiwa CN-520 for years (but it's HF to 60 MHz only) but that gives you an idea. High power is not needed because testing is supposed to be done at lowest practical power output anyway. Even a single meter box works fine and can monitor reflected power on a tuned antenna even if high power is used. A cheap CB SWR meter can often be used on VHF and HF but won't read any values absolute. Most of the time a relative reading is plenty to tune the system to minimize reflected power.

Bob WB4ETT