RF Power Meters Tested and Compared

In this video we talk about RF Power Meters and compare the results from various models. What power meter should you buy with your hard-earned cash? Are the cheap meters worth looking at? Do you need to spend a princely sum to get something accurate? Enjoy the video and hopefully the answers to these questions and more will be found.

These are the meters under test:

1. Bird 43 Thruline Model 4314
2. Metropwr FX775 with an FX3 Coupler
3. Nissei RS-70 Digital Power and SWR meter
4. Midland M-30 CB Radio (it has a watt meter built in)

The prices range from £85 to almost £1,000 dependent on the number of elements purchased. We also talk about RF power in general including single side band and the different types of power measurement. If your tuning radios to a whisker below their legal limit then you need to watch this video to ensure you stay on the right side of the law.

00:11 Welcome
01:18 Test Equipment
03:36 Power Testing Types
05:59 Single Side Band
10:23 Bird 43 Thruline Model 4314
13:04 Midland M-30 CB Radio
14:06 Benchmark Test – Bird 4314
17:50 Metropwr FX775
22:33 Nissei RS-70
24:47 Test Results
26:06 Tune to Legal Limit using FX775
27:19 Re-test on the Bird 4314
29:00 Conclusion
30:21 Outro

Please feel free to leave a comment with your experiences using different watt meters and your results. Which of the meters above would you choose and trust? This video is not intended to be used as an educational resource but rather to invoke discussion. It’s a complex subject which took ages to research and compose so hopefully viewers will find it useful and easy to follow.

You will have legal obligations in your region with regards to radio transmissions, licensing and power outputs. Expanding a radio may increase its power or frequency range outside of what is legally allowed with or without a license. If you choose to modify your radio then it is done at your own risk. Remember, ignorance is no plea so stay on the right side of the law and double check before proceeding.

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