that sounds like something is wrong. try a whistle, see if that gets the
external meter to move properly. then try cw up in the ssb band and see
that the swr isn't wildly different. make sure that the meter you are
watching on the radio isn't the alc or swr or mic audio or compression
instead of power output also, some radios use the meters for multiple things
and it could change without you noticing from cw to ssb since cw doesn't
have mic audio or compression levels.

"James Barrett" wrote in message
. ..
Hi, I have put up a dipole and I admit it is not a very good one, about
20 feet up, approx 60 ft. It works great as a receiving antenna and I'm
having fun listening, but so far no one can hear me. I have an Icom
IC-735, and using SSB, the watt meter on the radio shows full power as I
talk, but the watt meter on the tuner barely moves. In CW mode both meters
go all the way. Is this a typical symptom of a poor quality antenna or
does it indicate some other problem (besides my antenna making skills)?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim