Leaderboard

I picked up the very clean looking Bird 43 wattmeter at the Hamvention in Ohio, 5/2023, with a leather case for about $200. Shopping elsewhere in the flea market area I also got a “N” type connector, looked basically new for $30, to swap out the SO-239 one on the side. These wattmeters are well accepted as a reliable instrument for measuring RF power. It’s not uncommon to see radio service manuals refer to it when setting up, or checking, the power calibration on a radio. I also picked up a couple of 5 watt elements covering 100-250 MHz and the 400-1000 MHz range for testing used HT’s I buy. Would get some higher power ones in the future to test a few 50 watt mobile radios and some high power VHF and UHF amplifiers I own.

This is a portable mast system for temporary use. The base is a heavy duty speaker stand I got at a flea market. The mast is from MFJ purchased new. The antenna is a telescoping dual band type that doesn't need a ground plane. With some aluminum tent stakes and small diameter nylon rope I can guy this for use in light to moderate wind conditions. In total the antenna is up about 20 feet. That gives an approximate calculated line of sight distance to the horizon of 6.25 miles. The antenna is an AL-800. There are various sources for this antenna all with the same model number but seems to vary in over all length a bit. https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/pry-al-800