Copper Talk » Ask The Tech » General Technical Questions » Archived Messages » President Lincoln swr meter problems « Previous Next »

Author Message
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Radio514
Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 9:00 am:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I just got a President Lincoln and I'm not seeing any bars on my display when I key up to help me calibrate the SWR meter. I made sure the power was turned all the way up and keyed up the radio but I still don't see anything. Then I hooked up my Astatic PDC 600 external SWR/POWER/MOD meter and I'm getting no needle movement on the meter but the meter works with my other radios. I tested the radio quickly over the air and I got great audio reports and a difference was seen in my signal whenever I adjusted the power from low to high. How come I can't get any SWR/POWER readings on the internal and external meters. What am I doing wrong? Please help.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Alsworld
Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 9:00 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Are you calibrating it by the instructions, or do you have instructions? I'm not sure of the external meter, but for the internal one to work, here's what to do.

Set the radio on the channel you want. Adjust your variable power to where it's straight up (about half power). Press the indicator (INDIC) button several times (it's just below the frequency counter near the bottom left hand corner). You will see the words "MOD, RF, SWR" and a small triangle change each time you punch the button. Set it on the small triangle that looks something like this "Ñ" except this is upside down. Make sure your radio is on AM. Key the mic and hold it keyed while you adjust the SWR/CAL knob (to the left of the LED screen) to where the LED bars line up with the triangle. Unkey, then push the INDIC button once more to where the SWR is displayed. Key down again and read the SWR. If no bars or just a few, it's a good match.

I hope this made sense. I'd bet either the variable power was down, or you were trying to read SWR in another mode instead of AM (SWR must be check in the AM mode). That may account for the external meter not reading as well.

Let us know

Alsworld
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Kc0gxz
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 2:44 am:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Alsworld

I'm glad you brought up the AM point. My question would have been, "what mode are you checking the SWR on?"

Jeff, kc0gxz.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Radio514
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 6:53 am:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Alsworld

I do have the instructions and I've been trying to calibrate it exactly the way the instructions explain which is exactly the way you explained it and I'm still having problems. I did make sure I was on AM and I did turn up the power but when I key the mic, I see no bars at all. The signal and modulation meter show bars and work great but the rf and swr meter don't work. Thanks for explaining how to calibrate the meter because I was begining to think the manual was wrong. Now I know the manual is right and maybe there's something wrong with the radio. A friend of mines was saying it could be low power but I don't understand that.

Hey 307 can you please help me out with this. If the radio needs to be repaired, can I send it out to you to get it fixed and if I can, how do I go about it?

Thanks
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Radio514
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 11:13 am:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Could it be my power supply? I have the radio hooked up to a Radio Shack 10 amp regulated power supply and in the back of it, it has a 4 amp fuse. The president lincoln has a 7 amp fuse on the power cord. Is this power supply to weak and could this be the problem that's causing this radio to act this way?

Radio514
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Alsworld
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 5:27 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Radio514,

sounds like it may be a radio problem. Best best is to e-mail Tech307 directly. I haven't seen him check in much recently.

As for your power supply, 10 amps is perfect for the Lincoln. The 4 amp fuse on the back is protection from overload for 115 volts (AC power). The fuse on your radio is higher (i.e. 7 amps) but 7 amps DC at probably 12-13.8 volts.

A pretty bad explaination but basically you power supply and radio are both set up just fine.

Sorry dude, but not sure about the radio bars. Something ain't right, but you already knew that. Wish I could be more help but that one is odd.

Alsworld
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Radio514
Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 1:07 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Alsworld

I think it's definitely a radio problem because after all this discussion, the meter on the radio started working as well as my external meter and then it stopped working and then started working again and now it stopped and hasn't come back. I checked my cables and antenna and everything works fine, so my guess would be the radio needs to be fixed.

Add Your Message Here
Post:
Username: Posting Information:
This is a private posting area. Only registered users and moderators may post messages here.
Password:
Options: Enable HTML code in message
Automatically activate URLs in message
Action: