Thank you for telling me what ham radio is all about. 41 years of
ignorance now cured. And I also deeply appreciate your pointing out my
lack of effort figuring out how to use what I have. What a slackard I
have been. I'll try to mend my ways. Finally, thank you so much for
restating Ohm's law - I'll attempt to better understand it.

Ok, let's cut to the chase here, OM ... first, if I wanted to "make do"
I wouldn't have bothered to post my question, let alone invest in a
Bird. Not all of us lie down and just "make do". I really don't need
you to tell me how to set / lower my standards.

And secondly, if I'm questioning the accuracy of a Bird slug, why on
earth would I want to now rely on the accuracy of some "DVM" or
"surplus voltmeter" at the kilovolt level? It simply doesn't make
sense.

Perhaps I am over-reacting, but your attitude is clearly condescending:
all I asked was if anyone knew where I might get a slug recalibrated.
I really didn't ask what you thought ham radio is all about, nor for
you to judge my level of effort.



COLIN LAMB wrote:
"Yes, there is some good information floating around. However, it all
boils down to, in your words, having an accurate standard available. I
do not."


This is what ham radio is all about. We make do without adequate test
equipment - we just need to put a little more effort into figuring how to
use what we have.

Take a dummy load. Use a dvm to measure the dc resistance. That should
also be the rf impedance. You can determine power going into the load by
measuring the rf voltage across it. Some of the surplus voltmeters will
measure rf voltage. Or, borrow one. Knowing the rf voltage across 50 ohms,
you can calculate power. P= e squared / R.

It is likely that the linearity of the Bird is ok, even if the power reading
is incorrect. So, once you check the accuracy at one point, you have it for
all points.

Colin K7FM