Possible to blow an exciter output?

[BMDaug]

So I’ve been messing with an old 6m exciter. I didn’t realize that I was actuating the ptt circuit… without a dummy load or termination… probably four or five times for about a second at a time. What are the odds I did damage?

I don’t have a dummy load. I’ve operated radios a bunch, but haven’t messed with rf circuits much… I have a scope but it only goes to 25mHz… is there a way I can test the output to see if I broke it?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[mmckenna]

What's the exciter output level?

Unlikely to be a problem. Finals don't explode in miniature mushroom clouds like the CB'ers like you to think. There might be some heat build up, but if it's just an exciter, it's probably going to handle that little bit of heat just fine, especially if it was only for a second or two.

 

[BMDaug]

Hey thanks for the quick response! The output is 9mw… so pretty low level. Definitely one second or less, four or five times in about a minute. I agree that it’s probably fine, but I’d like to be able to measure it in some way… I just don’t think I have appropriate equipment!