[TenTec] OT Antenna Tuners

[Jim WA9YSD]

Some people like but radios cause they look for the one that operates well and has a nice feel to it or how it looks or what ever.

I have gone through 6 different tuners and used a bunch more along with home brews over the years and built two of my own.  Each one has its own feel, looks and operating characteristics.  One I built that came out of the ARRL Hand Book.

I do not like one that if you just tap on the knob that adjusts the caps the tuning needs to be readjusted.  Ground conditions change and a daily basis and you need to tweak settings all the time.  Roller inductors so tight that you need a crank handle to turn it and not a figure knob to spin it.  Or a roller inductor that when you just tap on the knob the tuning needs to be readjusted

I like a roller inductor when I spin the dial it moves at least a half a turn when I stop.

Some tuners are broad band, while others are narrow.  Some have a bit more band width

I have yet to see a consumer tuner sold that indicates or automatically finds that SWEET SPOT so you need to do minimal or no tuning at all when changing from SSB to CW portion of the band or just changing bands when using the same antenna with minimal tuning.

 One of the things I like about the Ten-Tec 253 Auto Tuner is that it finds the lowest SWR at the proper Q.

I have not learned how to find the proper minimal SWR at the proper Q with a manual tuner.  It was all ways trial and error.  For the most part I start with the caps at mid range, roller inductor  3 turns off the bottom, and work from there.

Keep The Faith, Jim K9TF/WA9YSD