At 02:32 PM 8/23/01 +0200, Eugene Leitl wrote:

...

Testing is key. If you don't measure, you don't know.

Renting time in HF testing facilities is expensive. Do you have suggestions for a simple sniffer type of instrument, that detects the amplitude of a radiated field? Do FETs pick up HF fine?

I'd get a few freq generators (could be real simple, like a crystal osc), a bunch of antennae, and a spectrum analyzer or two. Probably some sheets of RF adsorbing foam to use as attenuators, and for calibration. And the ARRL handbooks. A preamp after your antennae would increase sensitivity. A lot of scanning radios have a signal-strength output which can be used as a wideband spectrum analyzer. With a WinRadio (computer-controlled scanner) you could capture the time-domain waveforms too, which could help with diagnostics. And then I'd spend some time in the desert, or a foil-lined bomb shelter or cave, doing my testing.