Accuracy of Uniden's 880 built swr meter?

[Hymefly]

I raised this question on another post, but I decided to post it under this specific topic. That way, it will be easier to find by others that may need help on this same topic. I have a Uniden 880. It comes with a built in SWR meter. I tuned my antenna using a basic Astatic SWR meter. I got readings ranging from 1.3 to 1.8. Using the cb's meter, however, I get 1.00 all across the board. At times, the readings shift eratically between 1.00 to 1.2, but almost always end up on 1.00. Has anyone else experienced this? Its nice to have a built in meter on the unit, but I wonder how accurate it is. I raised the tip of my antenna to see if the readings from the cb's meter changed. They did. On my Astatic I was getting a reading of 3.00 on ch. 40, but on the cb's meter I was only at 2.0. Either my Astatic is not accurate or my Uniden's meter is not accurate. Which one is it? I have no idea,

[Bombero]

Hey Hymefly..

I can't vouch for any radios built in meter...but I always use an external meter for any info. and setting my SWR's.

A lot of guys swear by the Bird watt meters.

For 11m I use a Autek Research WM-1 and a DAIWA CN-801HP3 HF/VHF 3KW Bench Meter.

For HF I use a PowerMaster I & II Station Monitor, VSWR & RF Power Meters

To each his own...but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Good Luck

Bombero

[1 ADAM 12]

I would go with the external meter. I adjust my mobile swr with a Vanco brand meter. I think I only gave about $25.00 for it. I'm sure it is not as accurate as a $300.00 meter but it is much closer than the built in meter on the radio. Just my opinion.

[Radar-DLDN]

I have noticed the same thing with my 980 meter. I think the biggest problem is there isn't much accuracy to calibrating the thing, sometimes you can't even get it right on the line. So I follow an external when actually tuning or checking the setup. The built in meter I just use if I am doing a quick check on the fly. It at least lets me know if there is any change since the last check.

['Doc]

Worrying about SWR meter accuracy isn't exactly a biggy, and it's importance is very muchly over-rated and in most cases misunderstood.
I don't know why, but most built-in SWR meters are not accurate. Seems like that could be corrected, but most manufacturers don't seem to care enough to do it. It definitely would bump the prices up some.
SWR, in general, is a 'relative' thingy. It's good for telling you when something has changed (in most cases, but certainly not all of them!), it can't really tell you -what- changed or why. It can give you a basis for determining what's changed, but only if you understand what it's telling you and do your own 'finding'.
Go here, read it all, then go find you a good meter;

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That ought'a keep you off the streets and out'a the bars for a while. Then again, it may cause you to go to a bar too!
- 'Doc

[Hymefly]

Worrying about SWR meter accuracy isn't exactly a biggy, and it's importance is very muchly over-rated and in most cases misunderstood.


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That ought'a keep you off the streets and out'a the bars for a while. Then again, it may cause you to go to a bar too!
- 'Doc

Wow...that article left me dazed and confused. I'll assume the radio is set up right. I'll have to talk it over with Mr Daniel right now just to make sure.

[North Texas Mudduck]

swr meters built into radios
are just for a relative reading

['Doc]

And even if it's a high dollar lab-accurate SWR meter, an external meter is just as 'relative' as an internal one. The only big difference is in just how accurate that relativeness is, and just as misunderstood, and about as useless.
- 'Doc

[silvereagle1]

That's my biggest issue with the 980 as far as the swr meter. Half the time it won't line up on the calibration mark. It either under shoots it or over shoots it. The instructions don't even say anything about which is the right reading if doesn't line up. As far as accuracy I think it's just good enough to let us know if there's been a big change or not to let us know something is wrong. One good thing about the 980 it does have an antenna system tester and an RF tester. Both say either pass or fail.

[MDYoungblood]

It is not that the meter in the radio is bad, it is just not accurate. The main reason is the manufacturer does not spend enough time to calibrate and align all the adjustments. You have to remember this are assembly line made and the person doing the adjustments probably only have a couple minutes before the next radio is in front of them. If you want the radio right than take it to a reputable shop and have it aligned and you have to specify the SWR meter too.

3's

Greg