'swr' Error on Icom M802

[stormsurf]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

By the way, you probably want to remove the "parallel ground". You don't want ground loops.

Good luck,

Bill
WA6CCA

All excellent advice. I now have a good starting point to tackle this problem. Thanks to you and the others. I will check back after performing all these checks. Have a great day, all. Cheers.

[ka4wja]

I just saw Bill's most recent post....(ours passed in cyberspace)

So, we are still discussing the same set-up / problem....

And, I agree, an antenna analyzer is nice, but not really suited for this purpose......especially if you're not familar with its features/operation....
Bill is absolutely correct, an external swr/power meter is the best tool for this application.......

But, regardless of what is "best" (an external swr/power meter), I still think you can easily and quickly do some basic troubleshooting using the power output display on the M-802 display????
It wil take you a few seconds, and cost you nothing at all....
Use FSK mode (and Hi-power mode), where you'll have an unmodulated carrier (140-150 watts max) to use for making power output (and swr) measurements....(if your swr is high, you'll NOT see anywhere near full-scale on the meter, rather about 2 or 3 segments.....)




Regarding a dummy load.....a Cantenna is nice (I have one under my operating desk at home), but it's not a good idea on-board.....I've got an old MFJ "dry" load on-board as well (can't remember the model#, but its the bigger one)


My advice (from ~ 40 years of HF radio experience, ham and maritime, both on-shore and at sea) take it or leave it, no worries here:

a) Use the power meter on the M-802.....it's not calibrated in "watts", but it's pretty accurate, with full scale at 140 - 150 watts, and about 10 - 15 watts per segment....

b) Remove that "parallel" ground wire......

c) Tell us if you hear the relays clicking in the AT-140....

d) Tell us if you do have 12 - 14 vdc AT the AT-140 (red and black wire on the AT-140 tuner plug)......although the load is small, just testing the cables for continuity might not show a problem under load.....

e) Report back your findings / Follow the advice given above.....
BEFORE you spend any more money....

f) Return the 259B......

g) Buy a nice swr/power meter (Diawa, etc.)



That's all I can think of, untill you do the tests recommended and report back the findings.....




Good luck...

John
s/v Annie Laurie

[fairbank56]

The AT-140 only tunes in "tune" mode. That is, when you press the tune button or the mic button if auto-tune is on. This is the only time you would hear the relays in the tuner. During tuning, the radio only outputs 10 watts and the tuner only outputs 300 milliwatts. This is a downfall of the Icom tuner's in my opinion but that's another story. The question is, is the tuner successfully tuning? Press the tune button and TX icon should come on and the TUNE icon will flash during tuning. If tuning is successful, the TUNE icon will remain on steady. If not, the TUNE icon will go out and the THRU icon will come on. If it successfully tunes but still gives you a high swr condition during normal transmit, I'd say you have an intermittent connection that only rears it's head during full power transmit.

Eric

[ka4wja]

Yep, what Eric wrote.....

{my comments about using FSK mode, were only to allow easier reading of swr/power (on an ext. meter), or power out (on the M-802's display)....}

Good luck.

John
s/v Annie Laurie