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Reviews For: Micronta 144/440 MHz SWR/Power Meter, Cat. No. 19-320

Category: SWR & Wattmeters & Dummy Loads

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Review Summary For : Micronta 144/440 MHz SWR/Power Meter, Cat. No. 19-320
Reviews: 3MSRP: 39.95 (1993)
Description:
A small 144 MHz and 440 MHz SWR and Power meter made in Japan for Tandy Corp.(Radio Shack). It has two ranges: 15W and 60W, with SWR and power readings available on both the 15W and 60W ranges.(Offered by Radio Shack in 1991-1994)
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.radioshack.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0034.3
KC7JNJ Rating: 2017-08-07
I like it Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is Japanese made, (not Chinese) and the readings I am getting from it pretty much line up to a calibrated Bird 43. The Bird 43 read 19watts out on uhf this read 20. The SWRs read so close, with the small display on this unit I could not tell the difference.

One of the nice things about this meter is it's small size. But that also makes it a little hard to read. It is also not lit so you need a light from time to time to read it.

I use this unit on one antenna to keep an eye on things to let me know if there is a change. If that happens I break out another meter I can trust. I don't use it to check SWR on installs.
K9ZF Rating: 2014-04-03
Does a great job Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought one of these new back in the early 90's. I've also purchased several used ones at hamfests over the years, and all have served me well.

Like the previous reviewer says, don't expect it to be a Bird meter, it's not. But for a cheap meter, it works great.

It will give you a reasonably accurate SWR reading, and a ball park reading as a watt meter. For me, this is all I need. Let's face it, most of the time it doesn't really matter whether I am doing 45 watts, or 60 watts, as long as I can see I am on high power and producing RF...

The reason I have bought several is I like to have them in the mobile, and portable setups, where they will likely be submitted to harsh treatment. These guys are actually pretty darn tuff, and if I do break one I will throw it away and buy another... So far I have never had one fail, knock-knock...

73
Dan

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K9ZF
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WB6CSH Rating: 2012-12-02
Good from 144-450 MHz Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a nice little SWR/power meter that works accurately on the 2 meter and 70 cm bands. It also works on the 135 cm (222 MHz.) band, but my known 25 watt IC-37A gave a 35+ watt reading. Icom might like that reading, but it's not an accurate reading!

The SWR function also works on 135 cm, but I also doubt that accuracy, too. The SWR/power readings can probably be useful as "relative" readings on most or perhaps all frequencies between 144 MHz. and 450 MHz.

I recently purchased this meter used on eBay for $21.79 USD, including shipping. Some eBay sales are as high as $46.00 for this meter, but I believe that is a little excessive (2012 price).

I would recommend this meter for anyone wanting to do antenna work and requiring a relative SWR reading for optimizing antenna/ feedline settings. It's MUCH cheaper than a Bird 43 and besides, I am not interested in an absolute (laboratory) reading of power or SWR.

As an aside, the Bird is NOT a laboratory-grade instrument, either; compared to a laboratory power meter, it has been measured at +/- 10% of FULL SCALE READING.