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Reviews For: LDG FTL-Meter

Category: SWR & Wattmeters & Dummy Loads

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Review Summary For : LDG FTL-Meter
Reviews: 8MSRP: 79.95
Description:
Large displayed multi function meter which displays swr,watts,alc,voltage,modulation,signal strength,and has a fm discriminator also. Made for yaesu FT-897 and FT-857 radios
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.ldgelectronics.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0083.4
PE1HZG Rating: 2023-12-11
Should do better Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The LDG FTL-meter is a further development of the earlier LDG FT-meter: a little-reported feature of the Yaesu FT897/857 is that there is a 3.5mm connector on the bottom of the radio for a 1mA full-scale meter to show some of the parameters also shown on the radio display, like S-meter, RF-power, modulation and the like.

The difference between the FT-meter and the FTL-meter is that the latter (this one) is a lot bigger: "4.5 inch" according to the literature.

It appeals to people with poor sight according to the literature. In my case, I use it for Scouting (Jamboree-On-The-Air) activities where a group of kids operate a radio; to make radio fun with kids, the radio should beep, move and flash. I'm using it to show the kids the signal strength of the receiving station (S-meter) as well as an encouragement to speak up well into the microphone ("speak a little louder") and it proves useful for that. It helps to bring "ambiance" to the radio event.

I had bought the FT-meter many years ago and recently found the FTL-meter at a hamfest, and bought it considering "bigger is better" for what I want to use it for.

As others have indicated, the circuit is simple, it is a meter with a trimpot to adjust full scale (set menu 60 MTR ARX SEL to FS (full scale)), adjust the trimpot to have the meter show full scale, then set MTR ARX to SIG) and then it is accurate. The manual isn't fully clear that this is a required step and earlier reports on inaccuracy probably stem from this. Any inaccuracy reported elsewhere then is the radio and not the meter.

In my case, the pot to adjust had been broken and that's why the thing was sold on the market. I replaced both pots (1k for the LED circuit, 10k for the meter) with some Piher pots that are more robust and hence had to make the adjustments, which are easy.

That brings me to the "other" circuit in the box: the meter has some backlight with white/blue LEDs to give the meter a fancy color which certainly helps the looks. The LED circuit allows to adjust the intensity of the backlight. The manual suggests to use a wall wart for this; however the FT897/857 CAT/Lineair jack also provides 13.8V output and I'm using that instead. I should note that the LED circuitry and the meter circuitry are completely isolated so there are no ground loops, there are more ways to set things up.

A negative is the mechanical design, and that's the reason for the "should do better" score. The case is made of thin plate material and while this was OK for the smaller FT-meter, on the bigger FTL-meter. it gives the case a very flimsy feeling because picking up the box will push-in the plating and also the meter itself is not robust inside the casing.
I remedied this by sticking some self-adhesive rubber feet on the inside of the case so that the metal can't be pushed in anymore and now it feels much sturdier. This is a very simple modification.

So, there meter does what it needs to do and is OK for the job, but would score higher if it be more robust. I'm not sure what caused the previous owner to break the adjust pots, but this is all easily fixable.

And for those who need schematics, they are on the LDG group on groups.io which I consider a huge plus.
AC2ND Rating: 2015-04-03
Large meter for aging eyes Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I was tired of trying to guess what values were on the small vertical meter on my FT-857D. I went for this meter after reading the review and I stayed away from trying to back light the meter. I received the meter from HRO on time and in good condition. The back light for the meter still used the same plug everyone was complaining about, so I guess LDG isn't reading these reviews. Too bad. The meter has been working fine. Matches the other meters I have in the station for SWR and the internal meter for S units (approximately). I am happy. I would recommend this meter, when on sale, for anyone using the FT series at home for a base station. My station is well lite, so I can do without the back light. If needed, it is a simple modification (LDG should still correct their product).
ZL1PO Rating: 2015-03-07
Part:2 Good meter but,,,, Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I forgot to add.
The radios internal voltmeter,SAMLEX powser supply panel meter and a DVM all read 13.8v yet the FTL reads at least one volt higher.
KP4MLF Rating: 2015-01-19
Poor customer service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got mine from Gigaparts and arrive DOA. I decided to take my multimeter and take a closer look because should be something easy. After carefully review found that those meters are extremly simple, is just the current from the radio that pass thru a variable resistor and then go to the neddle. The rest of the board and all components are just for the fancy LED lights.

Well, I found that the variable resistor was wrong, no current pass, if I bypass it the meter works perfectly fine but of course can't be calibrated without that potentiometer.

I contacted LDG by email because they never answer the phones and after explain what I found I ask them if they can just ship me that resistor (maybe $1.50 will cost to them) and I can fix the meter (do their job) . When finally they reply my email the response was "The meter is a separate circuit from the lights" , that's it. I was like duhhh, I know that (definitely they don't read my email) , I reply them back re-explaining the issue and their response was "Send it back to the reseller"... WHAT? Well, to don't make this review long I can say that need to spend $17 dollars more from my pocket to send it back to Gigaparts for a replacement and is being 3 weeks and I still don't have meter.

Of course the LDG customer service is extremly poor. Instead of make a customer happy spending $2 in a resistor and I will do their job they prefer that I spend more money to send it back for an easy fix that a Ham Radio Operator can do.
K4DL Rating: 2014-08-08
Connector is poorly manufactured Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The line connecting the radio to the meter looses connection at the rear of the unit. I have to constantly bump, move and wiggle it to get the meter to work. Emailed them about it and they simply replied "The plug-in would need to be replaced." I appreciate them stating the obvious but I would have expected a bit more useful information. Nothing telling me how to return it or what to do. I will just repair it myself and not pick up any LDG products in the future. Poor customer service on a poorly made product.
KG0MN Rating: 2013-03-15
Great Meter Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I got the M-1000 meter when I purchased my new AT-1000 PRO II auto-tuner and I have to say that this make the ideal combination for those of use that are running less than a full kilowatt. I have a TS-2000 with an Ameritron AL-811 and a TS-590S with an SB-200 and it will tune anything I have hanging in the air. Would I buy the setup again and recommend it to someone? In a heartbeat!!!
WJ4S Rating: 2011-09-23
Excellent Product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was able to get this meter on sale for $69. What a deal! This is not a cross needle swr/wattmeter, but rather it is a very large S meter which is configured via the radio menu to show whatever the radio display is showing relating to modulation, ALC, transmit power, etc when transmitting. It operates as an S meter while receiving, showing signal strength, power supply voltage, etc depending on radio menu configuration. Lots of useful, easy to see info for a cheap price.
K1ROY Rating: 2011-01-11
super easy to setup and use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
nice large 4.5 inch display with accurate calibration done from factory but also manual calibration very much possible and easy. backlit display ina nice blue light if you want to turn it on. comes with supplied wire for direct connection to Yaesu ft-857 and ft-897 radios. Has everything you need in a meter including a discriminator so you can see if you are recieving the other station dead on frequency. Useful for fm mode simplex! I recommend this highly if you own either of those two yaesu radios and want a much larger display. Also you can still use the digital display built in the radio at same time as this does not cut out internal meter on front of radio!