Avair AV-601 review

I have had an old AEC SWR-50A for the last 35 years and it has finally given up the ghost. To be quite honest it was never really good and now its adjustment potentiometer was shot. I needed another more modern VSWR/Power meter.
I opted for the Avair AV-601 as it covered frequencies from 1.8MHz up to 525MHz that covers most of the radios I have.

I ordered it from Martin Lynch on a Sunday evening and it arrived yesterday 08/07/2015 in a padded bag. I opened it and the cardboard cover for it was a little battered but the meter was inside a large padded bubble wrap sleeve and was fully protected.

Front panel

The instrument itself comprises a large metal box, solidly built and is dominated by a large multipurpose meter. There are 4 rubber feet on the bottom, it is finished in black with silk screen printed lettering. The instrument weighs 720 grams and measures 150mm wide x 50mm high x 100mm deep so should fit in a convenient location in the shack. The RF and power connections are all on the rear panel so make allowances for these connectors.