On 2/28/21 6:55 AM, Eliud wrote:
your average ham radio wattmeter, an sw2000
Ok...What Steve said about this is absolutely right. For future reference, there's a subtle distinction between, and terminological problems surrounding, RF power meters and "wattmeters". They both do essentially the same thing, but wattmeters (your SW-2000, the famous Bird model 43, etc) are intended for rather gross measurements of fairly high RF power, like the output from a transmitter or a power amplifier. These would typically be classified as "transmitter site" or "ham shack" instruments.
In contrast, what we generally talk about in places like this as an "RF power meter" is an extremely sensitive device, typically calibrated in dBm, or dB referenced to 1 milliwatt. These would typically be characterized as "laboratory" or "test bench" instruments.
An even bigger difference between the two is, unfortunately for your case, the number of digits in the price tag.
-Dave
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Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
Dave McGuire