Call up any major US or Japanese radio mfr and ask what they use for S-9 and I'll bet its still 50uv. Call 10 different mfrs in China and you will probably get 5 that know what your talking about but don't really calibrate anything and 5 that don't know or don't care.
The Kenwood radios, if set up correctly, will show anything between -70dB down to -120dB.
That's the range where it shows dBm.
To me the phrase "set up correctly" means it's set (and held) to some kind of standard, and not a (relatively) large range like -70 to -120dB, unless I'm mis-understanding something?
Yeah, by 'set up correctly' I meant that the function has to be enabled via radio programming software.
I hadn't thought of the radio program software dealing with meter readings, but now that you mention it, it makes sense. I guess I'm so used to dealing with non-software radios I was focusing more on meters being driven by an adjustable analog amp.
I'll even take it a step further: I'll be willing to bet a good percentage of manufacturers set up their meters to be a bit on the generous side, just to fool people into thinking that they make a more sensitive receiver. That's one of the reasons I posted the S-unit information, so that those that care can (if they so choose) calibrate at least their own receivers. (Or, as a minimum, be more informed.)
Many radios that handle trunking have the ability to look at signal strength to determine when to switch sites. Not all of them have the ability to provide a numeric signal level display, but some do.
Sounds like you're describing a voter . Played around with a basic version of that myself for diversity reception.
Would it be possible to use another antenna type to aid in direction finding?
I have a pricy Alinco DJ-G7 HT that I bought specifically for 2 meter transmitter hunting. Yes it is also 440 and 1.2G which I almost never use. It has a decent S meter but more importantly it has multiple levels of receiver attenuation. It also has a very useful audio S meter. As the signal got stronger the beeping would get faster. When full scale it would give a constant tone. Then I switch in a level of attenuation and continue. When walking very near the transmitter using "body fade" to get the direction I remove the antenna. This gets me within a foot or two. Prior to getting this HT I would tune to the third harmonic when close in which is in the 440 band.Hello, I have the cheapy uv5rs and the kguv8d. Both have crappy s meters. I need a low end radio with a good s meter.. what would you recommend? I was told yaesu has really good meters...
Would the yaesu ft65r work? Does it have a good meter? It's $90 prior tax.
Hello, I have the cheapy uv5rs and the kguv8d. Both have crappy s meters. I need a low end radio with a good s meter.. what would you recommend? I was told yaesu has really good meters...
Or, get a small cheap spectrum analyzer. I've never tried one of these, so I don't know how good they are:
Portable tinySA Spectrum Analyzer - AURSINC Hand Held Frequency Analyzer 2021 Upgraded V0.3.1 | 100kHz to 960MHz MF/HF/VHF UHF Input | ESD Protected Function & 2.8 inch Touchscreen | Signal Generator: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
Portable tinySA Spectrum Analyzer - AURSINC Hand Held Frequency Analyzer 2021 Upgraded V0.3.1 | 100kHz to 960MHz MF/HF/VHF UHF Input | ESD Protected Function & 2.8 inch Touchscreen | Signal Generator: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientificwww.amazon.com
yeahhh thats one of those things that looks waaaayy too fancy for the price. smells fishy. i'd be interested if anyone here has experience with one of those.
it's crazy how cheap stuff has gotten now. there are so many things, that are so within my economic price range, the biggest cost that stops me, is the Time-Cost-Expenditure and not monetary.Looks similar to the NanoVNA product. I have one of those and it works well enough for the price.
No, the NanoVNA doesn't even compare to my Agilent at work, but for the price, it does what I'd expect.