Home >> Hobbies >> Ham Radio

How to Use a Dummy Load for Your Ham Radio

A dummy load is a device that is used in place of a radio antenna on a transmitter when you don't want your signal to radiate very far. According to the federal laws governing amateur radio, you are required to minimize the amount of on-the-air testing of your transmitter. It is often necessary to test your transmitter, so rather than having your signal radiated by an antenna, you can use a dummy load. This allows you to obey the law without spending a lot of money or needing a lot of space.

Things You'll Need

Transmitter
Transmission line jumper cable

Instructions

- 1
  Turn your transmitter off.
- 2
  Check to make sure that your dummy load is rated to handle at least as much power as your transmitter provides. If not, don't proceed until you have a dummy load that can handle the full amount of power your transmitter delivers.
- 3
  Disconnect the antenna from your transmitter.
- 4
  Hook up the dummy load to your transmitter by connecting one end of the transmission line jumper cable to the dummy load, and the other end to the transmitter.
- 5
  Use your transmitter in the same way you always do. With the dummy load attached, you can do testing and experimenting with the knowledge that the signal is not reaching very far.
- 6
  Turn your transmitter off, disconnect the dummy load and reattach the antenna when you are ready to use your transmitter in normal operation again.

Ham Radio