Meter advice wanted

[o8k]

Hello,

I am rather new to the raido thing and i am looking for some advice on metering equipment. I have a magnum 257HP at the moment, a Roadpro Power/SWR meter, and a classic 102" Stainless 1/4wave whip.

I originally bought the roadpro just to tune SWR (for my old midland 1001z cb), but as my hobby interest increases, im finding it very handy to have a meter hooked up at all times.

So here are my questions:

Does anyone have any suggestions about permenent meters for mobile applications? which ones are good ones to have? I was looking at the Dosy TC 3001P.

Does anyone know if this meter i have reads PEP or AVG power? IM trying to determine if its broken, my radio is broken, or if i just dont understand what im looking at on the meter.

Does anyone know what the roadpro meter should show when keying up in SSB? I have studied AM transmission pretty good, dead key and swing make perfect sense to me. But does my radios SSB supress the carrier? My meter doesnt read anything w/ SSB DK, and only wiggles slightly when talking into it.

What should my watt meter look like for DK and swing on SSB?

(This thought is probably deserving of a different thread, but illustrates my curiosity and want for a better meter and more information)
My radio doesnt seem to be broken, i made DX contacts on SSB 27.385Mhz last night, Kansas, Colorado, Canada, Idaho, Southern Cali, Bay area, ohio, etc. (several guys from this forum on there last night and helped me find the site here) But then later that evening nothing, not sure if a screwed up my radio or if conditions turned for the worse and only the 4/6/8 element beam antenna guys were dx'in on the air waves left zapping the country too and fro. I couldnt even get a response from some local guys as the evening progressed.

Thanks,
o8k
Current handle: (MT660 PHX)

 

[Robb]

Just key up your mic on SSB and watch your meter swing. Adjust the power output and mic gain so that it will swing up to 70 watts when saying 'ahhhh' into the mic. You are right; SSB will not have a dead key - so no watts should be seen unless there is noise getting into the mic.

 

[W5LZ]

'Robb's right, there is no carrier/dead key with SSB.

Which meter to leave in-line all the time when mobile? I'd say the 'best' one would be one that 'fits' the space you have available to put the thing. It really doesn't hurt anything if the meter is left in-line or removed.
I don't know anything about your meter so can't say if it reads Avg, or Pep. If you want another meter, just select one that reads both if you can. Or, if you would rather have just an AVG reading meter, just multiply the reading by either 1.5 or 2 to get Pep (not exactly 'exact', but close enough for anything practical, or you'd want it for.
- 'Doc


(The 'cross-needle' type meters are generally smaller than others, so would usually take up less room. The also tell you a lot more with just a glance than single needle meters do without flipping switches/pushing buttons. But, pick the one you like best and can afford.)

 

[Moleculo]

Does anyone have any suggestions about permenent meters for mobile applications? which ones are good ones to have? I was looking at the Dosy TC 3001P.

That model you're looking at is pretty big. I wouldn't want something that large in a mobile environment. I would just put in a little cheap small meter for what you're wanting to look at.

 

[hotrod]

definately too big. but dosy does make a somewhat smaller one
called tr1000. its supposed to be used in the mobile.even has a mounting
bracket .depending how much room ya got

 

[o8k]

Thanks Everyone! It would be nice if i could find somthing smaller.

 

[Robb]

HF CROSS-NEEDLE SWR-WATTMETER

http://www.worldwidedx.com/ham-tune...needle-swr-watt-meter-1-8-200-mhz-jtw2hf.html

http://www.worldwidedx.com/meters-m...822-how-read-daiwa-duel-needle-swr-meter.html

 

[o8k]

thanks again! I will just have to keep searching and studying. Im also looking at this MFJ-945E little guy, seeing as how it has a built in antenna tuner. My shiny new Magnum 257HP says it wants a 1.4SWR or less so a built in antenna tuner/cross needle power/swr meter may just be the trick.

in a hokey way, i have bufferd the Magnum 257 through my RM italy KL 203 running it at like 1w DK. SWR reading about 1.1:1 when running w/ out KL 203 running. W/ it running about 1.4:1. Kinda lame, but i would like to run the 257 naked but dont want to risk high current strain on the 257's transistors till i match its outputs for full power.

I also just finished reading: this article http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?t=223063 which gives me some food for thought. but im drifting off my own topic slightly, other than understanding perhaps, more about how to read a meter more from the "voodoo" side of things.