Bird meter questions.

[distortion]

I bought my first bird meter today for $130.. It's a bird 43, and came with no slugs. It has n-type connectors.. I have not received it yet, but I am assuming these are not compatible.

How much does it cost to convert to a compatible connector?

Also, how harmful is it to the meter to leave it in line in my pickup truck and mount it on my dash or what not. Does leaving it in line at all times cause problems?

Thanks,
Josh

 

[nomadradio]

The connectors are designed to be changed easily. Common name for them is "Q-C", as in "Quick Change". Pull the four screws, and it will 'snap' in and out.

RF Parts has them in all types. There are doubtless many other sources, like Surplus Sales of Nebraska.

Seems to me the "UHF" female (SO-239) type is around sixteen bucks.

Leaving it in line is NOT supposed to affect the antenna system. The Bird is a short section of precision 50-ohm air-insulated coax. Rigid coax.

The common "UHF"-style coax connectors have more power loss in them than the Bird's coax section.

But not nearly enough to measure outside of a calibration laboratory.

Haven't compared prices in years, but if you're only interested in 27 MHz, you have the choice of two versions of the "element" (slug). Type "H" covers 2-30 MHz. Type "A" covers 25-60 MHz. Used to be that the equivalent "A" slug would be cheaper than the "H" slug with the same Wattage range.

I may be out of date on that, but it never hurts to compare, if that's how you'll be using it, on 27 MHz only.

Slugs made by Dielectric Communications and by Coaxial Dynamics will normally work, if they're meant for that type meter.

Bear in mind that not every slug that will fit in the hole is right for a model 43 meter. Bird makes meters for industrial applications that take more current to drive them. Normally a Bird-branded slug will have the power range, followed by ONE (only) letter that indicates the frequency range. A type "1000H" would show 1000 Watts full-scale between 2 and 30 MHz. A "500A" would be a 500-Watt slug for 25-60 MHz.

ANY additional numbers or letters following that first letter at the end COULD mean it won't be compatible with your model 43.

Slugs made by another source won't use this numbering scheme, far as I know. Got their own system of catalog numbers.

73

 

[distortion]

Thanks very much for the information! This is exactly what I needed to know.. you the man. How inaccurate would it be to buy say a 2500 watt slug, and use it for both the driver box and the final box? Ie. Using it for 300 watts, then flipping on the 8-10 pill or what not, and doing 2000+.

Thanks,
Josh

 

[DTB Radio]

Bird advertised accuracy is 5% of full scale for CW (dead-key), and 8% of full scale for PEP. That means your 2500-watt slug will have an error margin of plus or minus 125 watts just on a dead-key measuremen. NOT what you want for your 300 watt measurement.

May I recommend a Wavenode system instead? It eliminates the inaccuracies related to a mechanical meter, and measures much more at a time than just power level. It shows forward power, reflected power, SWR, station supply voltage (and current up to about 20 amps if desired), and it has a myriad of graphing and logging abilities.

 

[Carl]

that little program looks pretty cool but i wonder how accurate it is.

 

[Moleculo]

They came on the forum a while back to talk about their device (Wavenode). It sounded pretty awesome, and very accurate.

 

[Carl]

to bad it didnt measure modulation, it would be pretty killer to bring on the laptop and finally prove to the cheerleader truckers that there galaxy99's dont do 50 watts and there 2 pill dave mades dont put out 400 watts

 

[C2]

they claim accuracy of +/- 10% from 5 to 2000W, and 1W accuracy below 5W (~20%?). This should depend on the sensor though. I can't believe they don't have better accuracy with the 60W sensor.

It looks cool on the surface...and the price ain't too bad.

 

[ss8541]

i can believe it

they claim accuracy of +/- 10% from 5 to 2000W....I can't believe they don't have better accuracy with the 60W sensor.

It looks cool on the surface...and the price ain't too bad.

i can believe this. i have an ifr1600s and hp8920 and both claim accuracy of 10% for power readings. these were $20k+ each machines new. so if $20k+ machines have 10% accuracy then a $200 unit is doing damn good (if it is true).

as for the price and capabilities about them...i'll be purchasing one to see how they do.

 

[AMPOWER]

WHen you have a reflect that you can see on a 5w slug...
for a 2500w avg watt output the readings get more acurate...
Dont let them fool you ... I know ..ive ran Bird for years...

AM POWER

 

[DTB Radio]

I keep both a Bird 4314B and a Wavenode System hooked up right inline with each other, and for levels over 100 watts (my Wavenode sensor is the high-power unit, not that accurate for levels below about 60 watts), the Wavenode System and the Bird jive with each other.

WHen you have a reflect that you can see on a 5w slug...
for a 2500w avg watt output the readings get more acurate...

I agree, as long as your VSWR is that low, then the accuracy will depend entirely on the Bird published specs themselves, assuming the Bird is in proper calibration. If the VSWR is significant, then you'll need to subtract the reflected from the forward to get the actual power being developed.

 

[nomadradio]

Best rule for good accuracy on a Bird is to choose a slug that keeps your reading in the top two-thirds of the scale.

My experience has been that readings taken from the lower third of the scale are pretty reliable, but that's the advice I remember from Bird Electronics, anyway.

73