Hi, all, and Happy New Year!
Earlier last week, I borrowed an MFJ 212 noise bridge from a local ham
friend, just to try it out here at the home QTH.
It actually was fairly easy to use, and I like the idea of being able to
tune an antenna without transmitting a signal, which I believe to be the
main benefit of the device to begin with.
As a result, I am probably going to purchase one, with the idea that it
might be useful in the RV, where my antenna situation is quite challenging.
I have an old MFJ 901B versatuner that I could take out to the RV to use as
the tuner in conjunction with the noise bridge, but I have a couple of
questions.
1. Am I correct in assuming that, if I can eliminate the pulse noise from
the noise bridge, I am safe to operate? I have an old talking SWR meter
that I purchased from Remy Simard (VE2AW) back in the 1990's that I could
employ to doublecheck things, but it is rather cumbersome to use, especially
in the RV where space is at a premium.
2. Someone suggested that I could first tune my antenna with the noise
bridge and versatuner, and then employ the TS480's auto-tuner to totally
finish the job. However, with two tuners now in the system, wouldn't that
further decrease the amount of RF power that ultimately gets to the antenna?
As I'm sure you can tell, I'm not an expert on these things.
I just want to fully understand the functions and possible usefulness of an
MFJ noise bridge, especially for my RV operations, before I actually make
the purchase.
Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
|