swr meter noob question

**the caveman** · 04-11-2013, 02:19 PM

Do swr meters always help guys? I just used mine and it seems Its made things worse.

**High Voltage Mobile NJ** · 04-11-2013, 02:35 PM

I just use them to test . it all depends what kind of meter you are using . what brand ? is it a really good one ? is it accurate + - less than 10% . pal star , dosey , daiwa , are some of the good ones. If it made things worse , you will have to play with jumper lengths sometimes. you really need a 1/4 wave to 1/2 wave length of coax from the radio to the first connection being the meter or the amplifier or driver . 9 footers work ok , 12 and 18 footers work the best.

**619 NJ** · 04-11-2013, 03:06 PM

Or have a friend with a pal star or Mfj, right High Voltage

?

**the caveman** · 04-11-2013, 05:17 PM

Lol I have an Aries swr meter. Its just a normal little meter, its just got switch for fwd & ref, 1 knob, 1 meter, and 3 foot jumper cable.

**Gordon Gekko** · 04-11-2013, 06:15 PM

exactly how did the meter make things worse?

**619 NJ** · 04-11-2013, 06:17 PM

HV has helped me tune pretty much every vehicle I have had. He has a palstar meter, I forget the model number. Basically, you hook up the meter directly to the antenna, and it transmits a signal and measures inductance, resistance, refelct, resonance, etc. IT allows you to tune super accurately. A plain old SWR meter works just fine, but it is nice to have a friend with the good stuff, and the know how to use it properly.

**Beercanman** · 04-12-2013, 05:15 AM

Originally Posted by the caveman

Lol I have an Aries swr meter. Its just a normal little meter, its just got switch for fwd & ref, 1 knob, 1 meter, and 3 foot jumper cable.

Might be a bad jumper, it happens.

Sent from your mom's mobile phone.

**doughboy** · 04-12-2013, 07:07 AM

Swr meter is just a test device shouldnt change much unless its broken somehow or bad jumper

**the caveman** · 04-12-2013, 01:08 PM

it might be the jumper. its an old meter. my buddy found it sitting in his garage among other old cb stuff (nothing worth value). the meter sticks sometimes but goes back to working when i tap on the side. would i leave it hooked up or do i take it off after tuning?

**BOOTY MONSTER** · 04-12-2013, 03:29 PM

try another meter .
heres some links explaining how to use a vswr meter in case you're not sure how .

here's another link explaining what vswr is .

http://cbradiomagazine.com/April%202007/SWR.htm