Fire Bird PM - 500 TS SWR/Watts/Mod Meter

[Yankee]

Just got this meter today, no book, no instructions and I need someone to tell me how to use it.

It's a really nice meter, all metal, huge dial, but a complete mystery.

 

[Dale Sander]

Did you ever have any luck finding any material for this meter? I'm looking for a manual or any info I can find! Thanks!

 

[Yankee]

No, I never found even a mention of it on Google or anywhere else. It's still working good though.

 

[sdmahr]

That looks like standard switches / controls on any meter I've ever seen. It should operate as any other similar meter.

 

[Yankee]

Most modern meters just got the power switch, this old thing has a modulation meter, a SWR meter, forward and Reverse power and a watt meter. It takes some experimenting to understand it. If you know of another meter that does all that, I would like a link to it.

It still is not as good as a cross type meter though. If your running a tuner, you need the cross meter. I have both inline and use Big Red for a peak watt meter.

 

[Atlasta]

I have one. Decent little meter, operation is fairly straightforward. What exactly were the questions regarding operation?

For output, select appropriate level from the far right knob and read from the appropriate scale. IME I found that the FWD and REV positions operate much like an AVG and PEP indicator respectively. The position of the black switch has no effect in the PWR mode.

For modulation, select the MOD position on the far right knob put the red switch in the FWD position and the black switch in CAL. Key the mic and use the RF LEVEL knob to adjust to the CAL position on the meter. Then put the black switch in the MOD and start talking. Modulation is read on the bottom scale.

For SWR select SWR mode on the far right knob, put the red switch in FWD and the black switch in CAL. Use the RF LEVEL knob to adjust to the SET line and then put the red switch in REV. This will provide an SWR reading as seen on the top scale.

 

[martin maertens]

Hi,

Does any one know if this meter can be used for 2m and 70cm

 

[Yankee]

If you got one, try it. If you don't have one, you probably never will now, they are old, out of date and rare.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Hi,

Does any one know if this meter can be used for 2m and 70cm

If it could you would be able to knock me over with a feather, and I don't go down easy. 2m and 70cm require a lot different tolerances when it comes to RF pick ups and sensors. The strip-line sensor in that meter is a huge fraction of a wavelength long on 70cm, probably close to 1/8 wave or so. It will probable introduce a high SWR bump that you will never see because the meter itself will be the problem.

 

[martin maertens]

I know where i can find one for 15,-eur. But if those things can't handle 70cm it's no use for me.
Thanks you guys for the info.

Greetings,

Martin

 

[Trisailor]

I have one. Decent little meter, operation is fairly straightforward. What exactly were the questions regarding operation?

For output, select appropriate level from the far right knob and read from the appropriate scale. IME I found that the FWD and REV positions operate much like an AVG and PEP indicator respectively. The position of the black switch has no effect in the PWR mode.

For modulation, select the MOD position on the far right knob put the red switch in the FWD position and the black switch in CAL. Key the mic and use the RF LEVEL knob to adjust to the CAL position on the meter. Then put the black switch in the MOD and start talking. Modulation is read on the bottom scale.

For SWR select SWR mode on the far right knob, put the red switch in FWD and the black switch in CAL. Use the RF LEVEL knob to adjust to the SET line and then put the red switch in REV. This will provide an SWR reading as seen on the top scale.

I'm not a ham & certainly no RF expert but am at least somewhat knowledgeable. I found this discussion re the PM500 SWR meter and wondered if you can tell me whether it will work properly for a marine radio SWR check -the frequencies are essentially between 156 & 162 MHz.

 

[999]

I'm not a ham & certainly no RF expert but am at least somewhat knowledgeable. I found this discussion re the PM500 SWR meter and wondered if you can tell me whether it will work properly for a marine radio SWR check -the frequencies are essentially between 156 & 162 MHz.

Most likely not. If it were functional up there it would state it on the meter somewhere.

 

[Trisailor]

If it could you would be able to knock me over with a feather, and I don't go down easy. 2m and 70cm require a lot different tolerances when it comes to RF pick ups and sensors. The strip-line sensor in that meter is a huge fraction of a wavelength long on 70cm, probably close to 1/8 wave or so. It will probable introduce a high SWR bump that you will never see because the meter itself will be the problem.

Re PM500 SWR meter: I already responded to another post & then noticed yours -sorry. As I stated there, I'm not a ham or expert but reasonably knowledgeable re RF. My question was whether anyone knows whether the PM500 could be used accurately for marine VHF SWR measurements -the marine band is essentially a 2m band which you referred to in your post. When you indicated it was doubtful, were you referring to the 2m band or the 70cm you also mentioned? I have owned one of these meters for over 30 years and always was under the impression it was a Citizens Band device -which would mean something more like 11m.
Thanks for any assistance provided by anyone!

 

[SIX-SHOOTER]

Hi,

Does any one know if this meter can be used for 2m and 70cm

More likely it is a CB meter & maybe some more of the HF bands. It does not appear to have a PEP board in it so it will only read average output power as it is.

SIX-SHOOTER