Thanks for the video. I wish more people were aware of the importance of using a dummy load. Everytime, I'm at a roundup I get to hear annoying whistling.
Cheers, man your video was really helpful. I hope you don't mind answering questions, as I'm going to start my classes soon for my basic license. I know have a long road to go. Really appreciate fellas like you with experience in Ham.
Great video! Too bad they don't teach this anymore. There would be a whole lot less QRM on the bands. I cut my teeth on the Kenwood Hybrids so an oil filled Dummy Load was one of my first purchases. Don't have the oil filled anymore but I have an air cooled 300 watt unit on my desk. Thanks again for you videos!!!
Nice informative video! I just purchased a Yaesu YP-150 to let me test and know what my Icom 746 Pro is putting out at an even match. Also I have a 6, 10, and 15 meter Mizuho MX "S" series 2 watt hand held cw/ssb radios that I wanted to make sure they are putting out enough of the 2 watts. Now, if they aren't, I got to figure out the calibration to "tweek" them to the advertised level of power output without a manual to do this...
Question; if you use a dummy load, will it totally protect the radio from any “way too high swr” damage that would likely be caused if you transmit without the dummy load?
Sorry for the delay in responding to your good question. A dummy load is a piece of test gear and is not inline during normal operation. If the dummy load is working properly, and the connecting coax is good, it won't damage your radio. And yes, you don't want to transmit without a dummy load or a resonant antenna system connected.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir Thank you so much, I will try with the dummy load. For me the antenna system are very hard to manage. What I mean is that I think I would need study a lot and buy expensive equipment like antenna analyzer to have my radio working properly with a low swr. I say this because I got a radio and though i just need to put some antenna out the window and that’s all. But no, I now understand that I need a proper antenna, a good placement as high up as possible, a reliable swr meter, a better coax cable than the one I bought, the right jumper cable to the swr meter, probably an antenna analyzer too. All this is very complicated for me. One person I asked told me it would be better if i had not bought this expensive nice radio and instead got a cheap one and put the money into a good antenna system.
At 2:27 you suggest that a dummy load can be used to test coax cables by connecting them to an antenna switch (i.e. Ant1 or Ant2 @2:48) instead of connecting to DUM. Does this mean if you are using the DUM selection the dummy load is normally screwed directly into the UHF type connector at the back of the Antenna Tuning Unit (which looks like an AT-230)?
Hi Chris, thank you for your question. What I mentioned is that it is convenient to keep the dummy load plugged in to the DUM connector on the back of the antenna switch if you want to make regular checks on your transceiver. The part about testing coaxial cables was in the previous statement and did not reference using the antenna switch. Hope this helps to clarify.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir OK many thanks for your prompt response. We had a Club shack sale on last night & I was weighing up whether to buy a Drake DL300 if I was already going to get a Vectronics VC300DLP (which has a dummy load built in). In the end I managed to get both items at very reasonable prices and will see if a spare dummy load is useful to have around or it whether it ends up the next Club sale. Lol.
Hey, does one need to match the wattage of the dummy load or is bigger better so long as the ohms and Hz range is compatible? So like can a 200 watt cover every thing from 1 to 200 or do I need a set of matching dummy loads?
Hello I have a fm transmitter circuit,which i made the rf signal source it, with a Chinese mp3 fm pll transmitter,as source and i ampelificated it with some rf stages....my problem when i conectted antenna which i tuned for 89.6mhz,by the formula like 145.2/divided to frquncey(~81cm every side of my antenna),when antnna is conectted still,after some minute ,last satge transistor get hurted, without any desire rf power on antenna,when i remove last stage transistor and check by multimeter it shows,base with collector leg,more values than base and emitter !!! Or same value !(multimeter is on diode test section,and transistor is npn 2sc3950 or 2sc1971)..... My questions is When dummy load is conectted,(two big 5watt 100ohm resistor in parallel to have 10 watt 50 ohm)its get warm,and trassitor not hurted anymore. Why my transistor get hurt if still i know i have tuned antenna for it ??!!!!!!!! Why all produced power dont goes to antenna ?? Maybe i drive last stage transistor with more power rf power which came from past stages, than it need?? Or unmatched antenna still is my mistake,idtk!? Can you advice me a antenna (a matched antenna)which work 100 percent,is it any simple matching trick? Addition: After 2sc1971 or 3950 collector leg,is a 3turn coil and one trimmer capacitor 60p and one 30p to ground... Antenna cable which i use, usually used for satellite receiver 75ohm (thick).....antenna rod i used is aluminium 9mm tubes.... I dont have any device to see how much power on which frquncey i have,just i made a simple power meter by use a old multimeter pointer,and a lamp connect to some leng wire to see power in output... I will appreciate if you give me a solution,cause i burned many rf transistors till this time .... Sorry too long text. Thanks a ocean
I'm very sorry for the late response to your comment. Unfortunately, much of your comment went over my head. As far as an antenna, you can't do wrong with a half-wave dipole made for your target frequency. Good luck!
Ok, i am setting up a Homebase station, I have a Watson W-10AM power unit, a CRE 8900 rig, a 5/8 wave Venom silver rod antenna. What dummy load should I be looking for. I am checking the swr on an old rig I had in my truck so as not to do harm to the CRE
Outdoors On The Air Straight over the top, is there not a general sort of dummy load to cover all ranges of the set or is it set specific. I am sort of getting an understanding of this in as much it is more than sticking a set in a truck and away you go.
The antenna switch is actually built in to my Kenwood AT-180 manual tuner. It's a good product that can be found at a reasonable price on the used market.
the best dummy load i ever make was my hot water tank or my electric stove,just connect a cox cable to your hot water tank or you stove and you have a dummy good for 8000w and good SWR ,try that ,you'll be surprise
Not needed. Ask is the frequency is in use three times. No answer then test your power or mic gain. This test takes no more than 10 seconds key down time. I have been a ham op since 1991 and never felt the need to use one.
Excellent video, clear and precise. Exactly what I needed to hear in order to use my dummy load.
Thank you for such a clear and concise explanation.
Thanks for the video. I wish more people were aware of the importance of using a dummy load. Everytime, I'm at a roundup I get to hear annoying whistling.
You're welcome! Thank you for the comment, couldn't agree with you more.
At 1:45 you say the dummy load can be used to transmit to another receiver in the same room. So it does radiate a little bit then, correct?
The cable will radiate a bit.
Cheers, man your video was really helpful. I hope you don't mind answering questions, as I'm going to start my classes soon for my basic license. I know have a long road to go. Really appreciate fellas like you with experience in Ham.
Thank you! Ask away, but also ask the people teaching your class. They are a wealth of information.
Great video! Too bad they don't teach this anymore. There would be a whole lot less QRM on the bands. I cut my teeth on the Kenwood Hybrids so an oil filled Dummy Load was one of my first purchases. Don't have the oil filled anymore but I have an air cooled 300 watt unit on my desk. Thanks again for you videos!!!
Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
A fantastic master class in DL, thanks!
You're very welcome!
Thanks for taking the time to produce this highly informative video. 73.
You're welcome! Thank you for leaving a comment. 73 from VE3TWM.
Nice informative video! I just purchased a Yaesu YP-150 to let me test and know what my Icom 746 Pro is putting out at an even match. Also I have a 6, 10, and 15 meter Mizuho MX "S" series 2 watt hand held cw/ssb radios that I wanted to make sure they are putting out enough of the 2 watts. Now, if they aren't, I got to figure out the calibration to "tweek" them to the advertised level of power output without a manual to do this...
Thank you for sharing your experience. That YP-150 is a real gem.
Question; if you use a dummy load, will it totally protect the radio from any “way too high swr” damage that would likely be caused if you transmit without the dummy load?
Sorry for the delay in responding to your good question.
A dummy load is a piece of test gear and is not inline during normal operation. If the dummy load is working properly, and the connecting coax is good, it won't damage your radio. And yes, you don't want to transmit without a dummy load or a resonant antenna system connected.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir Thank you so much, I will try with the dummy load. For me the antenna system are very hard to manage. What I mean is that I think I would need study a lot and buy expensive equipment like antenna analyzer to have my radio working properly with a low swr. I say this because I got a radio and though i just need to put some antenna out the window and that’s all. But no, I now understand that I need a proper antenna, a good placement as high up as possible, a reliable swr meter, a better coax cable than the one I bought, the right jumper cable to the swr meter, probably an antenna analyzer too. All this is very complicated for me. One person I asked told me it would be better if i had not bought this expensive nice radio and instead got a cheap one and put the money into a good antenna system.
Thanks for the insightful video. Convinced me to buy a MFJ969.
You're welcome, and thank you for watching!
THAXU I'm ordering in a few days.
At 2:27 you suggest that a dummy load can be used to test coax cables by connecting them to an antenna switch (i.e. Ant1 or Ant2 @2:48) instead of connecting to DUM. Does this mean if you are using the DUM selection the dummy load is normally screwed directly into the UHF type connector at the back of the Antenna Tuning Unit (which looks like an AT-230)?
Hi Chris, thank you for your question. What I mentioned is that it is convenient to keep the dummy load plugged in to the DUM connector on the back of the antenna switch if you want to make regular checks on your transceiver. The part about testing coaxial cables was in the previous statement and did not reference using the antenna switch. Hope this helps to clarify.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir OK many thanks for your prompt response. We had a Club shack sale on last night & I was weighing up whether to buy a Drake DL300 if I was already going to get a Vectronics VC300DLP (which has a dummy load built in). In the end I managed to get both items at very reasonable prices and will see if a spare dummy load is useful to have around or it whether it ends up the next Club sale. Lol.
Good score at the shack sale!
Should title this “Dummies For Dummies”.
😁
I wish I'd thought of that when I posted the video 😂
Thank you for the information! Great video!
You're welcome!
Onto many dummy loads it is written 3GHz. Are good for testing power in 136-500 MHz range ? (radios within VHF and UHF bands)
As long as the specifications state operation over the intended frequency range, you should be OK.
Hey, does one need to match the wattage of the dummy load or is bigger better so long as the ohms and Hz range is compatible? So like can a 200 watt cover every thing from 1 to 200 or do I need a set of matching dummy loads?
A 200 watt capacity dummy load will work with any transmitter 200 watts or less 👍
Hello
I have a fm transmitter circuit,which i made the rf signal source it, with a Chinese mp3 fm pll transmitter,as source and i ampelificated it with some rf stages....my problem when i conectted antenna which i tuned for 89.6mhz,by the formula like 145.2/divided to frquncey(~81cm every side of my antenna),when antnna is conectted still,after some minute ,last satge transistor get hurted, without any desire rf power on antenna,when i remove last stage transistor and check by multimeter it shows,base with collector leg,more values than base and emitter !!! Or same value !(multimeter is on diode test section,and transistor is npn 2sc3950 or 2sc1971).....
My questions is
When dummy load is conectted,(two big 5watt 100ohm resistor in parallel to have 10 watt 50 ohm)its get warm,and trassitor not hurted anymore.
Why my transistor get hurt if still i know i have tuned antenna for it ??!!!!!!!! Why all produced power dont goes to antenna ??
Maybe i drive last stage transistor with more power rf power which came from past stages, than it need??
Or unmatched antenna still is my mistake,idtk!?
Can you advice me a antenna (a matched antenna)which work 100 percent,is it any simple matching trick?
Addition:
After 2sc1971 or 3950 collector leg,is a 3turn coil and one trimmer capacitor 60p and one 30p to ground...
Antenna cable which i use, usually used for satellite receiver 75ohm (thick).....antenna rod i used is aluminium 9mm tubes....
I dont have any device to see how much power on which frquncey i have,just i made a simple power meter by use a old multimeter pointer,and a lamp connect to some leng wire to see power in output...
I will appreciate if you give me a solution,cause i burned many rf transistors till this time ....
Sorry too long text.
Thanks a ocean
I'm very sorry for the late response to your comment. Unfortunately, much of your comment went over my head. As far as an antenna, you can't do wrong with a half-wave dipole made for your target frequency. Good luck!
Ok, i am setting up a Homebase station, I have a Watson W-10AM power unit, a CRE 8900 rig, a 5/8 wave Venom silver rod antenna. What dummy load should I be looking for. I am checking the swr on an old rig I had in my truck so as not to do harm to the CRE
You need to look for these specs in a dummy load...frequency range and maximum power rating.
Outdoors On The Air
Straight over the top, is there not a general sort of dummy load to cover all ranges of the set or is it set specific. I am sort of getting an understanding of this in as much it is more than sticking a set in a truck and away you go.
in normal speak, use this in place of antenna when testing radio so you don't broadcast a bunch of noise walking on others using their radio...
well done.
Looks like another trip to radioworld..lol
What model antenna switch were you showing in the video?
The antenna switch is actually built in to my Kenwood AT-180 manual tuner. It's a good product that can be found at a reasonable price on the used market.
very good information. bravo
Thank you, I'm glad you found it helpful.
Very good information. Thanks for sharing. 73. Jmc
You're welcome, Joe!
Well put Tnx
You're welcome, thank you for your comment.
the best dummy load i ever make was my hot water tank or my electric stove,just connect a cox cable to your hot water tank or you stove and you have a dummy good for 8000w and good SWR ,try that ,you'll be surprise
I've never heard of this before. If true, that's fascinating.
Might have to put the crack pipe down
This video only makes sense if your dummy load has a built in watt meter, which most do not
I respectfully disagree. Your' rig's wattmeter or an external wattmeter would work just fine.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir lol
goodjob ..DX 419 PHILS..
Thank you!
I recognize the Yaesu 897 - Great video ! 73 de Va2Pcv
Thank you, Louis! 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Not needed. Ask is the frequency is in use three times. No answer then test your power or mic gain. This test takes no more than 10 seconds key down time. I have been a ham op since 1991 and never felt the need to use one.