Make your own dummy load
Had a friend (we wont name him) pop into the shack today with a beautiful TS-520 in almost mint condition. It even had a DG-5 digital readout. Only problem was he couldn’t get it to transmit.
After a short time i asked him if he had noticed the SG on/off switch on the rear panel. Nope was the reply. Well there’s the trouble it needs to be ON to supply power to the screen grids.
DOH!
After much laughter and a generous amount of joking i asked if he had a Dummy load to use to “tune up” the old girl prior to transmitting. No not yet was the reply.
I told him i was sure i had a good design for one somewhere and proceeded to search through old AR’s and QST’s until i found just the thing.
A great design from Ross VK2KVV that was published in the Feb 1999 WIA Amateur Radio Magazine. Its called the HF-MT Dummy Load . HF-MT stands for “High Frequency Milo Tin”.
I remember making a similar one years ago and this is just the thing to get your home brew juices going.
I present it here in PDF format for your enjoyment and education