My swr meter will not calibrate. I put it on fwd, Key the mike, put it on ref,and it pegs the needle. why?

Not available anywhere.

https://www.google.com/search?q=astatic+pdc-600+power+meter+wiring+diagram

Just the Owner Manual

http://radiomanual.info/schemi/ACC_instrument/Astatic_600_user.pdf


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its so easy a 5 y o can do it. Look at dial , it will have an upside down triangle to the right.Set you radio to forward and key your mic and they needle should be set on this mark.use the calibrate button to set it on the mark. Now put the switch on ref and key the mic.This is your SWR on this channel.Now do the same on 40 and 19. make sure you write those numbers down.

The SWR meter on the radio is some what accurate, you might want to use an external meter. First thing you do is get a pencil and paper to write down the readings. On your meter you will notice it says FWD and REF. Set your radio on channel one then set your meter on FWD , key your mic , adjust the meter to the check line , then switch it to REF and do the same . Now write this number down. Switch to channel 40 and do the same then do the same on 19.If you have a final reading of 1.5 over the band then you are ok but if its higher on 40 then on 1 you have to shorten the antenna , if its higher on 1 then you have to lengthen it . Continue this until you have a satisfactory reading.

Goto channels 1 20 and 40 and do the following.... this a generic calibrate all swr meters have different buttons different style of meters etc...
set meter too the set/cal/fwd position. key mic adjust the meters needle to cal spot should have an arrow or red line etc. then change switch to swr/rev too show your reflected swr.

ch 1 is longer wavelength than ch 40.
if ch 1 is good swr and ch40 is high swr-- then make antenna shorter
if ch 40 is good swr and ch 1 is high swr-- then make antenna longer.
then try to get a good balance between the lowest freq and the highest freq./ch.
-- anymhz(dot)com ---- Radio Shop

To check the SWR, you put the swicth on CAL and key the mike with mike gain turned down all the way,then calabrate it to the meter on the CAL scale,then swicth it to SWR before you unkey the mike, then what ever the needle falls back to, that is your SWR reading.

To calibrate the meter set the switch to FWD/CAL/REF and key the microphone without speaking into it. then turn the control until the needle is on CAL. Unkey the mic, set the switch to SWR and then key the mic to read the SWR.

Thanks,
Dodgem250.com

Good power supplies and good quality coax is important also.
Check SWR too.

Get a External SWR meter:
with the switch in FWD position, key radio and use the CAL knob to set the meter so the needle is just touching the end of the red area on the right-hand side of the meter.
Once calibrated, unkey and switch the switch to REF and key up again. The lower the reading, the better. Check the SWR on channel 1 and channel 40. If the SWR is Higher on 40, the antenna needs to be shorter.. if its higher on 1, then the antenna needs to be longer. Assuming the antenna is adjustable, of course.

Go on a channel where people are talking and when some one stops transmitting key up and say, "breaker breaker, can I have a radio check please?"

that is how you call for a radio check to see if people can hear you.

breaker breaker, or break break means kind of like, "excuse me, I would like to talk on the channel please."

If they hear you the will most likey say, "its working." or "Checks in the mail." You can then ask them after that how the radio sounds.

Also make sure your mic gain is up.

If you get no response then there may be another problem. Make sure you followed the instructions that came with the radio on how to tune your antenna for best SWR. This is important.

You are using an inline swr meter to set your swr right, not looking at the meter on the radio? Here is the process to set swr on an antenna:

You must have an inline swr meter, which can be purchased online or from a truck stop. The ones at truck stops are cheap ones, but will do the trick for the most part.

You connect your antenna 18ft coax to the antenna plug of the swr meter, and a jumper coax (any length) to the transmitter plug of the swr meter and then to the radio.

Close all doors and make sure no one is messing around with the vehicle or antenna. You must be set up as you would normally be transmitting.

Now set your cb radio to channel 40 and your swr meter to fwd. Key up your microphone and at the same time turn the set knob on the swr meter until the needle is at the line that reads set. Unkey your mic and set the the swr meter to ref. Key up again and note what your reading is. Now leave the swr meter in ref and turn the cb to channel 1. Key up and take your reading. If the reading on ch 1 is higher than ch 40 you must raise the stinger on your antenna. If ch 1 is lower than 40, you lower your stinger. You are trying to get lower than a reading of 3 and as close to 1.5 as possible. If you lower your stinger as far into the antenna as it will go and you need it shorter, you cut the bottom of your stinger no more than 1/2" at a time, and recheck your swr reading after each cut.

Once you have gotten the best reading you can, connect your antenna directly back to the radio.

The setting of your swrs is to make your antenna as efficient as possible, by trying to get it as close as you can to a 50ohm impedance. THE ONLY PART OF YOUR SYSTEM THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR SWR IS YOUR ANTENNA, not your coax and not your radio. Your radio and coax can give you false readings, but only the antenna can actually change the swr.

On the swr meter, the fwd/ref switch stands for forward (power that is being transmitted out) and reflected (power that is reflected back into the radio.

Just for information sake, the swr cal switch on your radio is used to set the meter to reflect the swr that your antenna is set at. The meter on your radio is like a dummy light on your car. ONCE AGAIN, YOU CAN NOT SET YOUR SWR ON YOUR RADIO, only the antenna.

Hi,

Based on your post/description:

1. how do i set the swr
Normally SWR are calibrated on your operating channel (where you usually stand-by). This is to maximize transmit power and receive sensitivity. To set SWR, switch to channel of your choice, switch SWR control to CAL, key or press PTT, while pressing PTT rotate ADJ knob until max deflection of needle on meter, release mic, switch control to SWR, key/press PTT, needle reading/deflection is SWR for that channel.

I would suspect that your SWR will vary from your current 1.4. This is because you have too big excursion of channels (240 channels).

2.reading a 1.4
This reading is good enough and should do. However as earlier stated, you seem to have 240 channels which would mean that your radio + antenna moves in a wide bandwidth and since the antenna tuning is affected by frequency, your SWR will also be affected by channel.

Best if you can further lower it down.

3. some cb cant get me
This is because the standard CB radio is only 40 channels. The next would be a 80 channel and then 120 channels.

4. is it my radio
Yes, you have a wide coverage radio almost an extended 10 meter rig.

5. do i have to set my radio on high or low to set my swr
I will assume you are referring to power output, set it to HIGH when doing SWR calibration

Hope this be of some help/idea. Pls post back how things turned up or should you need additional information.

Good luck and kind regards.