... when I begin to transmit or enter a QSO, the tuning light will flash red 3 times and it loses tune, swr goes back up and output is reduced. What could be the cause of this?.
3 flashes from the tuning led means the tuner has shifted to BYPASS mode,(swr led should
not be lit. ( yeah, that seems backwards, but,... the swr led is
lit when there is an
acceptable vswr.)
...hitting the tune button on the radio, it will drop to 1.1 on the frequency I tune for. Then when I transmit i can watch my Smeter showing I have a strong signal until the tuner makes a clicking sound and then the red tuning light flashes a few times and my S meter shows a weaker transmitting signal and when I check the swr again, it's gone back up to 1.8 like before the tuning cycle...
Unfortunately I have no test gear, only the swr meter built into the radio.
Bottom line: the tuner can not find an acceptable VSWR so it is defaulting to the safe mode (bypass).
at first I suspected RF affecting the tuner,....... but,...... because the radio is folding back the output power
AFTER the tuner is in bypass, that tells me that you actually DO have an unacceptable VSWR being presented to the radio.
the question is, does the radio return to, and remain at, full output power after the tuner is bypassed?
if yes, then the tuner is the problem. (actual tuner malfunction/RF affecting the tuner)
if no, then the feedline/antenna is the problem
take the tuner out of the circuit and investigate.
BTW, LDG clearly mentions limitations on input power levels for this model,..... 35 watts MAX continuous duty.