Does ssb read the same on swr meter?

[cjruger]

I have been playing around with a new base setup. Galaxy 949 with half wave dipole. Im new to ssb and noticed the swr meter really doesnt show anything when keying up on ssb. Also the have a old gc watt/ swr meter inline and the watt meter seems to work well on am but. Ot showing much on ssb. It will swing way up with a whistle or loud audio but acts a lot different than am. Is this normal? Also is this watt meter any good. I realize its not accurite, but are these things close?

 

[binrat]

SSB doesn't have a carrier like AM does. AM has a lower carrier (DK) and when you talk it will swing up some (PEP) where as SSB has nothing until you start to talk, then its all there.

 

[Beetle]

Get a good active PEP wattmeter if you operate on SSB a lot. It'll work on AM just fine. The old GC meter and similar ones that are even available now will show the reflected power on SSB but generally poorly.

Look for a meter that either has internal batteries for the PEP circuitry, or has an external power supply (wall wart) to power it. If a meter has no such power supply or batteries but has a front panel switch labeled "PEAK" or "PEP", walk away.

On the other hand, if you just check your antenna once every couple of days, the GC will be fine.

 

[kd-5-bgt]

With SSb not having a carrier the SWR meter will not show anything till you talk into the mic,then you will get a reading,but it will not be entirely accurate....be sure you get the antenna tuned properly for the lowest swr reading you can get,throw the SSB switch and have fun.....

SSB is a different world than AM...you will like it

Beetle and Binrat have some good advice as well.....

 

[9C1Driver]

You cannot check SWR in SSB mode because there is no carrier. That said here is how different modes of talking work.

AM ) You have a carrier that gets modulated to a peak wattage.

SSB) No carrier, all modulated watts.There are two modes of talking SSB, USB & LSB

FM ) All carrier wattage, there is no swing just constant carrier.


Since we are on the topic of SSB, sometimes people like to call a Cobra 148 a 120 channel radio because of the USB & LSB. This is not correct, AM,FM,USB, & LSB are different modes of talking on the SAME frequency.

 

[K9GAS]

You can use a tone on SSB and see what your swr is or reflected watts if that meter supports it. I'm not sure about that meter, if it show reflected or just swr. You could whistle, but you may not be able to sustain it properly, or like me I don't have good whistle tone. I use Tone Generator pro on my iPhone and use the 1khz tone and put it to the mic. Works pretty well for a .99 app.
Just a thought

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

You can use a tone on SSB and see what your swr is or reflected watts if that meter supports it. I'm not sure about that meter, if it show reflected or just swr. You could whistle, but you may not be able to sustain it properly, or like me I don't have good whistle tone. I use Tone Generator pro on my iPhone and use the 1khz tone and put it to the mic. Works pretty well for a .99 app.
Just a thought

When checking SWR why use SSB mode at all?? Unmodulated AM or better yet FM or CW is much better and no fooling around with audio generators.

 

[Grogan]

SO would I be correct in saying
1 check swr on am lowest frequency
2 check swr mid frequency am
3 check swr highest frequency on AM
and you should be good on FM and SSB also ? At the same power levels ??

 

[K9GAS]

Depends on the radio. Ive used that technique on SSB cb and works fine.
Don't want to spend .99 there's always the free version. Better than a whistle

When checking SWR why use SSB mode at all?? Unmodulated AM or better yet FM or CW is much better and no fooling around with audio generators.

 

[Beetle]

SO would I be correct in saying
1 check swr on am lowest frequency
2 check swr mid frequency am
3 check swr highest frequency on AM
and you should be good on FM and SSB also ? At the same power levels ??

SWR/Reflected power doesn't care what mode you're using.

Take a sheet of graph paper and start with channel 1 and continue through 40. Make a good, clear graph so you can see for yourself just where the sweet spot is. Label the graph and keep it in a binder for reference. I've made well over 200 antennas in the past 50+ years, and I've done this for all of them. It's a good resource for planning new wires.

 

[The DB]

SO would I be correct in saying
1 check swr on am lowest frequency
2 check swr mid frequency am
3 check swr highest frequency on AM
and you should be good on FM and SSB also ? At the same power levels ??

That is what you do to tune the antenna. The goal being channels 1 and 40 have the same swr, and channel 19, the middle frequency of the band (not 20) should be the lowest swr. Once the radio is tuned you shouldn't have to check all of the channels every time. If you happen to notice one of them has drastically changed, they all have. It is an all or nothing game, anything that affects one frequency will have an effect on all of them.

SWR/Reflected power doesn't care what mode you're using.

Take a sheet of graph paper and start with channel 1 and continue through 40. Make a good, clear graph so you can see for yourself just where the sweet spot is. Label the graph and keep it in a binder for reference. I've made well over 200 antennas in the past 50+ years, and I've done this for all of them. It's a good resource for planning new wires.

There are 5 channels where a frequency is skipped. These are still slated for RC (radio control) I believe, and are the reason channel 20 is not the middle frequency of the CB band. The hidden channels are between 3 and 4, 7 and 8, 11 and 12, 15 and 16, 19 and 20. Think of them as ghost channels that you cannot access without an export or modified radio.

Also, channels 23, 24, and 25 are out of order.

Just in case you pick up some anomalies on your graph, it may help explain why some of them exist.


The DB