Please help a new ham

[N2EY]

SWR bridge is bad.

Borrow a known-good SWR bridge and 50 ohm dummy load. Test out the rig into it.

73 de Jim, N2EY

[K4FY]

Congratulations on the new ticket, Sean. The TS-520 is a neat little rig and I used one for many years with no problem whatsoever. I'm betting with all the others that the SWR bridge isn't doing the job for you. The MFJ tuner should be fine and is very popular. I use MFJ test gear to tune my antennas and find it more than adequate.
73, Gary K4FY

[KK6RF]

Here's the Breaker 13-500:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BREAKER-MODE...-/130720541880

I see these all the time under various brand names: Sears, Phillco, etc. I assume they were all made by the same company because they all look alike.

[WA9SVD]

Here's the Breaker 13-500:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BREAKER-MODE...-/130720541880

I see these all the time under various brand names: Sears, Phillco, etc. I assume they were all made by the same company because they all look alike.

While marketed to the "CB" crowd, that doesn't mean they are useless. If they check out properly with a dummy load, (symmetrically, both forward and reverse) they can be used in the Amateur Service, at least to 30 MHz, and at 100 Watts or less.

[WB2WIK]

While marketed to the "CB" crowd, that doesn't mean they are useless. If they check out properly with a dummy load, (symmetrically, both forward and reverse) they can be used in the Amateur Service, at least to 30 MHz, and at 100 Watts or less.

I agree. It might be junk, but it might be useful.

I had a "Midland" brand SWR bridge marketed to the CB crowd in the 60s that was actually pretty good up to 144 MHz and handled several hundred watts just fine. But they're all different. It pays to compare to some known standard.

[KJ6TIE]

Again thanks for all the replies. Today I bought a MFJ-949E and will be testing it tomorrow and hope to make my first contact on HF soon.

[KJ6TIE]

Again thanks for all the replies. Today I bought a MFJ-949E and will be testing it tomorrow and hope to make my first contact on HF soon.

Made my first contact on HF yesterday on 20 meters, hope it just the first of many. Again thanks for all your input, hopfully someday I will also be able to help a new ham get started.