IC 746 power fold back

[K0BG]

And what are you using for an SWR meter? The rig itself is worthless in this capacity. The 746, like most all of Icom's latest rigs (HF and VHF) use the same circuitry for SWR, overtemp, and ALC. Because of this fact, the SWR reading is dependent on the temperature of the finals. Tune up too long, and the reading is meaningless.

Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com

[K8OMA]

I am using my IC 746 with external remote tuners with random wire and loop antennas. The tuners tune the antennas usually from 1.2 to 1.6 SWR but the IC 746 folds back the power from 70% to 50% or less at these very low SWR levels. Has anyone experienced this problem? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Larry  K8OMA

[K1CJS]

If your tuner is working properly, then check the cable between it and the radio.  You may have a poor connection or near-broken wire (center conductor).

Try the set with another co-ax between the set and the tuner.  If it seems to work properly, you've found your culprit.

[KZ1X]

You don't have both the internal and external tuners working at the same time, right?

[K0RFD]

KZ1X is spot on with this question.

The exernal tuner might present complex impedances that the internal can't deal with.  Don't try to run them both at the same time.

[N6AJR]

check the cable first. then tune the tuner to minimum swr on low power, then hit the tune button on the 746 and peak the tuen to the tuner.  I do that and it works fine.