How to use SWR Meters for Ham Radio Beginners

[@kenmcmullan9330]

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]

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

[@medve23]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thank you, glad you liked the video 👍

[@OmbiePants86]

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]

Glad to hear it was helpful OP 👍

[@NineSeven8]

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]

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

[@HOAHamRadio]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

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

[@rlarajr2001]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

Glad to hear it was helpful 👍

[@bill-2018]

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]

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

[@W8VHS]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

Howdy Vern, thanks for watching 👍

[@teresiamoore9441]

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]

Hey Teresia. Glad to hear it was helpful 👍

[@kenmcmullan9330]

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]

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 👍

[@janiceemery2008]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Janice, glad you liked it 👍

[@Swamp-Fox]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

lol, thanks for watching SF 👍

[@kevinboog9576]

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]

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

[@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures]

Another informative class aPE THANKS!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Chuck 👍

[@NickFrom1228]

Nice summary and demo.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for checking it out...

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks man, glad you liked it 👍

[@youtubeaccount931]

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]

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

[@Aegieon76]

Very helpful, ThanX!!!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@calvinlong1265]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

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

[@calvinlong1265]

@@TheSmokinApe Thanks!!

[@FEPLabsRadio]

Good job, son!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Well thank you James 👍

[@TheAntonymer]

@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]

Do’h, good catch 👍

[@TheAntonymer]

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

[@gfodale]

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]

Thanks! I’ll start planning the RFI test 👍

[@WonderMonkeyRadio]

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]

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

[@MrBracey1970]

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]

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

[@paulm0hpd319]

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]

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

[@paulm0hpd319]

@@TheSmokinApe that be great if you could

[@hokefisher7542]

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]

It will depend on the mode you use...

[@flobie1kenobi]

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]

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

[@macgyver5108]

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]

Thats a good tip Mac, thanks bro!

[@t.c.2776]

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]

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 👍

[@temporarilyoffline]

School is in!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Until summer!

[@Coyotethumper5]

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]

Sorry man, I haven’t

[@Coyotethumper5]

@@TheSmokinApe ok thanks

[@ARC928]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

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

[@kipnix8775]

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]

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

[@kipnix8775]

@TheSmokinApe thank you sir!

[@kipnix8775]

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]

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

[@TFuzz58]

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]

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

[@alanbrockmeier6871]

Well done as always! NM5SP

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Alan 👍

[@alanbrockmeier6871]

@@TheSmokinApe I’m

[@Thump2030]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

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

[@MikesGarageReviews]

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

[@TheSmokinApe]

lol