Why are Bird meters all the rage?

[Onelasttime]

I do not think of a watt meter as an absolute or precision tool it is about trending data and close enough at best. We have far more accurate tools than "the watt meter"!

 

[FlyBoy50]

A tool from Harbor Fright is probably good enough for use a few weekends a year. And a pro who uses that same tool every day probably chooses one with a longer service life. A wattmeter is a wattmeter. If it's a proper design and calibrated, what's the difference? Naturally the difference between "passive" and "active" peak reading probably amounts to no more than ten percent difference in accuracy. There's not a receiver on the earth that can hear a ten percent power difference.

If you need a rugged and tough tool, the Ridgid brand was a go-to for years, but expensive. And if you want a cheap tool that's good enough, there's Horrible Fright.

Just choices. The right tool for the job depends on the nature of the job.

73

I totally agree with this post. Harbor Freight is defiantly a Home Owner store and if it weren't for them I wouldn't have got as much done at my place and figured if I found I used the tool a lot I could replace it with a better quality if it broke. If your the kind of guy who thinks you have to have Top Shelf of everything you better have deep pockets or you won't get anything done. Like one old boss said Poor Folks have Poor Ways.

 

[K8PG]

Never had a problem with MFJ .
I have AL80 AL80A AL82.
Along with 7 other MFJ products.

Paul

 

[AudioShockwav]

Never had a problem with MFJ .
I have AL80 AL80A AL82.
Along with 7 other MFJ products.

Paul

I never had a serious problem with any of my mfj stuff over the years, I knew that as soon as it arrived It'd have to check it over for proper assembly before even thinking about plugging it in.
It was mandatory.

73
Jeff

 

[Onelasttime]

Because there are a lot of old guys still in the game and because any alternative is either just as expensive or more so or the build quality is junk.

Early on they made a very consistent, durable, repeatable product that had a high enough degree of accuracy.

They where the industry standard in multiple area's including broadcasting, military, and aviation etc....

For a long time Ebay and flea markets where flooded with them and you could get them for pennys on the dollar. Now you can't.

Depending on how you use the meter and what your expectations are many lesser tools can do the job.

I currently own a Daiwa Cross Needle, Micronta from 1980's that has the 3 meters and remote mount and a Telewave 44. The Mircronta is for base use and mostly because it has remote monting and modulation reading. The Diawa is used mostly when I set up a mobile because it is compact but still easy to read for my old eye's. The Telewave 44 while it has not been calibrated since 1991 I use it for anything I want to have a reading I trust for like braging rights with friends. I need to find a place to calibrate it. I have some random tiny old SWR meters that go up to like 12 watts that I never use! You can use your VOM or your scope to see wattage as well.

I do not but much stock in a meter I can either get out and talk well or I cant.

 

[Onelasttime]

I currently own a Daiwa Cross Needle, Micronta from 1980's that has the 3 meters and remote mount and a Telewave 44. The Mircronta is for base use and mostly because it has remote monting and modulation reading. The Diawa is used mostly when I set up a mobile because it is compact but still easy to read for my old eye's. The Telewave 44 while it has not been calibrated since 1991 I use it for anything I want to have a reading I trust for like braging rights with friends. I need to find a place to calibrate it. I have some random tiny old SWR meters that go up to like 12 watts that I never use! You can use your VOM or your scope to see wattage as well.

I do not but much stock in a meter I can either get out and talk well or I cant.

I like being able to read peak accurately on my Telewave 44 and being able to read from 5 to 500 with no need for slugs.

 

[BigPapaPump]

Lp-100A question since a few here seem to own one. Does it become a source for RF in your shack?

I ask because I have one of those huge Dosy test centers and it definitely is. Truck stop (Astatic) meters I have learned to avoid after having a serious problem with one. I was thinking a Bird with that thick industrial case would eliminate RF but the Lp-100A seems a more versatile tool. I currently have RF at my station under control. My station consists of a Icom IC-7300, Connex CX-33HPC1, antenna switch, Balun Designs 1:1, old school TVI filter, LMR-400 coax and LMR-240 Ultraflex jumpers.

 

[bob85]

Some meters that have poorly shielded & decoupled digital electronics inside them like the inexpensive fancy display china made meters can emit rfi on certain frequency bands,

I have not noticed my lp-100 causing such issues coming from the internal pic chip or display driver but it is possible if I looked close enough that I may find a bit of radiation somewhere within the usable range of the directional coupler I am using,

Birds have nothing inside them to cause rfi & the coupler inside is VERY well shielded.