Hey, this is really cool. Thank you for keeping this simple. I came inIo this with zero knowledge and now I think I have a pretty solid grasp. Thank you!

@TheSmokinApe

2 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it was helpful OP 👍

You're a great teacher! Easy to understand presentation.

@TheSmokinApe

7 ай бұрын

Thank you, glad you liked the video 👍

Always appreciate TheSmokinApe classroom! Love my MFJ cross needle meter; will take it over digital every day of the week.

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching Bob. I agree, maybe because I’m old, but nothing beats analog 👍

Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your knowledge, I've learned a lot from your videos and I'm always looking forward for the next one. No doubt one of the best HAM channels on YT. Regards from Portugal.

@TheSmokinApe

2 ай бұрын

Hey NineSeven8. I’m glad you like the videos and thank you for the kind words 👍

Excellent video Ape, love the explanation. Thank you for sharing.

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Thanks Janice, glad you liked it 👍

Another informative class aPE THANKS!

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Thanks Chuck 👍

Aaaahhh... One of the resistors in your dummy load is back-to-front! I know it makes no difference whatsoever, but it's playing merry hell with my OCD! Thanks for the vid!

@TheSmokinApe

4 ай бұрын

lol, I never pay attention to the orientation and people do tell me that it triggers their OCD, sorry bro

Great help on how to read an SWR. I'm setting communications for my race car and this really helped out.

@TheSmokinApe

6 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it was helpful 👍

Nice summary and demo.

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for checking it out...

Great video! Eventually I need to pick up one of those meters. 73!

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Thanks man, glad you liked it 👍

Very helpful, ThanX!!!

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you Sir. I know have a better understanding of the cross needle display 👍

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Howdy Vern, thanks for watching 👍

Man, you didn't even flinch when you hit the PTT on that BTech into a 250 ohm load LOL!

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

lol, thanks for watching SF 👍

I'm just setting up my first shack, shopping for all the goods now. Im struggling with understanding the SWR meters, this helps. Thanks.

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Hey Teresia. Glad to hear it was helpful 👍

Very educational, but in trying to build an antenna, I was hoping to learn if it is possible to use the cross-needle SWR meter to optimise the antenna length. Thanks.

@TheSmokinApe

4 ай бұрын

You can transmit on various frequencies and then plot the results in a graph. Use the graph to trend where swr is getting better and worst then adjust the antenna as necessary 👍

A VNA is very useful, got mine last year, it takes a lot of guesswork out of adjusting aerials. You can instantly see if it's too long or too short. Far easier than just using an SWR meter and great for the price. QRP and resistive SWR meter here, tx never sees above a 2:1 SWR when tuning but still reads the true SWR. It does need taking out of circuit after. G4GHB.

@TheSmokinApe

7 ай бұрын

Howdy Bill. Totally agree, the VNA has been the best investment I've made what it comes to ham radio.

Great job helping people understand things in the R.F. world. Only one negative comment on the dummy load. It looks to be a parallel circuit and I think i heard you say series on the audio track so I replayed it... oops. Still great information you pass along! Kevin KF0IPD

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Hey Kevin. You might be right about the oops, good catch. Glad you like the video 👍

Great video! Quick question - do you have a positive opinion of the RS-40?

@TheSmokinApe

Ай бұрын

I do, it works well for what it is. I use mine often 👍

@calvinlong1265

Ай бұрын

@@TheSmokinApe Thanks!!

Good job, son!

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Well thank you James 👍

Wonder if you have done a review on the surecom SW-102 swr and power meter I really value your opinion on ham equipment Thanks.

@TheSmokinApe

7 ай бұрын

Sorry man, I haven’t

@Coyotethumper5

7 ай бұрын

@@TheSmokinApe ok thanks

Will a ASTATIC SWR meter that I bought for my CB work to check my HAM radio antenna?

@TheSmokinApe

7 ай бұрын

It's going to depend on what frequencies the meter supports.

nanovna might be the coolest piece of test equipment i've bought in a long time. Also, do you know morse code? If so how did you learn?

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

I love the Nano's. No, I do not know the code... it sounds like jibber jabber to me 🙁

is there a difference between CB and uhf/vhf SWR meters? or can all meters do both? and can they be used on 5w-10w HT radios effectively?

@TheSmokinApe

7 ай бұрын

Hey TC. Some CB meters will only cover the CB frequencies and some ham meters will cover CB. What you can do is check the frequency span on the meter you want to buy to check that it covers your area of interest. On just about any meter you can handle 5w many are designed to go higher, again the best bet is to check the meter specs 👍

Will a transceiver and antenna still work normally together if a SWR meter is hooked up to them, but not powered on? Or if you want to leave SWR permanently attached, does it also have to be powered on all the time along with the radio??

@TheSmokinApe

6 ай бұрын

Yes, most people leave them inline 100% of the time.

I am a radio novice with an ICOM A24 aviation handheld radio with output specs of 5W (PEP) and 1.5W (CW). I am testing VSWR for the radio w/ external antenna with a Sharman V20. Should I expect to see the forward output to be 1.5W or 5W? Thanks

@TheSmokinApe

2 ай бұрын

It will depend on the mode you use...

still waiting on REDODO MPPT charge controller RFI testing. :) (please) thanks. If I can swing it, I'll order the VNA from your list this coming month. (bookmarked to return for your link.)

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Thanks! I’ll start planning the RFI test 👍

I appreciated the video, but I'm still a bit lost. I think I'm unknowledgeable enough to have to back up a step. If I'm going to be doing 10, 15, 20 and 40 meters, how does that eliminate or include a particular meter? I'm making this up as I go but it seems that would mean I care about 7.0 - 29.7 MHz, which would mean ALL your meters would work for me, is that right? I get confused with all the options and figure as soon as I purchase something, I'll figure out that now I need to buy a different one to handle another band. Are my fears unfounded and can the meters you show do basically anything a General license can do?

@TheSmokinApe

20 күн бұрын

Look at the frequency band of the meter and see if the ones you are interested in cover them.

If you could go into detail about the nano VNA’s I would be grateful,I need a SWR meter for portable HF work,but haven’t got enough cash for a rig expert so that’s the way my wallet is leading me towards a VNA 😊

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

I use them all the time, check out this playlist: kzread.info/head/PLm8ROkpFeqornjIRLKS0RJqSrUl_lr5lv

Well done as always! NM5SP

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Thanks Alan 👍

@alanbrockmeier6871

9 ай бұрын

@@TheSmokinApe I’m

Can you send the name or part numbers of the adapters used to hook up meter to the portable radio? Can I use antenna instead of dummy load?

@TheSmokinApe

7 ай бұрын

You can use an antenna. THey are just coax connectors I got off amazon. SMA / PL259 and SO239

@kipnix8775

7 ай бұрын

@TheSmokinApe thank you sir!

@kipnix8775

7 ай бұрын

I have a 259 and 239. Neither will screw into the radio housing. Any idea what I am missing? I apologize for being dumb about this.

@TheSmokinApe

7 ай бұрын

OH, the 705 has BNC-F you need BNC-M Sorry man

School is in!

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Until summer!

Think where there is a misunderstanding with swr is what happens to the reflected power ,where does it go ,is it all lost ,is it absorbed by the radio and potentially damage it,or does it join the forward power etc if it was talked about more i think there would be a greater understanding

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Fair point Paul, I’ll do a more in-depth video on SWR 👍

@paulm0hpd319

9 ай бұрын

@@TheSmokinApe that be great if you could

@10:46 You say that the resistors are soldered in series. Isn't that parallel, though? 4x 1k in series would be 4k, while in parallel it would be 250.

@TheSmokinApe

4 ай бұрын

Do’h, good catch 👍

@TheAntonymer

4 ай бұрын

@@TheSmokinApe No worries. Thank you for all your efforts bringing us information and joy. 73

At the end there, you "forgot to ID" (you were on dummy loads of course!😁) but for the newer folks that will be doing this on a "live" antenna I would've pointed that out in your demo with a reminder to ID! "Who's kerchunking the band!?"🤪

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Thats a good tip Mac, thanks bro!

Sure.... show the vna but not a rig expert. 😀

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Ain't nobody got time for the RE ...

Thanks for this as I’m currently looking for a meter and am not sure if I should go analog or digital. Cheers from Moose Jaw. Tim VE5THF

@TheSmokinApe

9 ай бұрын

Hey Tim. It's really just a matter of preference...

My wife told me I have insertion loss. That’s when I went to Mexico and had a Addedictome

@TheSmokinApe

6 ай бұрын

lol