Sounds like a bad connection after the tuner in the antenna.

There is a gadget with a noise bridge, SWR, frequency meter
old uncle tom cobley an all for checking antennas. It costs
about $200. It would be nice to have in this kind of situation.

Brian W

On 3 Jan 2004 11:25:06 -0800, (GeoffSchultz)
wrote:

I just got down to my boat on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala and found
that
my SEA-235 SSB tuner isn't tuning. The tuner should automatically
tune
after switching frequencies and transmitting. Also, by grounding the
Demand Tune (DMD TUN) signal wire, the tuner should tune. This is
accomplished by pressing the Function (FNC) key while pressing PTT.
When I do so, I see the demand tune signal drop, but no tuning takes
place. I either
get NO TUNE displayed on the transmitter display or I get a very high
SWR (7 to 8+)

The tuner correctly runs through its initialization as shown by the
configuration of the tuner relays after powering up. I've carefully
cleaned and checked all of the connections and my ground connections
are
bright copper.

I had this problem once before, but it mysteriously cleared up just as
it appeared. On past occassions I've heard the tuner relays
chattering while
transmitting. This also comes and goes. I've corresponded with SEA
about this and have shipped the radio back to them, but they found
nothing with the radio.

I can receive and transmit, and I've been told that my signal is
clean,
but weak as I'm at low power. I can send and receive e-mail via
SailMail reasonably well (the propagation on the Rio Dulce is always a
problem).

What I'd like to know is what other tests can I run to diagnose the
problem. Could it be the antennae? Any suggestions would be greatly
appreciated. Just remember that I'm in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks, Geoff