Undaunted, my wife and I did the Hamfest shuffle, which to the uninitiated is a sashay up one aisle and down the other, nodding politely as you go\u00a0and speaking to those familiar. And there was a sizable contingent from Birmingham too, which made for pleasant camaraderie \u2026 but nary a sole new equipment dealer, and no SWR Power Meter in sight.<\/p>\n
And just as we were prepared to depart the scintillating company of a few hundred or so of our fellow Radio Amateurs, I spied it. In an unassuming corner of a sparsely filled table of eclectic radio bits and pieces, was a meter.<\/p>\n As I reached to examine it, the gentleman bellied up to the rear of the table exclaimed, \u201cIt works!\u201d And with those reassuring words, I proceeded to inspect the meter. It appeared quite similar in construction to my failing\u00a0Daiwa, and had a white scrap of paper taped to the bottom. $20 was all it said.<\/p>\n And the seller continued. \u201cSomeone told me it was for VHF, but I used it on HF just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Even at the paltry price, I was still unsure if this was the meter for me, and carefully removed the price tag to reveal the specifications printed beneath. \u201c3.5 \u2013 150 MHz\u201d it read, \u201cDiamond CX20C\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you make change for a 50?\u201d I asked, and then our\u00a0deal was struck.<\/p>\n I contemplated my good fortune during the\u00a0soporific return to Birmingham. Just when I had all but abandoned hope of finding what I came for, there it was right in front of me. I supposed this could be a metaphor for life as well. We\u2019re always searching \u2013 for love or happiness or wealth, when very often just exactly what we need manifests itself, and frequently too when all seems lost.<\/p>\n Note: The Daiwa works perfectly and reaffirms that my geriatric\u00a0Icom 735 is still surprisingly spry for its age, radiating\u00a0a whopping 110 watts on 40 Meters, my band of choice. Furthermore, the low power setting on the CX20 will be ideal for my refurbished HW-8.<\/p>\n So when is the Huntsville Hamfest<\/a> anyway?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No Amateur Radio Station is complete without a mechanism for measuring forward and reflected power. Transmit into an antenna with too much reflected power (high SWR) and you endanger your output tubes or transistors. We all know this, and that\u2019s why I have been in search of late for a fully-functioning SWR Power Meter to … Continue reading Hamfest bargains are alive and well, or a Diamond in the rough<\/span> ![\"sx20c\"](\"http:\/\/wa4fat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/sx20c.jpg\")
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