Hello all and I am glad to have found this site.
I have recently acquired a Yaesu FT-7800R dual-band rig that I am using in the shack for now. However, I purchased this radio used and I have a few questions about its power output. The max power on VHF is 50W and for UHF is 40W. I have the rig connected to a Workman SX144/430 SWR meter which is a crosshair meter showing forward and reflected power. I am not all that familiar with these type of meters and I have a couple of questions regarding the results I am seeing:
1. I am not seeing the max power outputs on either band. The highest I have measured is ~30 to 35W on VHF and 20W or so on UHF. On average, I am measuring about half of the rated power for the rig. This happens in each power setting mode, which are
50/20/10/5 for VHF
40/20/10/5 for UHF
2. The SWR readings range from 1.3 to 1.8 in the VHF band and 1.5 to 1.3 on UHF. (sliding up in freq on both bands).
Normally when looking at my plain Jane HF SWR meters and I see 1.3:1 I would go on about my day and not worry all that much about it. However, this being a new rig and a new-style meter for me to work with, I am seeing things I am not understanding.
So, my question boils down to is this radio having some issues or is it related to antenna/swr/coax/mismatch results? I do not have a dummy load to test with at the present time. Does anyone know if the radio output power "falls off" outside of certain frequencies? This radio has the extended MARS mod and I was wondering if maybe that could have any effect.
Thanks for reading this if you made it this far. Any information is appreciated.
I have recently acquired a Yaesu FT-7800R dual-band rig that I am using in the shack for now. However, I purchased this radio used and I have a few questions about its power output. The max power on VHF is 50W and for UHF is 40W. I have the rig connected to a Workman SX144/430 SWR meter which is a crosshair meter showing forward and reflected power. I am not all that familiar with these type of meters and I have a couple of questions regarding the results I am seeing:
1. I am not seeing the max power outputs on either band. The highest I have measured is ~30 to 35W on VHF and 20W or so on UHF. On average, I am measuring about half of the rated power for the rig. This happens in each power setting mode, which are
50/20/10/5 for VHF
40/20/10/5 for UHF
2. The SWR readings range from 1.3 to 1.8 in the VHF band and 1.5 to 1.3 on UHF. (sliding up in freq on both bands).
Normally when looking at my plain Jane HF SWR meters and I see 1.3:1 I would go on about my day and not worry all that much about it. However, this being a new rig and a new-style meter for me to work with, I am seeing things I am not understanding.
So, my question boils down to is this radio having some issues or is it related to antenna/swr/coax/mismatch results? I do not have a dummy load to test with at the present time. Does anyone know if the radio output power "falls off" outside of certain frequencies? This radio has the extended MARS mod and I was wondering if maybe that could have any effect.
Thanks for reading this if you made it this far. Any information is appreciated.
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