Good afternoon.
Have been absolutely swamped with e-mail and have only 238 replies to go;
however, I wanted to pass along one comment about the overload problems
with the MFJ, AEA and AUTEK VSWR meters.
At every convention where I give an antenna talk, such as at Flagstaff this
past weekend, I always mention this subject. It is firstly to help people
who are using them, as it is a very common problem. The false readings cause
folks to spend countless hours chasing a situation that does not exist and
creates related frustration. Who knows, they might even give up on a
worthwhile antenna project.
A second reason I mention it is for self-defense. As a low figure, I would
estimate I have spent over 200 hours on the telephone during the last year
because of this problem. It happens at least once a week, sometimes once
a day. That means there must be a lot of these units out there. It also
means I spend this company's time and money to educate the purchaser of the
other company's product. If I think about 200 hours of telephone time, plus
my time even at minimum wage, it adds up to a nice bill. The other side to
it is that people initially think there must be a problem with the antenna
and begin to ask around, e-mail, Reflector, etc. Afterall, the electronic
device couldn't possibly be wrong!
I appreciate Charlie noting on this electronic highway that the problem was
with the measuring device. It is rare that anyone does this.
Maybe those of you who like to write could write to the various
manufacturers of these devices and ask them to put a caution in the
instructions. This should include the low battery problems, as well.
I use all three of them in antenna testing. The testing is done at
several locations, with varying environments. This provides me with
situations customers are likely to encounter. Each has good and not-so-good
aspects. The one thing common to all is:
remember to turn it off when not in immediate use!
Have a good day and 73,
Tom, N6BT
Force 12 Antennas and Systems
(Home Page http://www.QTH.com/force12 )
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