Cheap swr meter

[Awz1287]

Can anyone recommend a good but cheap swr meter?
I was looking at the astatic and the workman meters on Amazon.com for like $20, is either of these any good/accurate?

Edit: also how accurate is the built in meter on the bearcat 980? Do I need a separate meter to set it up?

 

[sdeeter19555]

Accurate enough for our CB radio...either should work well.

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[Awz1287]

Accurate enough for our CB radio...either should work well.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Thanks, do you have a preference between the two brands?

 

[sdeeter19555]

The workman was a decent brand the last I heard (couple years ago). Again, they are a cheap meter, but do a decent enough job to verify SWR on a typical CB.

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[sdeeter19555]

The meter in the radio is probably decent enough for rough setting the SWR, but most of the built-in meters are slightly off from my experience.

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[mmckenna]

I agree with the others, however:

If your radio already has a built in meter, then don't buy $20 meter thinking it's going to be a huge improvement, it likely won't be.
Instead, take that $20 and find someone that has a really good meter, either a CB radio shop, an amateur radio operator, or a two way radio shop. Give them the $20, let them check it with their meter, compare the results to your built in meter and be done.

Unless you plan on using an outboard SWR meter a lot, don't spend the money on a cheap one. True, they'll get the job done, but the one in your CB will give you decent enough results. After all, we're talking about 4 watts.

Now, if you do plan on using one a lot, get a better one, or better yet, invest in a basic low end antenna analyzer.

 

[K7MEM]

If you are looking at something like the Workman HP201S, the Workman SWR3P, or the Astatic PDC1 100 Watt SWR Meter, don't bother getting one. They are not going to be any more accurate than the SWR meter in your radio.

Almost any SWR meter in the $20 to $30 range is going to give you about 10-20% accuracy. It might show you a 1.3:1 SWR when a better meter might show 1.2:1 or 1.15:1. Or the other way around. But so what? That may be all you need to know.

But for a little more money, there are better meters. I recently bought a Workman HP202S at a ham fest for $10. It was for sale at that price because, the owner said that it was not very good for all of HF. I would expect that since it's only rated fro 26-30 MHz.

But I bought it because I liked the meter. It's a nice dual cross needle meter. I will swap out the sensor for one that does work better for all of HF, for use with a QRP rig. The SWR rating for this meter is 1.2:1 to infinity. This means that, on the low scale, any reflected power below 0.2 watts may not be detectable and show on the meter. But that's pretty meaningless. Coax loss due to SWR, especially when it is low, isn't worth worrying about.

Martin - K7MEM

 

[mike_gain]

Cheap SWR meter is defined as anything sold at a cb shop.

 

[JayMojave]

Hello Awz1287: I have a old Radio Shack SWR and Field Strength Meter I got for 5 dollars at the TRW swap meet. And it works just fine as compared to my Bird Meter 43, MFJ259, and network analyzer.

I just had to add a 4 inch heavy duty spring to my home made mobile 96 inch fiberglass antenna, and the radios swr meter was even close. Close enough for whos it 4.

I prefer the MFJ259 antenna analyzer (got it at a CB Shop) so that I can adjust the frequency while measuring the SWR, this shows me were the antenna has the lowest SWR and if I need to shorten it or make it longer. You can do the same with a SWR meter, just takes a few seconds longer.

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert

 

[DK327]

I have the Workman SWR2T (10W) and Astatic PDC1 (100W) paid under $20 for each and they both are pretty accurate.

 

[FiveFilter]

I bought the Workman and am pleased with the results. It's a comfort knowing the antenna is tuned for best results. An economical SWR meter certainly is worth $20 to me, as is an economical tire gauge, volt meter or other instrument that measures close enough to provide safety and performance for the average person in everyday life.