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Reviews For: BIRD 43-P peak reading RF watt meter

Category: SWR & Wattmeters & Dummy Loads

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Review Summary For : BIRD 43-P peak reading RF watt meter
Reviews: 7MSRP: 525.00
Description:
The Bird 43-P is an updated version the model 43. It has the ability to read
Peak envelope power readings. As well as use in certain pulse type applications.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.bird-electronic.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0074.7
EA4AZZ Rating: 2013-09-12
the best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have a 43 and 43p.
The 43p is the best ever had.
Revex, Daiwa, Kenwood etc etc are toys.
Great for very high power work.
K6AER Rating: 2010-03-28
Good basic peak reading watt meter Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own four Bird watt meters. I have used Bird watt meters for over 50 years and they are a great instrument if you don’t need high accuracy. In the CW position the accuracy is +/- 5% and in the peak reading it is +/- 8% for a 20 mS pulse signal. The problem is the RC constant on the peak reading charge and hold circuit is dependent on the RF duty cycle of AM and SSB modulation. As a result the peak accuracy is always suspect. Much better peak reading watt meters can be had such as the LP-100, Array Solutions, Wave Mode and of course the Alpha 4510. These watt meters have microprocessor controlled sampling and are true peak reading watt meters with average 3% accuracy. Accuracy on the Alpha 4510 is about 2% when compared to my Agilent spectrum analyzers and is the most accurate of the ham grade, peak reading watt meters.

To many HAM’s, owning a bird 43 is the epitome of a lab grade instrument but in the RF world they are your basic RF DVM used for ruff order readings. The true value of the Bird watt meter is the slug availability for power and frequency readings. Although this advantage it is also a negative for the fortune in slugs that you will accumulate over time to cover all frequencies and power levels.

For VHF and UHF work I use the Telewave with requires no slugs and has selective power ranges. This saves a small fortune in the amount of slugs needed in general Two-Way servicing use.

I also use the Wave Node for VHF and UHF SSB work and for the cost it is a great bang for the buck peak reading watt meter.
KC0GSB Rating: 2010-03-28
"THE" power meter Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The standard by which I judge all others.
KF4LYU Rating: 2008-02-21
Why settle for any other?? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had had my Bird 43P for over 7 1/2 years now and have to say that it is the most used and cherished piece of test equipment that i have ever purchased.

Used many, many times daily in my Radio repair shop,, it has never let me down once,, and has never had to be recalibrated.

definitly worth the expense that you'll pay for this meter and a few slugs to cover the diffrent ranges/wattage,, but if you are serious about your repairs and want the accuracy that you can only get from a BIRD,,,then why settle for anything less??


K9XT Rating: 2007-08-11
Great Bench Tool Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Purchased a used (but hard to tell) 43P at Dayton 2007. An incredible device, I should have purchased one many years ago. The peak reading feature is exceptionally useful when setting up AM on an FT-100D and overall for monitoring SSB performance. My only quandry: do I buy a 250H or a 100H slug for 100 watt radios on HF! A 43 or a 43P is an "esssential" bench tool.
G0UWK Rating: 2006-06-28
Worth it's salt Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I acquired a used 43P after buying a 43 for use in my UHF System,
The peaking reading facility works well and is very handy should an official call to check out your station
In the U.K. our license terms state (amongst many other things) that the individual should be capable of accurately measuring output power, a standard 43 is fine for carrier modes but useless for PEP measurements.

The 43P is much better at holding the peak readings for longer than a passive Japanese ham meter with PEP facility (43P uses 2 x PP3 9v batteries mounted internally)
Peak envelope power levels are then easy to set up and limit using a quality speech processor/compressor keeping your output power within the legal limit ( at the very least you can demonstrate how it’s done).

My only gripe is battery life, the batteries last about 48 hours if left switched on, I use Lithium ion cells
But don’t forget this is a meter designed to be used in the field not in your shack so it might be a good idea to convert to an alternative permanent D.C. supply.

There are boards available for to retro fit into existing standard 43 models,
This is a modification that I plan to fit to my standard 43 at some stage.

One thing is for sure, I won’t be parting with either the 43 or the 43P, as long as I have a radio.
I don't often hand out 5's but in this case the 43P deserves it.
Highly Recommended.
N3JBH Rating: 2006-05-11
a test bench must have Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
if your serious about measuring your power. this is a test bench must have. wow not the cheapest meter in the market. it truley is one of the best.

best part is you can change out the slugs to use the same meter at any power level or frequency range youll probally ever need.