Lot's 'o stuff here, so I'll just address  a few in no particular order:

On the 480 keypad, a light press will  bring up the first function and a 
slightly longer press will bring up the secondary function.  Maybe you 
are just  pressing the 4 key too long and always bringing up the 
secondary function (TX monitor).   Try a lighter tap on the key to get 
TX power.

Unless you are listening to a very strong signal, or a steady carrier 
signal, it may  be hard to get consistent S meter readings from the 
voice output.   By the time you press the button to get the voice 
readout, and  the voice speaks, the  S meter has probably already moved 
a bit.    It's not easy to  hit the button and get   a reading  at the 
peak, but a few consecutive hits  will give you a pretty good average.

I think 10 watts loss in the internal tuner is par for the course.

I don't think there has been a firmware update in a few years, but if 
you have been out of it for a while, maybe you should check current 
firmware version and update if needed.

By default the preamp is on for bands above 40 meters, and off for 160, 
80, and 40.    If you have the preamp on for the lower bands, it may be 
too much.

I'm not sure if the reversed wires in the mic was  something changed 
after  earlier versions, or if it is always that way.  My 480 is about 3 
years old and the Heil adapter to bring it down from modular to 1/8 
works just fine without any mods.

Hope this helps, Steve  KW3A






On 4/22/2013 8:33 PM, Richard Fiorello wrote:
> Hi everyone;
> I've been away from this list for about a year because it didn't appear
> that h f was going to happen.  Sold some of my toys but fortunately kept
> the ts480.  I've run across someone to offer some antenna help who knows
> far more than I which may have some possibilities.
> A couple somewhat basic questions have come up that I'm certain people
> here can easily answer.
>
> First, has anyone worked with tuners from stg?  I never heard of them
> until it was suggested that they made the tuner I had to have.
> Apparently they are a remote tuner that mounts up at the antenna.  I
> gather that the tuner gets its operating current through the coax but
> that seems like a bit of a mystery.  It would seem that the tuner could
> only be used with one antenna in this arrangement.  Any thoughts
> appreciated.
> Secondly I have run across a few things with the 480 that are a bit
> perplexing.  Wonder if most people run the receiver with the preamp on?
>    My noise is manageable without the preamp  but once its turned on the
> noise goes up as much as the signal.
> As for the internal tuner I've been astonished with the high swr it will
> match.  It seems to act rather strangely if the swr is between 1.4 and 2
> to one.  Often once the tuner finishes the forward power is ten wats
> lower than it was when the tuner isn't in the line.  Is there any type
> of reset I should be looking at?
> I have speech set to read the s meter which is great but not at all
> certain if its accurate.  Someone was looking at the s meter and there
> readings and the readings via the vgs1 were very different.  It seemed
> that the agc setting had a lot to do whith the accuracy of the reading.
>    Has anyone else noticed this?
> I still find the fact that most keys on the number pad have to functions
> to be a bit challenging.  Number four will set tx monitor and tx power.
>    The other day I hit four more times than I care to count and all I got
> was tx monitor when I wanted to change the power setting.  There must be
> some sort of timing that I just don't seem to get.
> Lastly I thought I kept all my important messages from yester year and
> obviously the one I wanted wasn't in my folder.  What is the situation
> with the microphone plug adaptor.  Apparently two wires had to be
> reversed.  When doing this did you need to buy an extra plug or socket
> or could you change the wiring on the existing adaptor?
> Sorry for all the questions and wish me luck on an antenna project or two.
>