| RFEXPERT |
Rating:     |
2014-01-17 | |
| Good Product |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
This meter deserves 5 stars. But the only reason I am giving it 4 stars is that I could not buy it! Yes, no kidding you want to give someone money by supporting their products and they dont want to sell it to you. It must be a top secret technology that is on the export restricted register. The world is one place, international trading is safe. I cannot understand this mistrust of selling something to an overseas customer. No I was not in China or Nigeria! Anyway I got a friend to buy it for me in the USA. Everything about this meter is excellent. I used it with homebrew and Werlatone professional couplers and it is an excellent product.
This meter like all digital meters will not work with tuning pulsers. The N8LP meter has this same problem with its digital readout. The meterbuild will not work with tuning pulser as well. It does work with a tuning pulser using an external analog meter. Which can clearly show peaks of tuning with a pulser. I suppose no digital meter will work with tuning pulser, its just the nature of how digital meters work. But the MB1 can use any external analog panel meter like the Bird.
I also compared this meter with a Calibrated Bird high end digital meter which I use at work. The MB1 could track it within and less than 1%
All my ham friends who have seen this meter have wanted one as a total power monitoring solution. I had to tell them that they cant order this meter because they wont sell to overseas companies.
The only feature that I would have liked to see is a RF tap point option like the Wavenode. It is very hand for monitoring your signal with a SDR receiver checking for splatter. Maybe this will be a future option which would make this the ultimate technical hams meter.
I own an Array Solutions Power Master, N8LP and the latest Alpha Meter and for flexibility this meter beats them all in terms of features. They all as accurate as each other. The MB1 is better value because you can any combination of external meter readouts. The N8LP has an expensive dual coupler option that must be factory installed to maintain calibration. I also like the MB1 because it makes remoting you amp with a monitoring wattmeter very easy.
Well engineered and researched product that is one of the best products available for hams. Its just a shame they wont sell to us pesky foreign devils!
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| N8RLU |
Rating:      |
2013-01-15 | |
| Very impressed! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I don't rave very often (positively, that is!) about a product and the support but Meterbuilder definitely deserves it! I could have never gotten this much fun, info, or support out of any other product out there. I absolutely loved building it. I haven't built a kit in quite a while and this was really fun. I build my own things but this was the first bona fide electronic kit in many years. The only thing better than this would be a 'Red Ryder 200 shot range model air rifle'! This meter is exactly what I've needed. It displays every ham band I will use in one meter. I have one radio and one power meter...perfect! The versatility and precision is amazing. |
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| W4ASE |
Rating:      |
2012-06-12 | |
| MB-1 WOW |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
WOW is about all I can say about the MB-1! During this past winter I was looking for a project and found the Station Pro 2 Kit (www.w8zr.com It is also a great product). I joined the Yahoo Groups forum for that product and notice a lot of forum traffic concerning the MB-1. I did a lot of investigation, read the on line manuals and decide a few weeks ago, after hip replacement surgery that I need a re-coop project and ordered the kit. The assembly of the MB-1 Kit is on par with the Station Pro 2 as far as difficulty is concerned. It is not a kit for first time builders. If you are looking for a Heathkit type set of assembly instructions this is not the one for you. However, I love the way the assembly instructions are written. The documentation, when printed out double sided, is a full 1.5 inches thick covering all aspects of the meter’s assembly, operation, quick start guide and add on analog devices. I still am learning all the things this meter will do. Certainly the ability to use all the couplers (Bird, Power Master and etc) I have in the shack to talk to this meter is very high on my list of neat things it does. The documentation for add on analog devices it will talk to is frankly unprecedented. For example, want to have the meter read all the normal RF measurements in the shack and say, for example, read out the exhaust temperature of the amplifier – it will do it. The list of possible add on devices is too long to list here but go on line and take a look at the www.meterbuilder.com web site documentation (Using MB-1 with Analog Sensors). Frankly, I am still learning how to fully operate this meter. Yes, I have the basics down, thanks to a very good Quick Start document by AD5X.
Assembly went fine over a three day period. Two things required a small amount of trouble shooting on my part – one a non soldered LED and one a jumper not installed to an LED string – obviously both my fault. The final check out and testing routine was very good. I am still blown away that I can display SWR, forward power, peak power, average power, reflected power, delivered power, minimum power, and max power or any sub set of that list all at the same time.
A lot of companies talk about great customer service – Meter Builder lives it. I had a cosmetic problem I discovered after I had finished assembly of the kit and offered to pay for the replacement part. I was not sure it was a problem when I got the kit or I had done it during construction – Lou K2FP would not hear of me paying for the part and sent me one out the next day. Just can’t get any better customer service than that.
If you are looking for a very high quality RF meter this is the one for you. Check out the YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UKXhtKUmx0&feature=youtu.be for some additional information. The MB-1 is a precision piece of test gear. All I can say about this project is just WOW!
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| W1KSZ |
Rating:      |
2012-04-26 | |
| A Top Notch Instrument |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased the MB-1 a few weeks ago and have been quite busy enjoying the various functions it provides. This is not your simple desk-top SWR Meter, it is a complex instrument that provides numerous features, most of which I have yet to explore.
At this point I am poring over the Users Manual (all 277 pages) and exploring new features this instrument has.
The primary feature is that now I have an accurate method of measuring power output. Don't get me wrong, my trusty old Bird 43 served me well for years, but I really enjoy the added precision of the MB-1. I should add, I use a GPSDO as the reference for my frequency counters, so I am an accuracy fanatic.
Another feature that I like is the ability to take some of the old couplers I had for long since defunct SWR/Wattmeters and calibrate them for use with the MB-1.
Another feature is the ability to save (both internally and externally), the parameters that you have set the meter to. A great feature that allows you to back up when you have gone down the wrong path.
Look at the MeterBuilder Web Site, there are several videos on how to use the MB-1, as they say ..."a picture is worth, ...".
Bottom line, a fine addition to the Ham Shack/Lab.
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| K6CTA |
Rating:      |
2011-12-14 | |
| Incredibly flexible |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| The MB-1 is more than just a SWR and Wattmeter. It’s really a complete power monitoring center for your station. While it can initially look like overkill, the various readout methods – LCD, cross-needle meter and 7-segment LED’s – give you the ability to monitor each function in the best representation possible. Additionally, since the couplers are voltage derived, you can use other couplers to monitor almost anything you can think of. The unit has a wide-ranging calibration feature that allows the use of not only custom couplers, but also external meters. I find the ability to monitor multiple displays very useful. It’s nice to see SWR, reflected power, peak forward power, delivered power, and a few other things all at once, in an easy to scan form. All of the measurements can be user configured. Support from the manufacturer is excellent, and they are extremely responsive. The kit went together with no problems over 2 days. Both the assembly manual and user manual are well written and give you all the information that you need to run the unit. This is the last power meter that you will ever need to buy! |
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| N8DNX |
Rating:      |
2011-11-30 | |
| Great Project and Device |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I received the MB-1 a few weeks ago. It took me 3 evenings to assemble and test. The kit went together without problem, all parts were very well marked, and it worked the first time. I highly recommend this to others.
Last weekend I took some time to run the full calibration on another coupler I wanted to use for my UHF amplifier. Once I got the process sorted out the calibration went quick and easy.
I would like to see this unit be able to display data from multiple couplers at the same time (perhaps in the future), but even without that it's a great addition to my shack. The MB-1 provides way more data and functionality than I've had before for power metering.
Still have a lot to learn about it, but so far I'm really impressed. MeterBuilder put a lot of effort into getting this thing right the first time.
Also see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MeterBuilder/
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| K3BHX |
Rating:      |
2011-11-25 | |
| Fabulous Instrument |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| This is a fabulous laboratory grade instrument. The kit went together without major problem except for a stupid mistake I made (more later) It appears to be infinitely programable and will give you simultaneous measurement of 8 variables on displays of your choice. Support is fantastic: Not realizing that MeterBuilder sent along display LEDs of two colors for me to choose between red and green numerals and sockets so they could be changed at will, I inadvertently soldered a mixture onto the display board. Lou took pity on me and sent along a new board and all new parts so I wouldn't have to unsolder them, and refused to take payment even though it was my mistake, not his. My wife pointed out that they were marked R and G on the styrofoam packing. Lou was fantastic!! This is a MUST HAVE instrument for any ham shack. |
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| WF2O |
Rating:      |
2011-11-21 | |
| Kit assembly review |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
11/21/2011AD
I purchased the MB-1 kit after hearing the designer describe it on the air. I received the kit about two weeks ago, and spent about 10-12 hours putting it together. I build boards from time to time at work, so I might be quicker than average. The packaging of the parts, the quality of the manual, the quality of the PCB's and components are top notch. Assembly was a breeze because of the top notch manual. Details impress me, and attention to detail are a hallmark of this unit. I have only had the unit running for two days, but the menu's are easy to understand, and navigation is fairly intuitive, considering the capabilities this thing is supposed to have. I set it up rough, I have not done the calibrations yet, but I rough calibrated the panel meters and displays to the coupler provided. The result seems to be as advertized. I am interested in accurately measuring my power out for WSPR mode. This units ability to be calibrated for many bands is just one of it's features that caught my imagination. I'll expand this review when I gain more experience with it. It sure does look cool, and adds to the magic of the radio room. I have the expansion option and thought I would use the blue backlight for the cross needle meter. I think I will change back to the white backlight, my eyes seem to have trouble focusing on the blue background. |
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| AB2JA |
Rating:      |
2011-11-14 | |
| Excellent! Truely Unique and Versatile - a totally new approach |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I highly recommend this versatile and different power meter. It was a pleasure building and went together without any problems – worked the first time I powered it on. This meter is far more meter than I had anticipated and I am still learning about all the features it has and what it is capable of doing. This power meter measures and simultaneously displays up to eight different power measurements defined by me and displays them wherever I want them displayed using the four LED displays, the analogue cross-needle display and the bar graph display all on the meter face. I can even hook-up external meters of my own to the unit – haven’t tried that yet. I am amazed that I can display my peak power, average power, forward power, reflected power, delivered power, minimum power, maximum power and swr ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!! Really cool! The unit also looks real good in the shack especially with all the colored LEDs and meter backlighting particularly with the lights in the shack dimmed. I am currently using the HF coupler supplied with the kit but will be interfacing other couplers as soon as I learn the calibration routine to do so. The accuracy using the detailed sixty (60) point calibration procedure may result in this being the most accurate meter out there today. I have a lot more reading, digesting and experimenting to do with this meter before I can say I that I understand and know how to use all the features and capability it has. I really like what I know so far and how it looks and performs in my shack – a real pleasure to assemble as well. So far I think it is a winner and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a “different” type of “versatile” attractive looking power meter with a lot to offer including a fun build. |
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