[Yaesu] Bird Wattmeter...

[KBØNLY]

There is a good article on this on the Repeater Builder website, full writeup with pictures and everything.

http://www.repeater-builder.com/projects/bird-element-tour/bird-element-tour.html

After taking numerous Bird elements apart to repair them I have to say I totally lost faith in their product.  Some of them were NOS elements that spent their short life on a shelf until I got a hold of them.  I sold my Bird 43 years ago in favor of a Telewave.  Recently though I got a hold of this Bird 6154 model which doesn't use any slugs and figured it would be a good bench meter since it has a dummy load rated to 150w.  Well looks like I'm still going to have to use another meter because this one isn't any good readings wise either.  Reads off on both scales.  And nobody seems to know the voodoo that Bird somehow magically uses to calibrate this model.

I mean come on, months of searching and asking and nobody knows?  I sent Bird an email and they said ship it to us, $180 and it will be fine...  What??  How could it cost $180 to calibrate a meter, especially one that everybody says cannot be calibrated??

73,

Scott




From: k5cbl at juno.com 
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 8:59 PM
To: k5bm at swbell.net 
Cc: kb0nly at mchsi.com 
Subject: Re: [Yaesu] Bird Wattmeter...


Evening Tom,

I don't have any slug that is torn down to shoot some pictures, but hear goes some info...

1.) The meter is a 0-30 Ua movement....not standard to any replacement meter.

2.) The slug can be calibrated for what range you might want the slug to read...think there are 5-7 different slugs but calibrated to different power range...

3.)  You will need to remove the front plate....they used some type of glue like a rubber cement...I have taken a heat gun (depending on age of slug a hair dryer works) and heat the front plate and using a real thin screw driver (probably will damage or scar the alum plate where you lift it) just don't melt the slug (don't overheat) just enough to lift plate....

4.)  Under the plate you will see a 6-32 screw head and a hole and the hole will have a screw driver slot way down deep, use an insulated thin blade screwdriver.....seems like in the past the adjustment was a small pot (value depending on the slug) and some of the slugs the adjustment is a small variable cap....just can't remember if I ever wrote down which slug has what....

5.)  If the internal diode or in most a series resistor is burnt or open the white plastic on the end that is inserted into the Bird can be removed by using the thin blade screw driver again and pry it away from the element....the cap has a lip and pops or snaps back on if you haven't damaged it removing it...

6.)  When its removed you can see the resistor that is soldered to a loop that goes back into the element.....you will need to remove the 6-32 screw to go deeper where the diode is affixed to the resistor and variable pot....in doodle bug style....(hanging in the air)....I can't remember the diode I have used, seems like it was a 1n100 just can't remember but seems like most germanium diode will work....probably someone that really knows whats going on can specify the correct diode if needed....

Hope this will not get you in trouble...I had to destroy an old one to fix the others ...

PS broke slugs are cheap at ham fests....HI

Lots of luck.....73 Troy K5CBL





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