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Base-swr issue

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sideways
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Base-swr issue

#134835

Post by sideways »

Ok, I have a ngp(soon to be remedied) antenna in the attic(B100 Saturn base). This was temp till the snow came off the roof. However, when I went to set the swr, R.S. meter( works fine in the mobile(s), the swr showed 1.5 then started to climb. Checked all connections. Back to ch 1 , swr 1.5 then as I left it keyed it starts to climb up to 3.0 and if I unkey and rekey quickly it is still high. If I leave it sit for a min or so and key it starts at 1.5 and it doesn't jump to 3.0 but starts to rise towards 3 again. I had bought a PDC 5 SWR/power meter & matcher (mostly for an in line swr meter and the power meter) but when I "tune the antenna it holds the swr at 1.5. I did route the coax from the second floor to the basement next to a heat duct. Is what I'm seeing reflect from the duct? or another prob.. Using 100' of RG58, RCI 2970 (that works fine in the mobile (no swr issues).Also using a PS-52KX power supply.
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busman
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#134850

Post by busman »

GET BETTER COAX TO START WITH. ESPECIALLY WITH THAT 2970. RG8X AT LEAST. OR MINI X AS ITS ALSO CALLED. TURN MIC GAIN OFF AND RFPOWER UP TO CHECK SWR. IVE SEEN WHAT YOU DISCRIBE HAPPEN BUT THE GUY HAD A OLD HOOKER LINEAR IN LINE. SOME RADIO SHACK METERS DONT LIKE RADIOS WITH THAT AMOUNT OF POWER AS YOUR 2970. GET BETTER COAX AND TRY A BETTER METER. DOSEY,WORKMAN,ASTATIC METER.
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sideways
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#134852

Post by sideways »

Knew I forgot something, will be going to 213 for the perm antenna, the R.S. meter goes to 2K thought it should have handled it (just starting out can't afford ALL the good toys at once :wink: ) and the "smoke test" was on a Uniden 520 XL. Same results. Thanks for the info though Busman, all tips,tricks,suggestions help us beginners. So does typing slow so we can keep up,lol. Also bought a PDC1089 (1K) TVI filter, then saw the post about they need to cost about $50 or they aren't really a good filter :oops: .
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busman
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#134865

Post by busman »

the cheapo tvi filters make your swr screw up. was going to sugest useing a regular ol 4 watt radio to set your swr. i guess the same thing is happening with it.youll probablyhave better luck with the new coax and the antenna out side. if your gonna run that set up like it is now,use that 510. dont screw up that nice 2970. :D :D your doin fine for a beginer. is that a anttron 99 type antenna you got.???? or a simular style. probably dont work to good in the attic. youd be better off just sticking it on a 10 pole out in your front yard or what ever out side.
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231

#134869

Post by 231 »

The RS meters are actually pretty decent for the money sideways. I ran one for awhile and it concurred very closely with my other meters (especially on SWR).

That being said, I agree with busman. There are certain things that need to be done first. Take it a step at a time and get rid of that NGP antenna. I personally think you'd be happier with a inverted "V" dipole (or horizontal dipole or sloper) in the attic (if you have room) over that unit. Of course it won't be as vertical, but it's standing wave won't be so dependent on the coax and such either. With a dipole you can at least use your RG58. But shorten it up as much as possible, too. At 27.400MHz with RG58 (100')you are only about 58% efficient. At 50' it's rougly 76% efficient (you can check for yourself [Please login or register to view this link]).

;)
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