Antenna Tuner for 2 meter 70 cm? Or just a good SWR meter

**Need2Know** · Fri 3rd Feb 2012, 04:03

I'm going to be making a J-pole for 2meter/70cm.

Ideally I'd get a good antenna tuner for this, but I haven't seen anything in these frequency ranges.
Any recommendations?

Alternatively, what is recommended for a good 2meter/70cm SWR meter?

**2E0JTP** · Fri 3rd Feb 2012, 18:16

An antenna tuner for 2m/70cm?!

I've got a recommendation.

Buy (or make) a resonant antenna.

**AJ4GY** · Fri 3rd Feb 2012, 19:41

You can try to borrow an swr meter. But i use an MFJ-269. It will cover 18MHz to 70cm.

And if you are going to build the antenna, get an SWR meter and make it resonant.

**Need2Know** · Fri 3rd Feb 2012, 21:56

Originally Posted by 2E0JTP

An antenna tuner for 2m/70cm?!

I've got a recommendation.

Buy (or make) a resonant antenna.

I'm sorry, but your reply does not compute.

**Need2Know** · Fri 3rd Feb 2012, 22:02

Originally Posted by AJ4GY

You can try to borrow an swr meter. But i use an MFJ-269. It will cover 18MHz to 70cm.

And if you are going to build the antenna, get an SWR meter and make it resonant.

Thank you for the suggestion, AJ4GY. I didn't see that Model on MFJ's web site. http://www.gigaparts.com/store.php?a...FQ5U7Aod62Xb4Q Now I know why I didn't notice it. I blanked out when I saw the price. Yes, it is a GREAT idea to borrow one.

**K7KBN** · Sat 4th Feb 2012, 01:48

You won't find very many commercial 2 meter antenna matching networks, and even fewer for higher frequencies. At those frequencies, the antennas are so physically small it's easier to build one and adjust it as you go. Get a VHF/UHF SWR meter (one specifically built for the job). They're more expensive, as a rule, than HF meters, but they're harder to build right as the frequency increases.

**2E0JTP** · Sat 4th Feb 2012, 11:29

Originally Posted by Need2Know

I'm sorry, but your reply does not compute.

Roughly translated as:

You wont find many 2m/70cm matching units commercially available because most amateurs just use a resonant 2m/70cm antenna. A single antenna can cover the entire amateur 2m/70cm allocation with more than acceptable SWR.

You can either homebrew your own one (very easy and lots of designs available on the internet - just use Google) or buy a 2m/70cm antenna from any shop that sells amateur radio equipment. A basic 2m/70cm mobile antenna can be had from about £20 ($30) and a home base version can be had from about £50 ($80).

A good SWR meter?

Try Diamond. A bit expensive, but I've found them to be reliable.

**G4LNA** · Sat 4th Feb 2012, 15:47

I remember years ago, back about 1975, I used a portable 6 element beam that was fed with 300 Ohm ribbon feeder into a home made matching unit, it worked really well for a number of years, the main element was a folded dipole so the match to the 300 Ohm feeder wasn't too far away from being matched, so the losses are quite low. You used to be able to buy a commercial one but they are so easy to build for 2 Mtrs, but 70cms, I suppose it is possible, but the techniques involved to keep losses to a minimum are quite different to those is used at 2 Mtrs, how good is your plumbing skills?