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Reviews For: Autek WM-1

Category: SWR & Wattmeters & Dummy Loads

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Review Summary For : Autek WM-1
Reviews: 79MSRP: 132.95
Description:
SWR/power meter with remote RF head.
Product is not in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00794.2
W2XS Rating: 2003-08-25
Works well Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had the WM1 for a few weeks now. It is solid and seems to work fine. It must be a popular meter, as there are more reviews for this meter than any other meter listed on eHam.net. (The VFD comes close). The bulbs are a bit dim, but because of that, I hope they last a long time. There have been no RFI problems with a CF Zepp fed with a Johnson Matchbox on 80 through 10 while running 110W to 130W out. The ladder line comes into the shack, and the meter is next to the Matchbox. Calibration looks easy should that be necessary.
W4VR Rating: 2003-08-07
Good meter for the price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had the WM-1 for about 8 years. When it arrived the calibration was off by about 200 watts in the high power mode. Fortunately, I had a Bird wattmeter to calibrate it with. Once calibrated on 20 meters it was accurate on all other bands. It's hard to find a wattmeter with all the features of the WM-1 for the price...I sometimes wish it had light bulbs to illuminate the meters at night but I suppose you can't have everything. The other problem I had with it was RF getting into the device via the 12-volt power cord, but a couple of ferrite beads solved that problem.
W5ZZT Rating: 2003-08-07
Needs better quality control Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just received my 2nd WM1 watt meter. This is the newer one with the lighted meter. When I opened the box it was poorly packed with only some paper and there were nuts flotaing around in the box. The circuit board was falling out. It turned out that during shipement the 2 nuts that hold the circuit board in place had come. UPS must have really tossed it around but the disassembly was totally due to terrible packing.

Autek, you make a great meter. How about taking some pride in it when you ship?

Once I assembled my "kit" I hooked it up and it works great. Really like the 2 seperate meters and the remote head. It you don't mind a little inconveience it the best meter you can buy for the money.
FORMER_WS4V_KS Rating: 2003-05-27
Attitude needs some own meter adjusting Time Owned: more than 12 months.
OK meter. Looks nice and does the job well BUT the customer service down there in Florida is TERRIBLE.
I called once to get a duplicate receipt of my order. The response? "WE DON'T HAVE THAT! THAT'LL TAKE FOREVER TO FIND!"
A real putoff.
Even a nicer explanantion that this wouldn't be possible would have sufficed.
Whoever the guy is down there that answers the phone...here's some word of advice....TAKE A COURSE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE.
YOU NEED IT!
W0ZK Rating: 2003-05-27
You mis-guided me! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I cannot imagine why so many fine Amateurs mis-guided me! I had one of these units on order, and cancelled after reading these reviews.

The response I received after cancelling was...I qoute, "Fine! Those reviews are nonsense. We have no quality control problems." unquote.
KE5UT Rating: 2003-04-26
Good Product Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have an older WM-1 for about 4 months now. It is about 7 or 8 years old but it is in excellent condition. I had to re-calibrate it against a Bird terminating wattmeter, but once done, I find it to be accurate as claimed as to CW (within ~5%) across HF and easy to use. I have no way to measure the accuracy of PEP readings, but they appear to be consistent with what I would expect, that is slightly higher than the CW readings. The simultaneous SWR display is a plus, especially without having to set and calibrate anything. It is a super meter which is easy to use. No complaints.
KD8WK Rating: 2003-04-26
Nice useful meter Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased my WM-1 used. It is the older vintage that does not have the lighted meters (which I actually prefer) and has a slower decay curve on peak power. Generally, the meter has performed well. It required minor tweaking against a Bird to make it reasonably accurate. The dual meters -- one for power and the other for SWR -- makes tuneups a breeze. It is especially useful when tuning is sharp and the rig is prone to cut back on power.

The only problems I've had with the unit is with the provisions for powering it: The 9V wall-wart was prone to introducing RFI which made the unit appear to power off during keydown on some frequencies. I eventually ran a shielded connection to the 12V supply in the shack to resolve this problem. However, the unit uses a simple audio plug for the power connection. That's fine once it is plugged in, but one should be aware that plugging and unplugging may cause a transient short across the supply and plan accordingly.

Bottom line: Even with its quirks, I use the WM-1 regularly and find it a worthwhile addition to the shack.
K4HX Rating: 2002-11-17
Fine Meter Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my Autek WM-1 used, about 5 years ago. I use it with a vintage Yaesu 101 station because the cabinet and faceplate colors match nicely with the old Yaesu line. Would also look good with Collins equipment.

The meter has always performed satisfactorily, and in this ham's opinion, one cannot beat the ease of reading big side-by-side analog meters! Simply a pleasure to watch in action.

Accuracy seems to be correct, but I have made no lab tests to prove. All in all, I believe the WM-1 to be a fine accessory for anyone's shack.
WB3D Rating: 2002-07-05
Works Just Fine Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
When at Dayton this year I purchased a watt meter with a passive PEP circuit. When I got it in the shack I had to return it for a new one since it was not possible to calibrate. It was replaced and I use it in the shack for 6mtrs full time. However, compared to the Autek it is a toy. I spoke with the Autec people about the WM-1 before I bought it and discussed several of the comments in these reviews. I was told to return it if I did not like it. I did not return it because the meter works just fine when installed as the instructions reccomend and it is as accurate as any none Lab quality meter. I now use and have in the past used several meters of the cross needle, single meter and double meter design. The WM-1 is as good as any and better than most, including the Brown Mirage MP1. The quality of construction is excellent. I find that compared to the other meters in my shack the accuracy of the forward power meter is superior as is the swr meter. The WM-1 is within specification on all power levels. I don't know why others have had such poor experences, but I have no complaint. These lower price units are not for Lab use and if that is what one needs then only a Bird Meter or one similiarly priced will fill the bill. For normal ham shack use the Autek WM-1 is just fine.
HK3PZ Rating: 2002-07-04
The unit I received didn't work Time Owned: N.A.
The unit I received didn't work. I sent it back to its maker who demanded $40 to fix it, claiming it came back badly packed. I refused to pay for this and told him to send the WM-1 to the trash can. His reply: "Go ahead and complain. This is about as valid as all the other e-Ham so called bad service complaints that are'n true".
HK3PZ