Will radio's SWR meter blow it?
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fireguy2002
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Will radio's SWR meter blow it?
The title had to be short. I just got my antenna and mic(thanks UPS) and would love to set up my mobile. Is the unit's(specifically a cobra 29 NW/WX) SWR meter going to be so far off that I will burn something out?
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Foxhunter
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I wouldn't trust a radio's own meter when combined with an amplifier and other accessories, especially at higher powers. Although not extremely accurate, I find most normal radio SWR meters---when the calibration is checked and re-calibrated regularly---to be fine in most instances. Especially on a stock radio. Close enough and a general indication of your SWR. Maybe some others will have an opinion or something to add.
Foxhunter 351 NJ
Foxhunter 351 NJ
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fireguy2002
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Thanks man. Just got it all in and actually talked with someone. SWRs looked about 1.5 on the piddly meter. It's about stock w/no amp so I should be fine for now. Thanks all for reading.
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Night Crawler
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The internal meter will be fine for checking the swr between the radio and the antenna.
If you get an amp you'll need an external swr meter which goes between the amplifier and the antenna. If you use the one in the radio while transmitting with the amp it will show the reflected power between the radio and the amplifier not the antenna.
If you get an amp you'll need an external swr meter which goes between the amplifier and the antenna. If you use the one in the radio while transmitting with the amp it will show the reflected power between the radio and the amplifier not the antenna.
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fireguy2002
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Thanks. I'm just barefootin' it for now. I'm not sure I'd want to amp this unit. It's old and I don't know enough about it to try it. I think my next step is a new radio.
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fireguy2002 wrote:Thanks. I'm just barefootin' it for now. I'm not sure I'd want to amp this unit. It's old and I don't know enough about it to try it. I think my next step is a new radio.
The radio swr meter is good enough to set the SWR.....it's all relative. Obviously if you are running an amp, you'll need a seperate meter.
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Bullets
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My radios meter read pretty close to my external SWR meter. But yet When I had high swr's the radio's meter did not show it, but my external did. When I got the SWR lower using my external, then my Radio's meter read close to my external meter's findings. I would just get an external to be safe.
