Sudden Swr Drop & Power Drop

[Sam P]

Good result

[andrew013]

Thank you all so much for your replies & suggestions, all very much appreciated.
I checked everything including my patch leads again with my continuity setting on my multi meter, like i said I check Avery lead & every plug & joint before installing to set up.

Anyway in the end I thought I would take it back to the shop where I had it for them to check it out for me.
So i unplugged the Grant 2 & took it to my local radio shop Radio World & the Rig Doctor sorted it.
The rig had dropped power & was only pushing 3 Watts FM & 7 on Rest,
He Tweaked the nessecary and all good now
Brought it home, Plugged it all in & RESULT !

I am glad to say that all is working as it should.

Also while I was at Radio World today & after speaking to the Technician & Sam who works there who both have a huge amount of expierience I treated myself to a Yaesu FT-450d at a unbeatable price

3 watts is more than enough power to swing a swr meter turning radio up to 4 watts will make no difference and 7 watts on other modes would definatley make the meter swing so i hope for your sake there is not a fault else where ,as a ft 450 is a lot more money to go wrong and i also wanted to say earlier it looks like you keep swr meter in line , no need it just cause`s loss seeing as your so keen on getting max rx tx out of you new set up

[P5shn]

Well the ariel seems to be all fine, I have done everything correctly and I will drop the ariel when I can and waterproof the joints on the sections of the gain master

Since I have put it up my SWR is good giving me regular readings of 1.2 & has always been consistent until today's episode.
I won't be using it in line with the FT-450d when I get it tmrw.

As for the Grant 2 now it is back all appears good & the SWR/PWR meter is all working as it should be, plenty of adjustment now to calibrate the correct reading unlike before when there was an issue.
Seems that now the rig is set at the right power everything is good,
I have no real concerns as I know that the lads at Radio World will rectify any issues that may arise.
I think a dummy load would be a good idea so I can monitor problems if they arise.

While talking to Andy the tech guy today he said it was defiantly the rig that had dropped out power & possibly due to the fact it has had the mod done.
The mod was done by them also so no warranty issues for me they said, it is still covered by them for 3 years I think it is as it is a new radio.

Even tho I have had some issues sorting my Set up out I have most definitely NOT lost interest & am looking forward to enjoying my new hobby

[Admiral]

I suspect the dismantling and re-assembly cured your issue, 50mW will swing a VSWR meter, so 3 watts would have been no issue whatsoever, be prepared for your 'ghost' fault to return on your newly 'tuned' set sometime in the future.

[P5shn]

TBH I went through everything, took every cable out and tried absoloutley everything inc taking rig out and refitting it all,
The SWR meter was swinging but not giving enough swing to set the SWR
Andy the Tech guy said it was not putting enough power into the SWR meter, and not only that but the meter on the Grant was only going up about 3 bars when TX compared to nearly all bars lighting up. So that was down a lot.

Now it is going up lovely and everything is working as it should.

I am no technician and the problem was diagnosed by the tech guy at Radio World and all I know is that it is all working bang on since he has worked his magic on it.

I agree that 3w should of done the job but it didn't on my Grant 2. But all I know is that it was deffo a rig problem.

Time will tell.

[ghost123uk]

I'm glad for you that it's now working, but summat doesn't add up here I suspect.

Are the RF finals in an FT-450 safe if presented with short (or open) circuits? (some types are).

[paulears]

We forgot to ask one VERY important question when you first told the problem. Could you hear things? Aerial faults are there on receive and transmit, so if the meters tell you there is a problem getting out, there should be a problem listening too? So water in the cable means normally strong signals are much weaker or totally gone. As your problem was in the radio, I'm expecting you could still hear stuff? We should have asked that, and we didn't - sorry.

[andrew013]

Andy the Tech guy said it was not putting enough power into the SWR meter , /utter rubbish
he said it was defiantly the rig that had dropped out power & possibly due to the fact it has had the mod done / rubbish
again

but summat doesn't add up here I suspect/. i agree
I am no technician and the problem was diagnosed by the tech guy at Radio World and all I know is that it is all working bang on since he has worked his magic on it.////
the tech guy at Radio World is only guessing at the end of the day with out actually having the fault infront of him and if he thinks 3 watts is not enough to swing a meter well im saying no more

I suspect the dismantling and re-assembly cured your issue, 50mW will swing a VSWR meter, so 3 watts would have been no issue whatsoever, be prepared for your 'ghost' fault to return on your newly 'tuned' set sometime in the future. /most definatley agree there admiral
I think a dummy load would be a good idea so I can monitor problems if they arise. //should have bought that instead of a ft450
Even tho I have had some issues sorting my Set up out I have most definitely NOT lost interest & am looking forward to enjoying my new hobby
i hope you do i really do but as its now its getting to the lowest point of the cycle i fear you may have come into it at the wrong time but now you have a ham radio get a long piece of wire and tuner and start from bottom of the scale and dial through the radio im sure you will find some good listening

[P5shn]

When I took the rig over and Andy plugged it all in & it was doing exactly the same as it was at home,
He explained to me why it was doing it & adjusted it in front of me.
He then tested it again in front of me & it was now working like it was originally when I first had it .... all good.
The meter was now going up again in the rig display like it did before also.

Therefore to me the problem must of lay with the rig as this has been proven as everything is now working as it should.

I have been looking at the FT-450D for a while now & decided to take the plunge as it was a excellent price @ just £425 admitinly it is a S/H Set but it is mint condition & like new & was originally brought from Radio World, Sam
Even showed me the original purchase receipt so some good history therefore a good opportunity to own one arose so I took it.
Unfortunately my health is not good, I suffer with both physical & mental health problems.
Frustrating I cannot work since 2011 after having cancer & complications & I cannot walk far now, I am on some serious pain relief tablets & this new interest helps my days.
I am due to collect my 450 later today if I get chance, what with 3 medical appointments today.

Thank you again for all your help & advice it is much appreciated

[mof000]

It's great you have found something to keep you occupied! Always good to keep the mind busy. Next thing is you'll start a collection up!

[Oggy]

I tend to agree with Andy here.
TBH most new radios I try seldom give the full "legal" 4 watts when new.
I've had new and old radios as low as 2 watts out of the box
Do the old trick from the 1980's and peak the S meter......gives loads extra then.
The only real way to read true SSB output is with a meter with a peak hold facility.
A quarter of a watt will power a VSWR bridge as long as you use the calibrate control right.
So the tech saying it didn't have enough power to drive the meter is simply not right.

Good luck with the new radios, it will keep you occupied.

Dave.

[Clipper]

You've not been trying to calibrate using SSB have you? Just a thought...

[Buick Mackane]

You've not been trying to calibrate using SSB have you? Just a thought...

Are you telling me thats not the way to do it ? That explains why my SWR has been zero for the last 30 years even after my aerial blew down and snapped in 3

[P5shn]

I have been calibrating on UK FM
I take my readings on channel 20 then channel 40 & then channel 1 & to be fair they are all averaging the same.
I am familiar with swr meters and CB although things have changed equptment wise a lot over the past 27 years since I had my Harrier CBX, Bremi Power Supply & Sigma Ariel that had the basket at the bottom as my home base lol.
Then my York 863 with the mag mount & modulator Ariel & the 990 echo chamber in my Ford Cortina mk4 2.0s ahhh the good ole days how I miss the old days.
Why must we get old.

Thank you, I am Currently building myself a cabinet for my radios so that they are all set up together & it is mobile on castors so very useful for me,

[Sam P]

TBH I went through everything, took every cable out and tried absoloutley everything inc taking rig out and refitting it all,
The SWR meter was swinging but not giving enough swing to set the SWR
Andy the Tech guy said it was not putting enough power into the SWR meter, and not only that but the meter on the Grant was only going up about 3 bars when TX compared to nearly all bars lighting up. So that was down a lot.

Now it is going up lovely and everything is working as it should.

I am no technician and the problem was diagnosed by the tech guy at Radio World and all I know is that it is all working bang on since he has worked his magic on it.

I agree that 3w should of done the job but it didn't on my Grant 2. But all I know is that it was deffo a rig problem.

Time will tell.

Ive now got exactly the same thing - 2.5w UK40 (same rig - grant 2 premium?) - won't calibrate / CEPT FM 5w will calibrate... bizarre - the antenna coax etc is tip top on my 450D. Mine is undoctored.


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