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How Can I Calibrate A SWR Meter?

Question about using SWR meter with CB radio?

  • I just bought a SWR meter for my new CB and antenna and i am a little confused with the directions that came with it. It tells me to turn on CB and hold the mic button while i turn the calibrate knob until the needle points to the calibrate mark. OK i got that. Then it says to go to channel 1 and push the mic button to see the SWR reading. Then it says to do the same at channel 40. OK now here are my questions. What channel should i be on when i calibrate? If i start and calibrate on channel 1 do i calibrate again at channel 40 or just take the SWR reading at channel 40 without re-calibrating? To me it seems like i should calibrate somewhere in the middle like channel 20 and then take my readings on channel 1 and 40, but the directions dont specify. CAN YOU HELP?

  • Answer:

    you start on channel 1, calibrate so your needle is on 1 when you key up, then you go to 40, do the same. it should be the same on your needle on 40 and 1. you don't do it on the other channels, i don't know why. but i had a guy in coburg oregon show me how years ago, and i've calibrated alot of radios since them. get your swr's right, and your radio will get out/receive like a big dog!!!! i have a company radio in my truck, a cobra 29soundtracker, with a roadking mic, and i calibrated it myself. and my radio sounds better than these guys with the big peaked and tweaked radios and gets out about 8-12 miles(depending on conditions). little girl, big truck, big smile!!!!!

rob at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Yes, you are correct. You want to calibrate it at around CH 20. It isn't actually going to make a huge difference, as to what channel you calibrate it at, but for the most part you start at a around the middle of the frequency group your are tuning your antenna to. SWR stand for Standing Wave Ratio. What you are essentially measuring is the reflected power. That means that wen you transmit a signal, some of the power of that signal is being reflected backwards through the coax into your transmitter. When you measure your SWR on you CB, you should have an SWR reading on CH 1 and CH 40 at about 1 to 1.5. If you were to graph it out with the SWR being on the x axis, and the CB channel being on the y axis, it will look like a smile type curve. Good luck, and enjoy.

eman12343567

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