A Good Suggestion from Bobbie - WB6BAC:
Do you announce your presence on the net like a canary,
with 30 seconds or so of a beautiful aria of tweets, trills
and spiraling whistles? Everyone stands by until you are
completely satisfied that you are correctly tuned, then the
net business goes on. We have the answer to this problem -
it is a fool-proof and inexpensive dumy-load that you can
make at home with just a light bulb, a socket and a little
wire and a few attachments.
This is how it is done: Use a light bulb (About 200 watts) that will come up to the peak of light with the output of your transmitter. Just screw the bulb into your extra loose light socket that you have had around for sometime with all the rest of the goodies you have accumulated but haven't used (as yet). Attach 50 or 72 ohm coax cable to the socket and the other end to yur xmtr via a PL-259 connector. Connect the wire with one end to the shell connection, and the other one to the center point of the light bulb. By bringing up the bulb to its brightest, you will be tuned properly, and will not have played a concert on the air. You may give out a little signal in your immediate neighborhood, or your antenna may pick up the signal if you tune too close to your antenna, so use care. If you place a metal can with holes poked in it over the bulb, you can keep the bulb from glaring in your eyes, plus diminishing your radiation and adding shielding.
So, for a few cents you can have a first-rate dummy load, and we are sure that all hams will appreciate your consideration on the net.