Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
You might check Coaxial Dynamics (CDI). Their slugs are interchangeable with the Bird slugs and they have some ranges that Bird might not, apparently. Some of the less common Bird slugs (like the 2500 watt ranges) are sometimes cheaper from CDI too. Ever since Bird stopped using the metal shell for their slugs there is little difference between Bird and CDI units. -Bill -Original Message- From: topband-boun...@contesting.com [mailto:topband- boun...@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim WA9YSD Sent: Monday, July 02, 2012 1:23 PM To: Top Band Subject: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help I found out from Bird that the 10H slug is no longer in production. Stopped 7 years ago. Had issues with accuracy and very difficult to build. The 25H is currently in production. Accuracy is within 10% full scale :-( A company called REDOT make an HF meter for around 130 bucks. Any experience with this? Specs looks good. Stay on course, fight a good fight, and keep the faith. Jim K9TF/WA9YSD ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
There are lower wattage slugs but for a much higher frequency range. The 250H range is 2 to 30 mhz 160M is not quite covered but I think is ok. Bird make HF (H) elements at 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000 and 1 Watts. Finding the 5, 10, or 25 Watt elements new may be a trick as they are only produced infrequently. Several resellers have used elements in some of those ranges. RF Parts and RadioDan stock new elements. A Google search for Bird Elements will generate leads on sources for both new and used elements. 73, ... Joe, W4TV On 6/30/2012 12:11 PM, Jim WA9YSD wrote: Any one out there using a Bird 43 for measuring out put power for QRP? I have a 250H element for HF. Should I get the 50H element for HF? I have a Ten-Tec Omni VI Plus Power turned down to minimum. with the 250H slug I measure 5 watts, first mark from the bottom of scale. Not very accurate or is it? There are lower wattage slugs but for a much higher frequency range. The 250H range is 2 to 30 mhz 160M is not quite covered but I think is ok. Stay on course, fight a good fight, and keep the faith.Jim K9TF/WA9YSD ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
Adding to Joe's suggestion, NM3E and Chuck Martin RF Supply are good sources for used Bird and Coaxial Dynamics product. I've been pleased with both suppliers. http://www.nm3e.com/ http://www.chuckmartin.com/ Paul, W9AC - Original Message - From: Joe Subich, W4TV li...@subich.com To: topband@contesting.com Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 12:32 PM Subject: Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help There are lower wattage slugs but for a much higher frequency range. The 250H range is 2 to 30 mhz 160M is not quite covered but I think is ok. Bird make HF (H) elements at 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000 and 1 Watts. Finding the 5, 10, or 25 Watt elements new may be a trick as they are only produced infrequently. Several resellers have used elements in some of those ranges. RF Parts and RadioDan stock new elements. A Google search for Bird Elements will generate leads on sources for both new and used elements. 73, ... Joe, W4TV On 6/30/2012 12:11 PM, Jim WA9YSD wrote: Any one out there using a Bird 43 for measuring out put power for QRP? I have a 250H element for HF. Should I get the 50H element for HF? I have a Ten-Tec Omni VI Plus Power turned down to minimum. with the 250H slug I measure 5 watts, first mark from the bottom of scale. Not very accurate or is it? There are lower wattage slugs but for a much higher frequency range. The 250H range is 2 to 30 mhz 160M is not quite covered but I think is ok. Stay on course, fight a good fight, and keep the faith.Jim K9TF/WA9YSD ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
Hi Jim Many years ago at 4U1ITU I found the Bird 43 grossly underestimated the power output on 160, rather embarrassing at the temple of regulation. Bob VE7BS The 250H range is 2 to 30 mhz 160M is not quite covered but I think is ok. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
Bob, If you had a 250H that read grossly underestimated, then you had a bad element, the line section or the meter. The usable range in NOT a square-wave. Price W0RI Hi Jim Many years ago at 4U1ITU I found the Bird 43 grossly underestimated the power output on 160, rather embarrassing at the temple of regulation. Bob VE7BS The 250H range is 2 to 30 mhz 160M is not quite covered but I think is ok. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
Try Webster Communications in Rochester, Michigan. This is the old Webster Band Spanner mobile antennas. He's still around, I saw him at Dayton this year. He sells Bird elements. Also, don't forget Coaxial Dynamics that sells a wattmeter that uses elements that are compatible with Bird wattmeters. 73, Gerry, K8GT ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
Simply going to the Bird site would have given you a glimpse at one of their manuals that has the correction factors needed. Carl KM1H - Original Message - From: Bob Eldridge eldri...@direct.ca To: topband@contesting.com Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 1:44 PM Subject: Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help Hi Jim Many years ago at 4U1ITU I found the Bird 43 grossly underestimated the power output on 160, rather embarrassing at the temple of regulation. Bob VE7BS The 250H range is 2 to 30 mhz 160M is not quite covered but I think is ok. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2437/5100 - Release Date: 06/29/12 ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
Many years ago at 4U1ITU I found the Bird 43 grossly underestimated the power output on 160, rather embarrassing at the temple of regulation. If that was the case, they had a bad slug. The rating of the Bird 43 and standard slug is + or - 5% of full scale anywhere on the scale within the range of the slug, but it does not go far out of tolerance just 10% below the low end of the specification range. A 250-watt 2-30 MHz slug will read close to spec on 160 meters. If it is way off on 160, you can bet it is way off on 80 and 40 meters, too. - or + 5% means acceptable error is 12.5 watts low or high anywhere on the scale, although normally when freshly calibrated they are much closer than that. I would not expect a 250 watt slug to be more than 10-15 watts off on 160 meters, although the most common calibration failure is low reading. The low reading error almost always comes from the calibration pot making a high resistance connection to the wiper, meaning the slugs that go bad will age terribly low in reading. About 30% of my Bird slugs fail in ten years, despite very rarely being handled or used. People need to remember the accuracy specs, and use slugs that keep the meter well up the scale if accuracy is important. 73 Tom ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help
Or if you don't want to concern yourself with different slugs for different frequencies and power levels (other than UHF)...sell your Bird wattmeter and all the slugs and get a LP-100A which has NIST traceable calibration and typically reads +/- 3% of the power reading from 1 W to 3000W and you get peak or average reading as well as many other nice features... Call me biased -- because I have two of them...but if you want to learn more... http://www.telepostinc.com/lp100.html 73 de Greg-N4CC -Original Message- From: topband-boun...@contesting.com [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Tom W8JI Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 5:25 PM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Re: Topband: QRP and Bird 43 Watt meter help Many years ago at 4U1ITU I found the Bird 43 grossly underestimated the power output on 160, rather embarrassing at the temple of regulation. If that was the case, they had a bad slug. The rating of the Bird 43 and standard slug is + or - 5% of full scale anywhere on the scale within the range of the slug, but it does not go far out of tolerance just 10% below the low end of the specification range. A 250-watt 2-30 MHz slug will read close to spec on 160 meters. If it is way off on 160, you can bet it is way off on 80 and 40 meters, too. - or + 5% means acceptable error is 12.5 watts low or high anywhere on the scale, although normally when freshly calibrated they are much closer than that. I would not expect a 250 watt slug to be more than 10-15 watts off on 160 meters, although the most common calibration failure is low reading. The low reading error almost always comes from the calibration pot making a high resistance connection to the wiper, meaning the slugs that go bad will age terribly low in reading. About 30% of my Bird slugs fail in ten years, despite very rarely being handled or used. People need to remember the accuracy specs, and use slugs that keep the meter well up the scale if accuracy is important. 73 Tom ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
