I noticed a swr variation when I switched between my dipole and vertical hf antennas. The swr reading on my Hustler 6btv was 1:6 and I noticed that when I switched back to it sometimes it was up to 2:0. I played around with the switching mechanism and sure enough it was back to 1:6. The next step was a quick inspection of the internal contacts and switch housing. I noticed that the central spindle was worn and this was allowing the switching pole to lean slightly towards the dipole pick up point. The slight movement rectified the closeness but the switch was well worn through years of operation. So I treated my station to a new better quality replacement as seen below. my old switch has served me well but the new high power Avair switch has better isolation and is much nicer to operate. I hooked it up and to my pleasure saw the SWR fall to 1:4 which is even better. Let's hope this nice neat upgrade has a good long lifespan as it seems pretty cool on day one of operation. 73 stay healthy! |
Hello Simon, I had a switch like your old switch. It was a cheap diamond clone. Very bad switching. I also have a original diamond which looks the same but is totally different inside. It still is doing well after over 20 years. I don't use it as much as you do probabely. I have a internal switch in my antennatuner. And a remote sitch at the base of my tower. 73, Bas