20 Best Swr Meter For Cb (2023 Updated)

Used it to set-up a new CB radio installation in my Jeep Wrangler. Construction is good quality and a good overall value for the price. I already have a coax jumper so it was nice that the SWR-2T was available with the coax jumper or a bit less money plus free shipping.

Works well, no real way of knowing accuracy of the meter but I was able to tune the SWR of the Firestik Firefly FL3-B antenna for a reasonable value, all channels < 2. not great but that is not the meter's fault.

Jeep Wrangler with a fiberglass hard top and spare tire mount violate all the principles of mounting your antenna in the center of a good ground plane.

Every CB owner should have one. Easy to understand directions. Super easy to use. No guessing if your signal is optimum. Super valve for the money. Very pleased with purchase. Should have bought one many years ago.

Would recommend it.

The shipping, ordering, packaging, jumper coax, and everything else was great! But the meter itself is junk. I could never get a consistent reading. It was always 2. 5 or 1. There was no in between. Its good to keep in a vehicle as a quick check.

But for fine tuning, its absolutely worthless.

Astatic has been in this business for decades. There are other brands but if you want to buy once and be done with it then go with these people. There’s nothing special about this SWR meter but if you do your own CB work Astatic is who you go to.

I was big into CB 30 years ago and just recently dug my radios out of the closet to a road trip that I take about once a year. I bought the cheapest SWR meter I could find and ended up throwing it in the trash.

The controls were super cheap and the meter was terribly erratic. I went back to Astatic, the same company I relied on 30 years ago, and found their reliability and build quality had not changed a bit.

If your a serious HAM operator then you will want something else but if you need an SWR meter for occasional use when setting up a CB then go with a reputable brand and be done with it. I’m reasonably sure the Astatic SWR meter that I bought in the 80’s and used for 10 years would still be working today if I hadn’t lost it.

I used the MFJ-259 to set up and tune my HF antennas and test a Diamond x50 2m antenna. I could not have done it without a analyzer. Any one of the 259s will do the job. I see 259 selling for the same price as the b and c models.

They have different features. For example the -259 (not b or c) does not display X (reactance), for setting the length of a wire or element for best SWR it doesn’t matter. But it is handy for building traps or tuning matching element.

Also these units do not display a graph or allow you to download data to a computer. Also the -259 and -259b require 8 or 10 AA batteries. The C has the best bat access and longer bat life. They are good solid units and take a beating in the field.

Just read the manual on how NOT to nlow the input diodes.

I’ve known the name Astatic for decades. Basically in good Cb microphones, that is why I chose to purchase this meter from this brand. Unfortunately, sometimes electronics falter. I simply returned this one bcuz the SWR side of the two functions did not work, the wattage did however.

But it is a highly recommended meter.

Bought this meter from DX Engineering And love all the great Features the display is crisp back lighting is perfect. A great add to any bench or station setup.

GOT PRODUCT IN , I THINK TOP IS PUT ON BACKWARDS ,POOR WORKMAN SHIP AND INSPECTION WHEN IT WAS BUILT, DOES NOT SHOW WATTAGE RIGHT CHANGES EVERY TIME TRANSCEVER IS KEYED UP ON AM ,IF I COULD I WOULD CHANGE IT TO A DIFFERENT KIND OF WATT METER , DO NOT BUY.

Readout matches Forward & Reflected on my FT-991A. Frequency is often out-of-band different. I still like it.

I was a bit apprehensive about the quality and abilities of such a relatively cheap device. However after using it extensively in the short time (2-3 weeks) I have had it, the unit works flawlessly and seems to be very accurate in it’s readings.

The build quality is also better than I expected and is quite sturdy and durable. I found that the ability to flip the display upside down is very useful when taking measurements in awkward situations.

The only downside that I have found so far is that it is very easy to switch the unit on while moving it or packing it away. That being said, it’s not a big deal as there is a time out timer which can be set from the menu so the unit will switch itself off after a short time of no activity.

As for long term reliability, well it gets lots of use so time alone will tell. Very pleased so far.

I am writing this review at firmware version 4. 5 where I discovered a major fault with SWR calculations. I have reported it to the seller and the Surecom factory so the problem may be rectified in future versions.

Still I wouldn’t buy another unless the listing specifically states the fix. Let’s assume the meter measures accurately the forward and reflected power. The correct calculation for SWR is: gamma = sqrt(reflected_watts / forward_watts); swr = (1+gamma)/(1-gamma); However, this meter seems to calculate gamma without using the square root: gamma = reflected_watts / forward_watts; This is incorrect and significantly wrong.

In my case an absolutely terrible antenna that should have displayed SWR 2. 85 showed 1. 6 instead which can be considered acceptable. So, if you decide to buy one make sure the listing shows a photo of firmware greater than 4.

5. Take the froward and reflect power from the photo and do the math yourself. If your SWR result matches the photo the problem has been fixed.

Unit works correctly ONLY when transceiver is within an almost exact distance from the counter (usually within a foot or too and set to LOW). If moving away from unit, (even when unit is set to allow High wattage readings), this counter displays different frequencies or none at all from across my 10-foot room.

Either I have a poorly designed model or a manufacturer’s bad “run” of production. -= ChazTech =-.

Nice analog SWR meter, I cheked it againist my built in SWR on my base unit which is very acurate, it comes in at 98+%. The unit is very well built in a soild case seems bullet proof.

This is a quality product and I would recommend it to anyone needing a SWR meter. The only set back is it does not come with the coaxial cable jumper (male) end. The swr has two female connection end.

Now I have to spend more time ad money just to calibrate the signals.

Seems like a nice enough meter …Just be ware it comes with no accessories . You will need a jumper cable of RG-58U or RG-8U cable to use it .

I use my Stryker SR-955HPC as A base with a powered Desk Mic and it has proved to be one of the best 10 Meter, 11 Meter & 12 Meter AM,SSB,FM Radios I have owned in years. (I have a Yaesu FTDX10 but that’s a different kind of Radio, so unfair to compare the FTDX10 as is more advanced and is different market.

) The Stryker on the East Coast in 10Meter FM mode can use Repeaters on 29. 600 with a PL Tone. I set FM to 50 Watt output. On Am the 955 does really good as mine is putting out a respectable 75 Watts.

On SSB I can talk all over the USA and out of the country as well. My SSB is putting out the Same 75 Watts. At these Wattages the Cooling system & Final output area stay in a very safe operating range.

I have all the Major Test Equipment and the service manual for the SR-955HPC as well. I tuned it Clean and gave it 10 watts over Factory Recommendations. I wanted it to Stay clean and the results have been excellent.

Make sure you have a Good Antenna and Coax (LMR400) if it’s a Base Station. In a Mobil use (RG-400), at the very least RG-8x, As this is very important to your ability to be Heard & Receive. Your Power supply with the 955 should be a “Regulated 13.

8 volts with at least 15 Amp or more & You will want to replace the stock power wire as its to thin and the fuse will get really hot. I recommend a 12GA. zip wire and replace the fuse with a blade type with 12 GA.

wire to. Soldering all connections. This will keep the Voltage from dropping when you transmit and stabilize your 955’s transmit power. I know that there is radio mods out there that turn up the transmit that push this Radio to 95 to 120 Watts but the cooling system is not sufficient to support this and heat problems will occur and the radio wont last long at all.

all in all a great Radio. 73’s.

10 Meter Radios are not designed to communicate with CB Radios. Unlike a CB Radio, you need to have a license to operate a 10 Meter Radio. The reason for this is because the 10 Meter Radios are allowed to have more wattage/power output than CB Radios.

According to FCC regulations, CB radios are allowed a max output of 4 watts. Since the 10 Meter Band is intended for long range communication, more wattage is needed. The potentially very high power output (radio energy) of 10 Meter Radios can actually damage soft tissue and organs (similar to a microwave) so proper use is important! The FCC wants to make sure that 10 Meter Radio operators understand the importance of operating the equipment properly and following the rules.

Another important aspect of operating a 10 Meter Radio is that they don’t want disruption of other important communications. With their high power output, 10 Meter Radios can overpower CB transmissions and other important local communications.

The 10 Meter Band consists of frequencies stretching from 28. 000 to 29. 700 MHz. This means that you can still use a standard CB antenna- just be sure to get an antenna that has a power rating that will handle the power output of your 10 meter radio.

Out of the box, you will not get Channel 19 with a 10 Meter Radio. CB Radios operate on the 11 Meter Band around 27 MHz with 40 channels. Unlike the 10 Meter Band, access to these frequencies are unrestricted by the FCC, hence the name “Citizen’s Band”.

Just keep in mind that, even for CB Radios, the FCC requires users to follow certain codes of conduct and equipment restrictions. Many of them have a band selector knob. Band C is CB. There is a 40 channel bank per band.

If you want a High Powered CB radio and only care to operate using the AM Mode, then after a modification is done, this Stykers gets the job done in style! Just do not operate on licensed amateur radio frequencies! 28Mhz and above! Or below 24.

990Mhz and no one will usually search you out! So fn tired of Hams feeling they have to warn you about these rules. We are all adults and most know what the rules are. Stryker Tranceivers are outstanding quality and one of the better brands on the market these days.

Get on the air and have fun cause thats what its all about! If later you think you’d like to get your Amateur license, your already ahead having a proper radio. There are other units made by Stryker that have sideband but that is another option that you may get into but as you learn what ya want just know they are available.

VERY GOOD CONSTRUCTION AND SUPER EASY TO USE! Know your Power AND VSWR measurements in seconds with one hand operation. RETAINS your last measurement too. Powers-up and “self-checks” in six seconds. GREEN/RED LED to that provides charge status.

Great for Handhelds, mobiles or base radios. PERFECT for Ham or GMRS testing. KNOW the status of your radios and antennas quickly!.

I’m impressed. Seems to be good enough for what I need. Simple and easy to use. Battery charges very quickly. Most connectors that could be used are there. Only had to pick up other connector to go from an SMA connector to PL-259.

No complaints. and I have had this device for about a month and have used it often for making antennas and checking for vswr. IMO, best price point out there!.

Checked out my B__f__g HT radio with an antenna that I added on, based upon internet research. Found the SWR to be way out of range (19. ). Good catch. Original ant. was well within range desired, and was quickly reinstalled.

Probably better meters out there, but this did what I needed at the time.

Works as expected. Well built and no issues. Manual came with it was not very friendly for CB beginners. But many institutions are available in the net.

Great tool to properly tune your Cb antenna! I have a cobra 75 wxst in my Jeep Wrangler with a 3″ firestik. Readings were very easy to read, easy controls, got my antenna tuned in 5 mins.

With added 3′ cable is very convenient. Tweak your friends antenna on the fly! Follow the included instructions and/or Find more instructions on Youtube.

I have a lot of cb radios. I actually prefer the compact model 68, but if you have the room, this IS the classic full size trucker radio. This will blow away the junk Cobras, and is a bargain for the money.

My model 78 has been peaked and aligned, and some of my other radios come close, but nothing surpasses the transmit and receive of my big Uniden. Delta tune is a holdover from olden days, when crystals would shift off frequency.

You could say that it is a useless knob, nowadays, but the SWR set feature of the other extra knob sure is handy, if you have room for such a big radio. A full size radio interferes with the visors of some vintage Petes, requiring a smaller radio.

If your rig has space for this big guy, it is a great choice.

Unidentified is a reliable brand. I am a trucker and need my CB for road related e BBC ents and many companies require drivers to use the CB for dock assignments and scaling. The radio is loud and clear.

It is easy to use. Having a built in SWR meter provides me with a good antenna match for optimal performance. I recommend this CB to anyone who wants ease of use and quality. Price was great too!.

The radio itself is a good radio. Be careful what antenna you use. I bought a Firestik Firefly and to be quite honest. it was junk. I put a Lil Will on it and it worked really good, I then switched out the Lil Will for a Wilson 2000 trucker and now.

it’s near perfect. All in all I’m pleased with the radio. It also has a SWR meter built in so tuning was easy.

SWR function works ok, wattmeter not so great. Varies alot between 50ohm load and actual antenna. At best a relative indication. I mostly care to use it with my antenna tuner to tune for lowest SWR which it appears to be fine.

Useing it for amatuer radio not cb.

THE PICTURE IS NOT WHAT YOU WILL GET. MY METER ARRIVED WITH NO WORDS ON THE METER. I COULDN’T TELL WHERE TO PLUG IN THE ANTENNA OR THE RECEIVER. DIDN’T KNOW WHICH SWITCH WAS FOR THE WATT METER OR THE SWR METER.

NO FWD INDICATION OR REF INDICATION. CAME WITH INSTRUCTIONS BUT USELESS IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT SWITCH OPERATES WHAT.

This is one of several Workman products I’ve invested in. So far, there have been no disappointments. This power/swr meter is no exception. I doubt, fot the money, this value can’t be beat ! It does exactly what I wanted from it.

I recommend it to anyone needing an occasional check on their antenna system.

Bought for my 2950CD radio and TS350 amp. Seems to be close when running SSB. on AM it comes in about 3 1/2w when it’s actually 2w or so. also came in high with amp on at 110-120w do when it’s really about 80w or so.

I have another MFJ and AM reads high on that as well. I got I mainly for the SWR feature and that matches my other meters just fine 1. 2-1 on channel 1 and 1-1 on 40. Backlight appears to be incandescent and lights mainly bottom half.

Good overall.

Looks good. Works well. Excellent value for money. Easy to install and operate.MFJ-822

This thing is fantastic. It has what looks like an incandescent bulb for the back light which is fine. It really easy to read. The housing is awesome, feels like a quality meter. It comes with a DC power cord for the back light.

There is no switch for the light. I really like it, wish there was some way to mount it but I think double sided tape will do the trick.

I read bad reviews of this meter, but, I bought it anyway, since it was only $14 / free shipping. I am glad I did, as I received one of the good ones. The switches and meter work exactly as they are supposed to.

I compared the ASTATIC PDC1’s SWR meter / watt meter with the SWR meter / watt meter on my MFJ-949E SWR Meter / Tuner / Watt Meter / Dummy Load. The 27 MHz SWR readings on both meters were nearly identical.

The 27 MHz wattage reading on both meters are nearly identical up to 10 watts. When more than 10 watts is put in to the ASTATIC PDC1 meter, it reads more wattage than the MFJ-949E SWR meter. 15 watts on the MFJ-949E SWR meter reads as 20 watts on the ASTATIC PDC1 meter.

20 watts on the MFJ-949E SWR meter reads as 30 watts on the ASTATIC PDC1 meter. 30 watts on the MFJ-949E SWR meter reads as 40 watts on the ASTATIC PDC1 meter. This error does not bother me too much, as the ASTATIC PDC1 meter is accurate with 10 watts or less input.

From 10-50 watts it’s still a satisfactory reference. The ASTATIC PDC1 meter is not a PEP / peak reading watt meter, but, it does display some degree of average power / modulation. It displays enough ‘swing’ to allow the use to know whether they have ‘forward swing’ or ‘backwards swing’ in the AM mode.

I would not pay more than twenty dollars for this meter, but, if you can pick one up for twenty dollars or less, I would consider it a decent deal. Do not forget to pick up a jumper cable that goes between the meter and the radio, as this meter does not come with a jumper cable.

I have been out of CB for over 30yrs, decided to pull my vintage equipment out of mothballs & bought this little cheap meter to help me set up my antennas properly. Figured its from Astatic, they used to offer quality.

Like most of the stuff made today, this is cheap and not accurate. Why in world would you want a SWR meter that is not accurate. This thing had me chasing SWR ghosts until it finally crapped out after only a half dozen uses.

No I do not recommend!.

Gets the job done inexpensively. Nice little meter. I just use it for monitoring swr with 150 watts into it seems to be holding up just fine. I’m not concerned in seeing power output although did try briefly and it did peg the needle as I expected it to.

With all the wind and ice I get here in Upper Michigan I watch swr all the time. Can’t go wrong for 20 bucks!.

You can not tune an antenna without one. Tuning the antenna is critical!! It is often overlooked but makes all the difference.

The item is just what I needed to tune my CB radio. Now I can pick up people 10 miles or more away with my CB . Item was exactly as described easy-to-use had instructions and a great price thanks

Works as described. Might be a little forgiving on wattage but its all relative anyways. My Bird meters read exactly 1 watt less than this one so im not complaining. Only complaint is the meter display was pushed into the case when I got it out of the box.

No biggie. Just removed the case screws and popped it back in. Did not effect the function of the unit. Reads PEP 5, 50, 250, 1kw watt ranges. SWR works well too. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone working with radios.

It’s worth the price for what you’re getting. Plus, I just farted and it stinks.

This is a great meter for measuring SWR and wattage up to 1,00 Watts. Optionally you can light up the meter with 12V. I was able to set my SWR and adjust my wattage and see exactly what I was putting out.

Seems to be great for a PEP and SWR meter.

The SWR meter performs very well . It is accurate and easy to use. The dial is large enough to see without struggling . An it is a great tool. It has all the needed features to tune the CB radio .

Best radio for the money well built. Awsome CB radio. Just like the cobra 29 but cheaper in price Love it.

The CB arrived in good condition. I have not connected it yet so I am unable to rate the quality and performance at this time. Item was shipped very quickly and arrived sooner than I expected.

I bought this to keep an eye on my SWR / reflected power while using an amplifier. The first one was showing virtually no reflected power unless connected to an antenna with an SWR of 3. 0 or higher at the test frequency.

Forward power also seemed to be reading 10%-20% low into a dummy load when transmitting on AM, FM or RTTY regardless of the transmitter or band. After discussing it with DX Engineering they provided return information in an email, and turned it around in 1 day after receiving the return.

The replacement arrived yesterday afternoon and after some quick testing appears to be working. I need to run it through further testing and compare it to what I get from my Rig Expert antenna analyzer which has served me very well over the years.

It is also very odd that the only way to turn off the meter light is to unplug it at the back. I wouldn’t buy a meter from Daiwa again.

Great product at a good price. My station operates exclusively on HF, running close to 1K. Since all my antennas are home brew, I wanted a meter that I could watch both the power level and VSWR at the same time.

I wanted to find a means of detecting any change in the antenna during a transmission. Dual meters was an option, but for my purposes it seemed intuitively most logical to have a cross needle meter that would provide both reports at a single glance, and the CN 501H does just that.

The three power levels permit me to adjust the power level on my transceiver to obtain a fine reading, and then bump it up when I’m running power. The meter is lit via 12 V rear socket, plug included, that allowed me to connect that to my transceiver so that it was only lit when the transceiver was in service.

Aesthetically it has a clean look and quietly complements my Yaesu without looking like a sideshow of its own. I am please with and would highly recommend this unit to any interested Ham.

It is a great meter, easy to use, accurate and even the smaller meter on this one is easy for my old eyes to read, ok sounds good so far what is the “But” about. Well it seems there is an undocumented problem that I and a number of friends have come across, the meter just stops working every once in a while, it will show no output or SWR deflection on the meter even though I’m in a QSO SO I know I have power out.

No amount of button pushing will get the meter to start working again. Well there seems to be an undocumented reset feature, so don’t throw it away, if you have been using the meter without the power for the light connected, connected to your supply to turn the light on and voila everything starts work8ng again.

You can go ahead and disconnect the power and everything stays working until the next time.

Item is well made, has sufficient weight to handle coax without scurrying across desk top. Meter lighting nice and bright. Accuracy better than several meters currently in use. Great product for the price.

Having to calibrate for SWR measurement is easy, but if you want even easier measurements use a cross needle meter. Cost VS ease of use was a consideration. I chose the lower cost meter and I am very satisfied with that decision.

Would not hesitate to recommend.

This measuring instrument is good quality and accurate measurement values and can handle transport to various measurements of VHF antennas on boats and its facilities. Regards Douglas Bartel

This is an excellent MFJ product. I do, however, feel the Instructions lack in one area: They don’t explain enough about how to set the SWR control. Other than that, excellent!

This SWR/Wattmeter is a necessity for checking and adjusting antennas. Very simple to use and does exactly what it’s supposed to. I highly recommend this item. feels very solid and well built.

The meter worked accept the swr function did not work properly. Had to return it.

I got this meter for 1.25 meter band and it is very inaccurate for power an swr, on that band. The other two bands seem to be ok. Very over priced for what you get.

Works! Tuned my Cobra 19 to my 4′ antenna very quickly. first Contact was in Cape Canaveral from Central Florida, 50 miles away from my yard.

Having difficulty seeing Cross-Needle SWR meters and the little SWR scale on my Icom 7300, this MFJ digital meter does all I hoped, and more. With both HF/6M and 220/432 inputs, it covers all my transmitting needs.

Visibility is outstanding, and though it can’t track SSB voice peaks, all my operating has been non-voice for years. Last but not least, most often I operate FT8 away from the radio using VNC, and an old wireless baby monitor lets me keep an eye on SWR and power levels with the MFJ Digital SWR/Power meter.

DX Engineering is my vendor of choice, and the order was promptly processed and shipped. a Winning Combination!.

This is the first SWR / Power meter I’ve purchased and I really like it. The display is large, clear and easy to read. I have this wired to the same power supply as my IC 7300. The SWR is very close to the readings I get with the antenna analyzer and it is nice to see the SWR while using the radio.

I’ve been using it about a month without any problems. -Bill.

Thanks to DX Engineering for excellent esponse I received he meter one day earlier than planned. I was a little hesitant about ordering it but having now used it foe a week I am thoroughly impressed.

At last I have a meter I can actually read, the response is quick and accurate. Yeah, I can recomend this item.