Hi Fred. The meter should be hooked up after the amp. Reason is: If you put it between the radio and amp it will only read the power going out of the radio and not of the amp. So put it after the amp to know how much is going out of the amp. IE: Iff your radio does 4 watts and the meter between the radio and amp it will only tell you 4 watts. I guess you'd like to know what is going out of the amp and not the radio. Therefor most of us hook up the meter after the amp.

I remember as a kid the antenna and "burner" that my dad had - whilst he wasnt a ham, he did keep a log which was fun to see, esp when the sporadic E kicked in.

Interesting video Fred. I think that meter is pretty accurate. Nice demonstration. You are so right in being careful of what you put into these amps. They won't last long with too much input power for sure.

Cheers for this Fred. I knew nothing about using linear amplifiers so this was good to watch. Clear and concise as always. My first ever go on a CB was an AM rig in the St. Albans college for further education way back 1980 or '81.

To measure true reflected power back to the radio the swr meter needs to be connected directly after the radio before any tuning units or amplifiers.

The SWR meter goes last in the chain, at the antenna end. (Ideally, although not practical, it should be right at the end of the transmission line, at the antenna connection itself.)

The name of the game is big power here in the states. I prefer the ladder and run barefoot. Undoubtedly, I've done better with a foot warmer. I just prefer the sense of accomplishment when I reach the east coast without a box. 73 Triple 7's out of Oro Valley Arizona

Fred we used to put our SWR meter at after the burner mainly because we would push about 800 watts ssb. it would depend on the day what Ariel use from a large quad (pdl2) or even a wire which ran over the house the reason for the wire it was split into different meters so one wire could do anything from 40 meters down to 2 meters. Dave (teapot or tango popa 35)

Loved the amps cranked them right up back in the day 😂

no side band no bullocks !! good video mate !! ttfn

Put the meter after the Anp Fred that way you’ll be able to see the output from the amp.I run 400w and my meter is always after the amp to keep an eye on swr and power out👍

People are forgetting the definition of SWR....you want to measure what is reflecting back down the antenna, so meter needs to be hooked to antenna (not between radio and amp). Between radio and Amp, you are no longer measuring the performance of the antenna (that is what measuring SWR is about). After all, you want to adjust it's length, which controls the amount reflected back.

100w is plenty for mobile and home use when conditions are right you will be heard on 12w or 100w. I think Good audio is most important

find a way to decrease the dead key of the radio to 2 watts, that would put less stress on the componets in the linear and you should get more out of it aswell, most importantly, it will last longer

The meter between the radio and amp will measure the input tune of the amp. The meter placed between the amp and antenna will measure the reflect between the amp and antenna, which is very important so that you don't smoke your output transistors.

The infamous 'Zetagi' Watts 😂😂

Hi Fred, just a note that when you were talking on AM the power meter was going backwards i.e. the power was reducing that is a sign your linear is being over driven and will distort. It’s really surprising considering your dead key is only 3.5 Watts on the Trueman, I guess the swing on AM is maybe only 1 - 2 Watts which tells me your amp is not linear much over 4 Watts in. You might need to reduce your dead key power down to 2 - 2.5 Watts to get it to swing up on AM to around the 50 Watt Mark with the amp on. Remember if the power starts going in reverse you are over driving and may distort or cause un wanted harmonics.

The power increase on AM from 4 to 40 watts, and on FM from 5 to 50 watts, shows about a 10 DB gain, or 10 times the unamplified power which is a nice incease for a small amplifier. W2CH

Lock downs are increasing mate, air ways will pick up again. Take care mate!

VSWR meter won’t work well between the amp and radio, it’ll work best at the very end, so after your amp. VSWR will be slightly different after the amp because there is more cable, more connections and also the amp before the meter. You want a little cable and connections as possible between the antenna and meter to get a good reading. Also you shouldn’t read VSWR with power anyway, you can of course but if you have a good VSWR before the amp is on, it shouldn’t be dangerously high after it’s turned on. If it is you have a problem.

I use the SWR last in series so I can see what piece is generating what output. My preference.

And if your using a omnl you have to divide it by 360 degrees.. Its actually more as the power is radiating out of the top of the antenna angles too in a doughnut shape.. The amount of power really is fantastically small rx, ed by the receiving station..

I've had this argument for years I've even put 2 set meters in line one before the burner and one after the burner ive found it's always safer to have it before the burner as when you set the swr after the burner it's always high at the radio. So this has been my conclusion but other people say that if you set your swr after the burner you drop the reflection so make up your own minds lol.

I find amps are more hassle than they are worth. My SWR would forever change so been put away forever I think. I run the CRT SS 6900 on full power on SSB and by fluke worked Mexico on propagation. Normally work Italy 3k from Gatwick Airport on half walf silver rod. All your recommendations Fred lol.

good evening Fred yet another good video mate 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😊😊😊😉😉😉😉😎😎😎

Without watching the video.. Generally with 4w input you get 80w max output. Even on a 200w amp. I thought that was universally known. My SWR is 1.2 I have a 150w 4w input amp.. It gives me 70 - 80 watts on FM (pending on the meter) I also have a 35w with an 8w max input amp... I get 16 - 20w using a 4w input.. The thing gets warm but not hot and because Im not over stressing it, thats why its lived 35+ years. I started CB with a repaired multi stage 600w valve amp (repaired by myself at school)... My 8w rig output on am.fm would give me (bear in mind its 40 years ago) around 400 to 500w. Like a soldering iron, you only forget and burn yourself once on them. I get s3 noise at home... Turn off the phone chargers and the PC and the noise vanishes. When Im mobile I get pockets of 30+ electronic noise. Average noise is s3. CB --- amp --- SWR/power meter -- antenna ... The meter is always after the amp. Always initially SWR your antenna using just 4w bare rig power.

You should always run your power meter and SWR meter after the amplifier when using an amp you will get a true reading of your SWR normally if you have a good SWR without an amplifier you should not have a problem using an amp one other note these meters are not 100% accurate they are basically just a reference so you need to remember that also if you want to Accurate meter you're going to pay some really big bucks these meters for $100 $200 at best maybe 75% accurate

after the amp fred thats why ham swr/tuners are rated at a kw or more

Hello Sir, your video is great. The SWR must be measured after the Amplified wave! Make sure your antenna and radio are properly grounded first. In a mobil i.e., car it's not the battery I speak of but the radio and antenna themselves. ( to the BODY of the car). In a base station an 8 foot copper rod into the ground to antenna and a separate wire from your radio to the same ground. I'm sure this is common knowledge to you yet I love to help. Also measuring output watts has two factors; average power and PEP peak envelope power. With that amp you tested your average was 50 but with a proper meter would swing to say 90 or 100 watts! Love your videos and hope this helps.. God Speed from U.S.A. 🍻 DB

Thanks for your time, Reading all the comments, I see that there are several options to correctly connect the station the SWR meter and the ampli and also see that some colleagues comment that it can be bad for the station according to what combination. Could someone make a summary for this topic to be clear? Cable that comes from the antenna connected to ... XXXXXX Output from the station connected to ..xxxxx Ampli - connection marked as RTX connected to .... XXXX Ampli - connection marked as ANT connected to .... XXXX SWR - Connection marked as ANT connected to .... XXXXX SWR - Connection marked as Transceiver connected to .... XXXX

Amazing videos man been using the crt6900 for a while looking to upgrade to the ft450d just wondering will it transmit on 11m out the box

Great video n it good check your pass true tune on your amp The way you puting meter is the way do it whith amp off If swr is much at all you won't hear as good as you shud N most amps you dont have as much power as thay say I know y'all use fm n thare no swing on am people see the swing think that graet lol But all that Maders is continuous watts you do need a litte Gowers swing N meter read all power even speris emissions off frequency that DON'T help at all I have 3 bird meters 2 43 n 1 4314c but o scope n the math don't lie . 707 I have meter like little one you thare good for tuning anttna N class c amps such on ssb N are not to clean I really enjoy your video's n look forward to your next

If the meter was fused, i would say close to the amp. Then it would not send a signal overload to reach the radio.

Fred after the radio

I have a 100 watt linear still in the box (i bought it just in case ) but i am able to talk longer distances and shoot skip without any trouble. I also believe using a linear for skip is like shooting fish in a barrel.

You need to put two POWR / SWR meters. On between the radio and the amplifier and one after the amplifier. Thats the best way. But once you tested that and everything looks as it should you could remove the one between de radio and the amplifier. I mean if you have the setup tested it probably will stay good. So one meter should be enough i think.

Zatagi equipment, know for over exaggerating what their equipment does. But yeah, you never get out what it says on the tin, but on SSB it should give it quite a kick.

Those old boots would kick out about 80W all night long if you put about 3 watts in. It usually took about 4.5W and a really low SWR to get the full 100. I had a 300W Zetagi one that had a habit of melting aerials if you keyed up for too long. 😅

Look, change the ceramic filters for 2.5kHz crystal filters and load them accordingly (about 1.2K ohm). Peak for max RX signal. Your adjacent channel noise will be gone. Put one meter after the amp, then set your VSWR resonance for the antenna. Then you will transfer the meter to the radio input. See what the VSWR is. If it's high, above 1:1.6 then open up the PA and use the trimmers to give a good match to the radio. If there are no trimers, then add a 100-200pf ceramic trimer from the input to ground. Tune for lowest VSWR. Job done. Use a low pass filter at the output to reduce out of band signals.

Apparently not to many operators here understand what S.W.R. is the abbreviation is for standing wave ratio this can only be measured between the transmission line and the antenna therefore the meter must be between the last transmission device and the antenna

i push out about 23 to 24 amp with my radio but i haven't asmy radio on for like 2 months

At the end for sure. Because you're calibrating the meter with what the power is you're getting two different ratings otherwise you're calibrating the meter power from the radio and then you're getting reflected back from the amp

If you can read PEP, peak envelope power, it will do 100W on AM. 50W on FM is pretty accurate.

Swr always goes after the amp as first stated

All the way through the CB heyday I never used or had interest in 'burners' although they were very common. So many badly set up rigs used to bleed over channels and otherwise cause chaos in the hands of the idiots and malicious. Now too old to camp on high ground for hours I suffer lack of contacts on 4 watts but see SSB and a better antenna as the way forward. I can understand in current conditions why people use them now though - it's lonely out there ! Been looking at magnetic loop antennas recently - any experience or advice to pass on ?

After the amp. No doubt

Used a 667 lots range on cb

That's untrue when you run your amplifier your SWR will always be a little bit higher because you're pushing power through the antenna you can have a flat SWR with no power and then your SWR could creep up to 1.5 with the amplifier on that's totally safe

Swr should by measured after the amplifier

Use a low power SWR meter to adjust the antenna at Channel 1 and 40 to under 1:1,5. Remove the low power SWR and replace it with high power SWR/P meter (after the amp). With 80W o/p be sure to ground your gear effectively. 80W CB is illegal anyway. Keep it therefore, let's say illegaly, to about 16W max. It's good enough to get around the EU. Better invest your effort into a stationary multy Lamda dipol or even better, a Delta-Loop antenna.

Oh, SWR meter, put it between CB and Apmlifier to read SWR between CB and Amplifier, also read SWR with Amplifier off, after Amplifier to see SWR between Amplifier and aerial. Simples! Inserting an SWR meter in itself affects SWR and if you take it out you will get a different reading, may be tiny or more.

I think they just x10 the input power so if u gave it 10w in you would get 100w put of the amp

Please explain the advantage of using a linear amp because although you can reach out farther, the additional radios you reach can't respond to you because they're only transmitting at 4 watts.

You should never have the meter after the radio it should always be the last thing before the antenna

Run your own test with two swr meters BUT they should be same brand and model to keep it as close as possible without all other variables if you use different brand meters . Have one next to the radio and one at the end and see what you get. You always get a bigger linear than you want because they tell you what the output is under idea or laboratory conditions. If you want 100 watts then get something that says 200 watts and you don’t have to run it hard just back it down to low or medium

Good video. I enjoyed it!

Can you similarly amplify a vhf uhf radio? If yes, is it needed? When is it needed?

Sometimes, you're just better off building your own amplifier. 😉

i think i need a whiskey

Greetings from Andorra. I have the same SWR meter and also a small amp. What is the correct way to connect it all? Thanks a lot

I am looking at getting a wee amp it is between the zetagi b150 or rm 200p would you recommend one of them over the other if i remember rite people use to prepare the older zetagi models

Take care Fred.....Bob

I'm a trucker. There's a trucker we call duck duck that has a 50 mile range on his radio from his truck and I've been trying to figure out how

I put mine after the amplifier due to it being power/swr

i thou the maxium watt on fm is 4 u can use without getting report

I'[d like to see that Zetagi on a spectrum analyzer to see what the 2nd and 3rd harmonics look like. Upping your power through a splatter-box is not a clever move.

Hello is 17 amps with continuous 15 amps power supply too little for a cb radio with maximum consumes 10 amp?

I just don't understand why they are illegal. Isn't a receiver preamp legal? It's a receiver preamp afterall. It just boosts the others guys receiver. lol

I have a wildlife 300 how many amps do I need. With a cobra 138 xlr.

If you want to measure the VSWR of your antenna, put your meter next to the antenna. Your 'linear' has its own matching network in it.

you can see in my id picture, RADIO>AMPLIFIER>SWR/WATT METER>ANTENNA

Its not about what wattage u got its all about ya aireal or how high you are if mobile

hi fred if i what to make a dipole how loung do i need the cable

I had one that did a 1000 watts.

You mention not using an Amp on ssb. Have you ever tried it out of interest. I've never.

What is meant by "headroom"?

BBI Fred lol Goodtest B150p good little AMP Zetagi amps are the best better than KLM AMPs 73s

👍👏👏

Read what power supply Would I need 4 cobra 148

Hey Fred have you ever watched Colin Furs he doesn't do CB radio videos but he builds crazy inventions I just thought you might like him he lives in England too.

Ofcom have a new regulation that if your using more than 10watts you have to submit an rf report , has anyone seen this ?

I was in full agreement on one of your previous videos where you mentioned the benefits of a good antenna. These amplifier are used to boost the transmitter power outside of legal power limits and should not be used in the U.K. These amplifier don’t just amplify the wanted signal but also any distortion and harmonic to a level that could be a problem to other spectrum users. Your power meter test don’t show how much of the transmitted power is actually on the frequency it’s needed. The SWR meter should be installed between the antenna and the linear amplifier. The input to the linear amplifier should have a roughly 50 ohm impedance it would therefore be entirely pointless to install the SWR meter between the radio and linear. You need to be very careful with how much rf power you put into the linear as again if you put to much power in it will produce horrible distortion products. Can I suggest you look at my videos on the Tiny Spectrum Analyser you may find this useful for basic radio testing or perhaps a SDR based spectrum Analyser kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fKyXrNaexK6pdqs.html. This will help you identify any out of band distortion. The output from the linear will be terribly distorted long before the linear overheats and pops its clogs.

You can't test it on SSB without a two-tone generator set to 25KHz.

woffal woffal polly waffal radio check 🤣🤣🤣

Ideally you want two vswr/power meters , Most aimed at CB vswr/power meters are pretty rubbish , Your vswr shouldn't alter much if anything at all from using a well designed amp .... I've heard and seen people say say that " Power affects set " ..... No it doesn't , Antenna resonance affects vswr , A four watt signal , Will have the same vswr as a hindered watt or even a Thousand watt signal , The main reason that people see their vswr go up when using a CB amp is due to its poor Input matching , A decent well constructed amplifier shouldn't alter the vswr , Obviously you readjust the vswr meter when going from low power to higher power if the vswr is single needle , Most cross needles vswr meters you just flick the switch to a higher scale to read the vswr or power .... There's lots of CB myths regarding Amps and antennas and coax ... Most are completely wrong but still get perpetuated even to this day .

Its getting hot so quickly because you are overdriving it,you should not use more than 2 watts in for bedt results

13.8 volt power supply or 15 volt make difference in watt

Put it next to radio

the comments section is filled with place it after and also place it before. please can someone clarify once and for all. otherwise this video shows nothing educationally.

Now you put your your M before your amplifier through Reading and your 1.1 cuz you don't want all that wattage going through that m 100 amps it could burn that m

100Watt on cb wattmeter is like 65Watt in real.

As many wats as you can afford. Doing 2000 out of my mobile.

Don't those things interfere with neighbours' TV signals, or is that an urban myth?

I love how Chicken Banders explain technical topics. It's all a load of bu//Sh/t , but it's fun to listen to for a laugh :-)

Is that permitted? Does anyone care?

Power out is dependent on power in, you will never get 100w out of an amp with 4w in, my 100w amp gets fed the full 10w that its rated for and the difference in output vs being hooked to a 4w rig is huge!

I would be worth mentioning that burners are illegal in the U.K. People that are new to the hobby may not know this!!!!!

Those new president radios are not worth buying they don't have the punch like the rci galaxy and Stryker and the longhorn radios I use a rci 2950dx and a antron 99 about 50 feet up in the and I don't use a liner I talk all over the USA barefoot the rci has been peaked and tuned and inlined

Oh for heavens sake. Nothing like a bit of CB foolishness to make amusement. The SWR at the amplfiier will almost always NOT be the SWR at the CB Radio; and that's because of the transistor(s) in the path. The CB radio should never see "SWR" when connected to the amplifier provided the amplifier has a 50 ohm input impedance. It will always be 1:1 SWR no matter how terrible is the SWR at the antenna terminal. So, always put your SWR meter on the output of the amplifier to see the SWR coming from the antenna. It is useful to briefly have it at the output of the CB and input of the amplifier to see if the amplifier is really 50 ohms input. That is to say, you should never, ever, see anything other than 1:1 perfect (nonexistent) SWR between CB and amplifier. But of course, since doing all that is illegal anyway, who cares that you are doing it wrong.

Oh Fred... what on earth are you talking about