N4LQ hits the nail on the proverbial head!
The tuner/s I build and use are monster types (low loss) using the biggest
coils and capacitors I can find at flea markets. One is mounted on an 11 x
17 x 5 inch steel chassis, using lots of steatite and porcelain feedthroughs
and standoffs, a gigundo tape-wound roller coil, 0.5-inch spacing variable
caps, and brass strip interconnects (available at hobby shops. Even if it
arcs, there's not going to be any damage to it.
Another uses huge plug-in coils that are a foot long and five inches in
diameter. The split-stator cap is a foot long.
Why don't hams build anything anymore? Antenna tuners are as easy to build
as antennas! So are my Breune-type SWR bridges with big surplus glass piston
sampling capacitors that won't arc over if the voltage goes high during
off-tune condx.
Get rid of that junk MFJ mentality guys. Have some fun scrounging and
building QUALITY gear--in an area of ham radio that still lends itself
admirably to homebrewing!
Vy 73, AI2Q, Alex in Kennebunk, Maine .-.-.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-tentec@contesting.com [mailto:owner-tentec@contesting.com]On
Behalf Of Steve Ellington N4LQ
Sent: Monday, January 11, 1999 6:59 PM
To: Michael O. Hyder; TenTec@Contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] 238 Tuner settings
>Yeah, Steve, 'if you're lookin' for trouble, you've come to the right
place.
You ain't seen nuttin yet. So far today I've read about:
1. A rig with a chirp
2. A tuner with a chip
3. A dial with a slip.
4. A dummy load with a drip.
So how about someone buying one of those new Ameritron tuners for $600 and
report back to us how it works. For the life of me, I cannot understand why
something so simple and crude as a tuner could cost even $200! After all,
it's just a couple of switches, a coil and a few capacitors. Is it a
supply/demand thing?
N4LQ
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