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good first cb meter?

David Waits said:
I like the Dosy meters for CB myself. Who can afford about $450.00 for a used Bird and a couple of slugs? I use a PD 1000 TS Dosy and it's within a few watts of a friend's Bird.
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Depends on what you want to use it for. Dosy's make most people feel good because they tend to read high especially on peak power while the Bird is a rugged and more reliable meter suited for test bench applications and where certification is required. They are not necessarily any more accurate than other meters despite what people think about them. At least with a Bird meter you can use different slugs for different power and frequency ranges making in an all in one meter. Coaxial Dynamics slugs are compatible with the Bird meters and are much cheaper.
 
hotrod said:
i would say palstar too or diawia 801hp . the radio shack meters are ok , but i find they read a little low on pep. [why i got rid of mine].
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They read low because they are not a true pep meter. A true pep meter requires a power source to run the electronics required to measure pep. The meters that claim to read pep and do not require a source of electrical power simply switch a capacitor into the meter circuit.Palstar is good as is the Diawa 801HP. I have the Diawa actually and it is indeed quite good. Really if all someone is wanting a meter for is to keep an eye on things for signs of change any meter will do including the cheapest of the Radio Shack line. Metering and test equipment specifications all depend on what the end user expects to use them for and what they expect for level of service.
 
222DBFL said:
Go get a radio shack meter for $40, they work just fine. JMO. No need to spend big bucks on a meter if it's really not needed, although the lp100a is a heck of a meter IMO. But at 450 dollars I will stick with my radio shack meter a bit longer lol.
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Good luck finding one of those in a Radio Shack.
 
I hear ya physco, I would love to have the lp100a but at 450 that's a lot of coin but sure is nice
 
Best advice.
Do not get hung up on numbers coming out of a watt meter, on-the-air reports of good audio is more important.
Yes, Bird meters are the standard for guys that must have accurate numbers day to day in the military and broadcast areas.
They must be calibrated at intervals by a qualified entity.
I used to have test equipment that had (belive it or not) stickers on them that showed the last date that they were checked by N.A.S.A.
99% of the shops out there today run stuff that has never been to a lab for testing, that is why you can take a radio to 4 different shops and get 4 different numbers from them.
Slugs can be damaged by simply dropping them on a hard surface.
Bird is only as good as the last guy that calibrated them and the slugs.
In general, numbers on a wattmeter are a relative thing, and unless you are certifying a transmitter for a gobberment entity, it is not that critical.
Radio shack meters are ok, so are Palstar and a few others, do not lose any sleep over wattmeter numbers.

73
Jeff
 
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Daiwa CN range are OK. I use a CN801HP which is good for 2kW and has Peak Hold which is essential for reading SSB power properly.
 
So im not doing to many watts. Being its not a true pep. Using the radio shack metter what should I set my dead key as and when the amp is swinging the meter. How should I determine the watts kicking out? I have a blue face palomar 350 with 2 sc2879*s cobra 148gtl front face mic. Thanks
 
eagleeyes said:
So im not doing to many watts. Being its not a true pep. Using the radio shack metter what should I set my dead key as and when the amp is swinging the meter. How should I determine the watts kicking out? I have a blue face palomar 350 with 2 sc2879*s cobra 148gtl front face mic. Thanks
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I have no idea what the heck that means. After reading that you really should re-consider trying to tune your own radio's.

That said the combo you have will work fine and that radio will not overdrive that amp at all. Set the AM dead key for 2 watts and then see what the dead key out from the amp is on hi. You want something around 70 watts with tha amp. You can make the adjustment with everything keyed up even if you want just be careful.

As far as peak input that radio will do 12-16 watts pep. That is fine for your amp, leave it in that rang. Once you are at this point leave the whole thing alone and have fun.
 
9C1Driver said:
I have no idea what the heck that means. After reading that you really should re-consider trying to tune your own radio's.

That said the combo you have will work fine and that radio will not overdrive that amp at all. Set the AM dead key for 2 watts and then see what the dead key out from the amp is on hi. You want something around 70 watts with tha amp. You can make the adjustment with everything keyed up even if you want just be careful.

As far as peak input that radio will do 12-16 watts pep. That is fine for your amp, leave it in that rang. Once you are at this point leave the whole thing alone and have fun.
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I was talking about that It not being a true pep meter what if that would matter too much at all what the setting should be. Just getting my information correct and that im doing things correct. Trial and error as they say. Sorry for my bad lack of information or bad sentences
 

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