[TenTec] Orion 1 SWR Indication When Driving an Amplifier

[Ken Brown]

Hi Bob,
> I have wondered
> if somehow RF could be getting into the Orion and affecting the reading, but
> I really haven't come up with a decent explanation.  By the way, my antennas
> are distant and I use common mode chokes on all of them; 
>   
While it sounds like with your antenna setup, RF getting into the Orion 
and making the SWR meter do funny things is not very likely, you might 
try running the amplifier straight into a dummy load with no switches, 
just the minimum amplifier to dummy load cable, to see if the problem 
goes away or changes at all.

If the wattmeter in the exciter to amplifier input line is indicating 
very low reflected power, and the SWR meter on the exciter is indicating 
high reflected, there has to be some explanation. With the lengths of 
coax you have described, even on ten meters the difference in readings 
of the two meters ought to be very small. How about the piece of coax 
from exciter to wattmeter? Are you sure it is okay?

DE N6KB
.