In a message dated 2/4/99 11:20:33 AM Eastern Standard Time, n7cl@mmsi.com
writes:
<< I had a very bad experience while trying to help a friend with
his motor home mobile installation of an SGC tuner. basically,
the problem is as folows:
1. If the tuner is set up, tuned to a fixed set of memorized
frequencies and operated only on the memorized frequencies,
it works OK. In this mode, it isn't repeatedly hot switching
the inductors.
2. If the tuner is used with a random wire type antenna and
required to frequently retune due to frequency changes or
band changes to non-memorized frequencies, it soon burns up
some of the inductor switching relay contacts and eventually
becomes unable to tune the wire.
We had the unit either replaced or repaired by SGC at least three
times before giving up. SGC became increasingly difficult to
deal with as time went on. They eventually refused to help with
this unit any more. The rig was an ICOM 736 with no amp. the
antenna was a 270 ish foot long piece of wire averaging 30 feet
or so off the ground. >>
I have been using an SGC 230 unit for about 5 years, both in mobile and long
wire situations. I had one problem with a relay about 3 years after I got the
unit and SGC repaired it and returned it FEDEX overnight for no charge. I
think their customer service is excellent. I have used the unit to experiment
with various mobile antennas including loops (~120 feet of #10 wire, 4 turns
around my pickup bed, about 4 feet above it) which worked like gangbusters,
various straight whips, Ham Sticks, and linearly helical wound antennas. In
all the time of using the unit, it has often had to retune and I had none of
the problems mentioned above. All of my radios automatically cut the power
back to ~10 watts until the SWR goes down. I have noticed that the tuner will
act flakey when there is a poor ground on the mobile so this may have been the
problem n7cl was having.
73 de Mark, WB9BVV
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