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Review on πŸ“» Enhance Walkie Talkie Performance with Gam3Gear Surecom SA 160 0.5-60MHz Colour Graphic Antenna Analyzer for Radio Testing by Ronny Welch

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Very good device, but not perfect.

I needed an analyzer that would go below 1.8MHz, the lower frequency limit of my trusted MFJ-259B, to find the resonant frequency of the new 160m inverted L with a minimum of trial and error to find . SA-160 meets all requirements at a reasonable price. Pros: I easily found my antenna resonating 150kHz below the desired frequency. I calculated, adjusted the length of the antenna and the new SWR minimum turned out to be accurate. I like being able to see the SWR curve of the antenna. With a multi-band antenna you can see each SWR minimum, by adjusting the frequency range of the graph to show, for example: 140 to 28 MHz frequency range for a typical tribander. The Bad: The instruction manual, if you can call it that, is terrible. Poorly translated from Chinese. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure out how to set up the frequency range of the graph. It can be tuned from a maximum width of 62MHz to a minimum width of 270kHz, but the manual doesn't really describe how to do that. I found the color display difficult to read outdoors in bright light with snow on the ground. I want to export plots to a PC, but can't find such an option - the device's mini-USB port is only for charging the internal battery. All in all, for $149, this is a great addition to my hammock. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure out how to set up the frequency range of the graph. It can be tuned from a maximum width of 62MHz to a minimum width of 270kHz, but the manual doesn't really describe how to do that. I found the color display difficult to read outdoors in bright light with snow on the ground. I want to export plots to a PC, but can't find such an option - the device's mini-USB port is only for charging the internal battery. All in all, for $149, this is a great addition to my hammock. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure out how to set up the frequency range of the graph. It can be tuned from a maximum width of 62MHz to a minimum width of 270kHz, but the manual doesn't really describe how to do that. I found the color display difficult to read outdoors in bright light with snow on the ground. I want to export charts to PC, but I can't find such a way - the device's mini-USB port is only for charging the internal battery. All in all, for $149, this is a great addition to my hammock. but I can't find such a way - the mini-USB port on the device is only for charging the internal battery. All in all, for $149, this is a great addition to my hammock. but I can't find such a way - the mini-USB port on the device is only for charging the internal battery. All in all, for $149, this is a great addition to my hammock.

Pros
  • One button quick scan mode HF1, HF2, HF3 or 3 bands in full screen mode. Auto Marker Best SWR Level Reference
Cons
  • Not Safe