> So, what are people doing wiht tuners out there? The newer stuff or the
>olders stuff. I would like to know what other people are using and why
>they like or dislike what they have.
Hello Lee,
I and many friends have been very happy with the modest MFJ-949E. I run
100W or less, so I don't have to have large components to handle the
voltages. I also like to use wire antennas and open wire feedlines, so the
built-in 4:1 balun is handy. Even when the tuner is on bypass, your open
wire line comes through the balun and you can use your rig's internal
tuner, if available.
The built in dummy load and peak reading power meters (lighted) are
really handy for setting up your ALC and speech processor or just
monitoring your output.
Two coax antenna terminals are handy for connecting multiple antennas.
It's also small, light, and inexpensive, good for portable use.
I think there have been only a couple of times where I couldn't match the
line to 1:3 or better. I have tuned some contraptions with it, including
the chimney in my townhouse (no external antennas allowed). You can
usually find more than one adjustment point to achieve a match. Use the
one with the lowest numbers on the capacitors (highest capacitance) and
lowest inductance (letters higher in the alphabet) for the best
efficiency.
The quality control is a little spotty. I have seen one arc over on the
inductor where two lines were routed too close together, and another one
where the needles were "sticky"
--...MARK_N1LO...--
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