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| Bird Watt Meter |
This file is about some of the test equipment I have for the testing and the monitoring my transmit frequencies and wattage output.They are for all bands not just the micro wave bands. Do not be afraid to ask your fellow “RADIO AMATEUR“ operator what kind of test equipment to buy , as you could go mad ( and broke ) all to easy if you do not get some good advice as to what to buy, and were to get it .Some test gear can be found in certain factories ,and colleges/schools, as some factories often have their own electronic laboratories with some nice test gear. And as they upgrade their equipment from time to time, you could do worse than to get in contact with their test labs, as well as the ones in your school/colleges. You never know, as the Bird watt meter I bought, seen on right
came from a College who’s electronics teacher was a “RADIO AMATEUR” and he had a stall at a rally selling all sorts of test equipment .Firstly test equipment does not have to cost a fortune.I was guided by Michael EI5GG and the late Dermot EI2AK,
who both told me that I did not have to spend big money to get some good ATV test equipment and that the older analogue equipment would do the job every bit as good as a newer digital pieces (for my needs). The newer digital test gear may be smaller than the analogue but there is something in looking at a swing meter compared to some digital display. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to buy the newer gear but I will wait until I see how much I use each piece to see about going for digital test equipment.
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| Power Meter |
All of the pieces of test equipment I bought were at radio rallies over the last few years. I have yet to buy any over the net.There’s nothing wrong with buying over the net, I just like to have a look and a demo before I buy and most sellers like to give a demo to show that their equipment works and is in good order .My first piece of test gear was a Bird Watt Meter (€100.00) and some power inserts (slugs) for 1.2 GHz, 2 @ €50. each approximately second hand. They do vary by frequency and power levels.The wattmeter is not just for the GHz band, you can get the slugs for any frequency and power, So if you favour the super high frequencies (SHF) and/or the lower frequencies (LF), the Bird Wattmeter is a fantastic all rounder and a good investment for your shack. A power meter was next, Again the gear is sold without the power heads to connect to your equipment.
The power heads and adaptors range from €30 to €300.+++ . also in photo on the right
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| Bird Elements ( slugs ) |
I also purchased some attenuators for the power meter.These would safeguard the front end of the meters and increase their range . Some of the test equipment is used weekly but other pieces are used once in a while only to line up some equipment to make sure the frequency and power output is spot on.Books are another good investment.Some of the ones I have for ATV are in a foreign language (some of the English language ones I read were Greek to me until I read them a few times and talked to others about them) but measurements are measurements and you should have no trouble following the photos and diagrams to give you some good ideas. A lot of the books are still available new but some are out of print a while, do not be afraid to ask your fellow “RADIO AMATEUR” who goes to the UK or European rallies to keep an eye out for you on their travels.
Some books I find useful are: Microwave handbook’s volume 1-2-3. UK Microwave Group proceedings; Southeastern VHF society conference (ARRL );
Praxis der mikrowellen (UKW Berichte), and Alles uber ATV (funk ) to name but a few.
Some of the books are a few years old but the info they contain is still valid .
That’s it for this issue of Echo Ireland, as we head into some good weather (hi hi ) I hope to some/p work , details in the next issue of Echo Ireland.
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| Attenuator. |
Thanks again to the photo studio of Thos EI2JD for producing the pictures for me yet again .
Best 73 and may your signals be P5
de Pat, EI2HX.
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