Quickie Review of the Radio Shack VHF/UHF Power/SWR meter Gary Buchholz / KE9ZM (It's obviously a slow day :) ) Ever wonder if that $39.95 Radio Shack dual band (VUF/UHF) power/swr meter really works? Intended Use. . . I bought one for use in my car. I certainly wasn't going to subject my $100+ Yaesu Power/SWR meter to these conditions. My intention of course, was to return it if it didn't work really well or if its accuracy was poor. At 1/3 the price of a good swr/power meter I thought I'd take a chance on the RS meter. It will be used permanently inline at the tail end of my ICOM 24AT HT and RF Concepts dual-band linear. The ICOM 24AT has 4 power settings and I like to know how we're doing with power and SWR. The RS meter will inconspicuously be mounted in my black dash. RF Concepts linear puts out about 5-45 watts depending on drive from the 24AT. Max power out is 45W with the 6.5W drive from the 24AT @ 14 Volts. Min power is 4 watts at lowest drive. Description. . . The RS meter covers 144Mhz and 440Mhz. Its quite small. It has 2 coax connectors (obviously, TX and ANT :) ), a range switch 0-15W & 0-60W and a two position function switch - SWR & Power. What is obviously missing from this meter is a CAL adjustment for SWR measurements. The back of the unit has SWR correction curves - PWR vs SWR. The Yaesu meter provides this same feature on the scale itself. The RS meter is too small to provide this in the same way. Impressions. . . My Yaseu meter has 3 power ranges 0-5W, 0-20W & 0-200W. Interestingly, in tests in power ranges that I intended to measure, a Bird wattmeter shows that the RS meter is more accurate than the Yaesu. To measure 25-50 watts one needs to put the Yaseu in the 0-200W range. The high %error of full scale reading makes the Yaesu quite inaccruate. In fact, its low by about 10 watts from what the Bird says. The RS meter is 5W off measuring 51 watts according to the Bird. However, the Yaesu meter is quite capable of making very accurate low power measurements in the 0-5W range. The RS meter does as well minus the resolution due to the small meter movement and scale. Conclusion. . . The RS meter cannot measure FWD/BAK power, or PEP, its not in a fancy metal case, it has no CAL provision for SWR, and, IT DOESNT COST $100+. To buy or not to buy the RS meter is dependent on what you want to use it for. Perpahs you dont need to measure PEP or see forward/backward power. (In fact, now that I think of it I dont need this either - and by the way, poor choice of scales on that meter, Yaesu!). For just basic measurements, to see how your SWR is doing, or, to get an idea of your power output, the RS meter at 1/3 the cost of a "real" SWR/PWR meter, is a great deal. And, to my surprise, more accurate in measuring "typical" power outputs from FM gear (HT - 5W or less & 25W-50W mobile rigs) than my more expensive meter. Good choice of scales/PWR-ranges on the RS meter !! At $39 I give it thumbs up. Gary / KE9ZM -- Gary Buchholz / KE9ZM Internet: gary@midway.uchicago.edu University of Chicago Packet: KE9ZM@N9HSI.IL.USA.NA Academic and Public Computing 1155 East 60'th St., Chicago, Ill. (312) 702-7611