Mcbazel Surecom SW-102 Digital VHF/UHF 125-525Mhz Antenna Power & SWR Meter

This item worked well to tune my GMRS antenna SWR ans identify transmitting wattage. Very happy with purchase.

Reads about half the power my Bird does on 220MHz.

This unit is an easy-to-use instrument for measuring forward RF power and SWR for the most common VHF/UHF bands in amateur radio. My unit was built with N-connectors for Radio IN and Antenna OUT, but also came with two adapters for PL-259. At first I thought the device was defective when it would not turn ON, until I realized you have to press the ON/OFF button and wait until a timer (shown on the screen) decrements down to 0. Then it turns ON. An instruction sheet is provided, but it is intuitive to use without it. The default setting will measure forward RF power and SWR. An excellent unit for the budget-mined amateur.

I thought I was going to get the 239 connectors, no such luck. Need to use adapters

The Surecom SW-102 is a meter that youll either love or hate. Mine came with no adapters and the firmware was 2.7 (not upgradable). According to the manual, one should not hold the meter horizontally when taking readings. That said, most YouTube reviewers do this when taking readings for testing walkie-talkies (HTs). These meters test two things. The first is power, measured in watts. Many Baofeng radios are rated 10W and more, and the only two that actually Ive up to the hype are the H6/H7 class radios. Most others dont live up to their claims, and you dont have to hook them up to meters to tell you they dont put out 15 watts and more. And Baofeng will happily lie about its products if their retailers want to make outlandish claims (you lie, they say, and well swear to it!). And if Baofeng radios come with color screens and dot matrix characters, you can prey much conclude they are 5W radios (the 8W UV5R and 8W UV82 being exceptions). If the Baofeng has a white high definition screen, with black characters and eight digits, you can conclude its worth checking. My Surecom SW-102 is either defective or it needs a ground plane plate, which is recommended. The ground plane is a metal plate that reflects antenna emissions upwards and away from the meter. This ensures youll get an accurate SWR reading. THE SW-102 NO LONGER COMES WITH THE GROUND PLANE PLATE, as the cost for including it is prohibitive. According to market studies, most users only want to test the power of their radios. Not the efficiency of their antennas. Sadly, Im not that kind of user. I want to test the efficiency of my antennas, and when I attach a Nagoya NA-771 or a 24J and get a reading of 3.58 and 4.07 respectively, I know somethings off. So not having a ground plane plate, I tried using my Cold Steel tanto, a flat-bladed knife as a ground plane. Immediately my readings dropped to 1.00 or 1.05 and 1.07, but then, is that accurate? I can only hold my knife like that for a few seconds and its awkward as hell! Bottom line, if you only want to measure wattage, this meter may be for you. If you buy a cheap antenna and want to see if its any good, find an older model that comes with a ground plane plate. Or if youre handy, find a thin metal plate and attach it between the meter and your antenna. Frankly, I wouldnt touch this meter as it doesnt provide accurate readings without the metal plate. I give this a big fat one-star as its poorly designed and inaccurate for measuring SWR. Id pass.

I bought this device to use in my car ham Radio. I’m very pleased with it. Easy to read and long lasting battery.

Its a great product

This is almost perfect. For the price this is a great deal for an SWR meter. It seems to be quite accurate and fulfills its purpose with my Ham radio’s.

My old trusty analog SWR/PWR Meter got crushed so ordered this SURECOM SW-102 as a replacement. Big problem: Regardless of the 3 antenna systems on my property which have been working for years this NEW one measures 19.99 VSWR on each one! Im a radio guy since CB rage in the 70s and now have a HAM license for a decade, and GMRS for about 5 years. Very disappointed in this product, returning this defective one and ordering another brand as a replacement.

Works well