HF through 2m

Bands

Frequency	1.8-200 MHz: HF through 2 m in one small box
Power	measures up to 200 W across 5/20/200 W ranges; ~4 W minimum for a reading
Modes	forward power, SWR
Weight	540 g (19 oz)

Connectors

rf in	SO-239 (transceiver)
rf out	SO-239 (antenna)
dc power	13.8V DC input for illumination and PEP mode
power req	12 VDC for PEP monitor mode and meter illumination (power cord included). Average power mode works without power.

The compact classic: 1.8-200 MHz and 5/20/200-watt ranges in a six-inch box - the SWR/power meter sized for the operating desk, the go-kit, and the 100-watt station it was born to serve Single-needle architecture (not cross-needle): set range, key, read - forward power, reflected power, and SWR by switch position, with the classic calibrate-then-read SWR ritual PEP monitoring with switchable RMS/peak display - the SSB-era necessity in the budget tier Insertion loss under 0.2 dB worst-case (0.15 at the low-HF end) means it lives in the line without guilt; SO-239s in and out; 540 grams despite one dealer sheet's '2 lbs' The 5-watt low range is the quiet QRP feature - readings down near 4 watts where bench meters go blind ~$94: the price that made it the default first real meter for two generations of 100-watt stations Accuracy is the maker's verbatim '+/-5 to 15% of full scale, depending on frequency range' - friendly at HF, honest about 200 MHz

Strengths

The right meter for the stations most people actually have: HF-through-2m coverage matching the classic 100-watt transceiver plus its VHF sibling, a low range that respects QRP, PEP capability the price tier usually omits, and Diamond build quality in a box small enough to travel. For under a hundred dollars it answers every routine question a station asks.

Weaknesses

The single-needle format means the calibrate-set-read SWR ritual every time (cross-needles answer continuously), 200 watts is the ceiling (amplifier owners shop one tier up), the lamp wants external DC, and the stated accuracy class is friendly rather than forensic.

Verdict

The benchmark budget meter: honest coverage, honest ranges, honest price. Stations that grow amplifiers or crave glance-reading graduate to the cross-needle bench class; everyone else discovers this box outlives several radios.

The Diamond SX200 is the meter scaled to the station most operators actually run: 1.8 through 200 MHz - the classic 100-watt HF rig plus the VHF sibling - across 5, 20, and 200-watt ranges in a six-inch box costing about ninety-four dollars. The architecture is the traditional single needle: select the range, calibrate on forward power, flip to read reflected or SWR - the small ritual the cross-needle class exists to abolish, retained here because it keeps the box simple, cheap, and dependable.

The spec sheet earns its price tier twice over: insertion loss under 0.2 dB worst-case (0.15 at the HF end) lets it live in the feedline permanently, and the 5-watt bottom range with a roughly 4-watt minimum gives QRP operators honest readings where bench meters shrug - which, with PEP monitoring and a switchable RMS/peak display, packs the SSB era's necessary functions into the budget envelope. The lamp wants 11-15 volts of external DC; the measurement - peak mode included - doesn't. The whole thing weighs 540 grams, whatever one dealer sheet's '2 lbs' claims. Diamond's build reputation does the rest, which is why twenty-year-old SX200s outnumber most current models at club stations.

Its boundaries draw themselves: 200 watts is the ceiling (amplifier stations shop the maker's higher-power SX siblings or the bench class), VHF stops past 2 meters (the SX400 takes over for 140-525 MHz), and precision arguments still end at the reference instrument. Within its fence - the everyday station asking everyday questions - the SX200 has been the default answer long enough that 'budget meter' and its model number read as synonyms.