Hello,

The other thread reminds me that i need a high powered, used Bird power
meter.

Up to 1000-2000 watts, 50-150 Mhz or more, VSWR too...what models can
you folks recommend? Preferably one that doesn't screw up the 50 ohms of the
dummy load too much! (check with an MFJ before and after putting the meter in)

Birds are supposed to be very accurate, or so i have heard.

Any advice or Ebay links are appreciated.


Slick

Radio913 wrote:
Hello,

The other thread reminds me that i need a high powered, used
Bird power
meter.

Up to 1000-2000 watts, 50-150 Mhz or more, VSWR too...what
models can
you folks recommend? Preferably one that doesn't screw up the 50
ohms of the
dummy load too much! (check with an MFJ before and after putting the
meter in)

Birds are supposed to be very accurate, or so i have heard.

Any advice or Ebay links are appreciated.


Slick

From http:http://www.metroactive.com/papers/me...eat-9735.html:

I missed Creech but got to hear a tape of the band's performance two
days later on a micropowered radio station broadcasting at 91.3FM out of
Los Gatos known as Radio Free Lost Gatos. The guys in Creech guest DJed,
heckled callers and played the whole of their set along with some of
their favorite bands. According to RFLG owner/manager/DJ Dr. Slick, the
station has been operating out of a house "buried in the Los Gatos
hills" for three years. "I do it for fun," Slick says. "I don't do it
because I'm an 'anarchist.' I don't go out and say, 'Kill the cops.' I'm
positive with radio."

Slick was mum on the wattage but said that 91.3 reaches all of Los Gatos
and parts of Campbell. Slick plays classic rock, jazz and "a little bit
of Bach" when not turning the controls over to guest DJs like the
members of Creech. The station can be heard Sundays and Wednesdays,
8pmÂ*3am. Meanwhile, the next Gaslighter Theater show stars Monkey, Blue
Beat Stompers, Steadyups, Lucky Strike and Pigs in Space on Friday
(Sept. 5). As always: all ages and five bucks.

From http://www.svcn.com/archives/lgwt/05...PirateCat.html

Monkey Man stepped into the world of microbroadcasting about a year ago,
with his friend Michael Magic at Free-Radio San Jose, 93.7 FM, but had
to leave the station after some of his on-air hi-jinks went too far.
After that, he started working with Dr. Slick, whose station, Free-Radio
Los Gatos, is on 91.3 FM on Sunday and Wednesday nights from 8 p.m. to
11 p.m.

"Then Dr. Slick said I should get my own station, so I went down to
Fry's and got one of those little radio kits for, like, $30." Dr. Slick
gave Monkey Man an old one-watt amplifier, and another friend, Austin
Tatious of KKUD 104.1 in Willow Glen, donated a mixing board. Pirate Cat
was on the air.

-------------

It looks like we can look forward to a bigger signal from Radio Free
Lost Gatos (or is it Free-Radio Los Gatos?). No more "all of Los Gatos
and parts of Campbell"! Or are you be building FM transmitters and
amplifiers for sale?

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Roy Lewallen wrote:
. . .
It looks like we can look forward to a bigger signal from Radio Free
Lost Gatos (or is it Free-Radio Los Gatos?). No more "all of Los Gatos
and parts of Campbell"! Or are you be building FM transmitters and
amplifiers for sale?

Oops, never mind. Just answered my own question.

From http://groups.google.com:

From: Dr. Slick )
Subject: Length of Coax Affecting Incident Power to Meter?
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.antenna
Date: 2003-08-11 03:25:37 PST

.. . . This is certainly not the case on our bench, which is a problem,
because i want to have an approximation of how it will perform
attached to the antenna before i ship it out to the customer. A
difference of 70 watts is not acceptable. . . .

-------------

So, out of curiosity, what does a 1 - 2 kW FM transmitter bring on the
pirate market? I'd think it would easily be enough to pay for a *new*
Bird wattmeter. But would you be able to deduct it as a business expense?

From http://www.artwanted.com/artist.cfm?ArtID=4990:

Garvin Yee

Address: 17287 Grosvenor Ct.
Monte Sereno, CA 95030
Phone: (408)395-6674

Are you still at that address? If so, could we drop by your house
"buried in the Los Gatos hills" for a demo of your handiwork in
operation, before dropping the bucks for one?

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Come on down if you want Roy, I'd love to meet you in person too!

But you won't find any FCC violations at my place! No siree!

This will be going into a dummy load bedwarmer!

Thanks for the free plugs, i don't like to toot my own horn, i'd rather
others do it for me. i tried looking your name up too, but nothing nearly as
interesting...boring ham stuff!

Can you folks recommend a Bird model?


Slick

Dr. Slick wrote:
"Can you folks recommend a Bird model?"

Bird Electronic Corporation
30303 Aurora Road
Cleveland (Solon) Ohio 44139
(216) 248 1200
Fax (216) 248 5426
TLX 706898
Cable BIRDELEC

Contact for a catalog and copies of Bird Technical Series (Watts New
From Bird), even if you are not buying from Bird now.

There is a wealth of information available from Bird, SWR slide rule,
various wattmeter instruction books, application notes, and catalogs.
Ask for everything they can send you to help understand their products.
Their list of products is diverse.

The Model 43 has been around for about 50 years. It shares an
instruction book with Models: 4430, 4431, 4521, 4522, 4523, 4525, 4526,
and 4527. But, that is not all the models Bird has made or makes.

When you become thoroughly familiar with Bird`s instructions, you will
necessarily be familiar with how the lines that the Bird is used with
work. The literature Bird provides makes learning about transmission
lines much easier.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI

Thanks Richard,

Do you use an SO-239 connector to type "N" for the input and output
with a model 43?

Hopefully good connectors won't affect
the SWR.

Someone else also recommended model 43 too. I'll be looking...


Slick

On 20 Sep 2003 05:08:32 GMT, (Radio913) wrote:

Can you folks recommend a Bird model?
Slick

Hi OM,

Why do you pine on for such an expensive piece of equipment when what
you admittedly need is a good load? The best Watt meter in the world
is useless without that load. Many loads come with their own built in
Watt meters, and you can build your own Watt meter for about $5 ($4.95
for the meter movement).

I can anticipate your cry for the need of calibration. A used Bird is
far from a standard in that regard - especially when you could achieve
far greater accuracy with a thermometer and a good load sitting in a
bucket of water.

But, then again, maybe there's redemption in you after all in
emulating the time honored Ham tradition of pushing a credit card
across a display case. Pretty soon the FCC will only offer a handful
of call signs (by region) like K6VISA.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC

I can anticipate your cry for the need of calibration. A used Bird is
far from a standard in that regard - especially when you could achieve
far greater accuracy with a thermometer and a good load sitting in a
bucket of water.


I've heard that the Bird Model 43 is very accurate.


But, then again, maybe there's redemption in you after all in
emulating the time honored Ham tradition of pushing a credit card
across a display case. Pretty soon the FCC will only offer a handful
of call signs (by region) like K6VISA.



Well, it's appropriate that you point this out, Richard. In the sense
that the FCC has always sold off the spectrum to the highest bidders:
Clearchannel, Time/Warner, etc.


Slick

Radio913 wrote:

Hello,

The other thread reminds me that i need a high powered, used Bird power
meter.

Up to 1000-2000 watts, 50-150 Mhz or more,

You mean 88-108 MHz, don't you?

ac6xg

On 19 Sep 2003 21:59:10 GMT, (Radio913) wrote:

Hello,

The other thread reminds me that i need a high powered, used Bird power
meter.

Up to 1000-2000 watts, 50-150 Mhz or more, VSWR too...what models can
you folks recommend? Preferably one that doesn't screw up the 50 ohms of the
dummy load too much! (check with an MFJ before and after putting the meter in)

Birds are supposed to be very accurate, or so i have heard.

Any advice or Ebay links are appreciated.


Slick

I'd certainly recommend the Bird 43 -- it's worked well for me. You
can go to http://www.radiodan.com/ and look at their selection. They
have both new and used Bird meters, new and used plug-in elements,
dummy loads, etcetera. They might even be within driving distance of
you.

Bob
k5qwg