Hi Rob,
I use the TW-1, and I very seldom check the reflected power. I mainly
operate S&P, and I check the power and SWR ahead of every high power
transmission. I use an auto tuner that gives me a lot of audio feedback,
and I usually spot any problems very quickly from the tuner's behaviour.
Best wishes, Kelvin Marsh - M0AID
Working to improve accessibility for radio amateurs with disabilities
www.active-elements.org
For accessibility evaluations of amateur equipment and MP3 manuals
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Alan R. Downing
Sent: 28 December 2013 13:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Talking SWR/Watt Meter Question
Hello Rob, Personally, while not essential, I always look at my reflected
power with both my TW-1's and Power Master 2. I guess that it comes down to
how much it will increase the cost of the device to include reflected power.
Thanks for all of your efforts in bringing speech to so many different
pieces of equipment.
73, Happy New Year to you my friend.
Alan
Alan R. Downing
Phoenix, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Rob
Sent: Saturday, December 28, 2013 1:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Talking SWR/Watt Meter Question
Hi Guys
As some of you know, I build the HamPod which is fundamentally a box
with a 16 button keypad and provides an accessible speech interface to
various pieces of radio gear. One project that has been continuously pushed
aside by requests for additional HamPod support has been to build a talking
SWR/Watt meter. The HamPod currently has support for the Elecraft W2 and the
Array Solutions Power Master 2 meters but those are primarily options for
those who already own one of those meters or a HamPod. For this new meter, I
want to build a stand alone device much like the out of production LDG TW-1
but with better accuracy and using separate couplers. I will also provide an
audio tome tuning function.
There are a couple optional paths to pursue here. The first is to design
and build a meter from scratch which will require the most time.
Second is to leverage a meter already in production that I can make
accessible. This is my preferred choice as it will be much quicker to
develop but of course will in crease the cost to some extent.
I've started exploring development with an existing meter and have a
question I'd like to pose to the group for your feedback. I'd like to know
if you require the need to know reflected power. As it is now with this
current meter, I can provide peak forward power, average forward power, and
SWR. You can determine reflected power given forward power and SWR but the
question is, just how important is it for you to be able to directly read
reflected power? Do you currently make use of this reading with your current
meter? I would like to know the consensus before I invest more time into
that aspect at this point.
Thanks,
Rob K6DQ
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