[TenTec] Orion2 auto tuner

[Doug Smith]

george wrote:
 > ...
 > My point is that the display should say SWR HIGH without sending a dit or
 > keying the mic if the ATU could not achieve an acceptable match.
 > George W2YJ

The commercial grade automatic antenna couplers I have used do something 
similar to what you suggest.  They do their best at achieving a match and if 
the match is deemed poor they light a "fault" indicator and disable the 
amplifier.  Thus, one can continue to send using low power (usually about 100 
watts) but there is no way to run high power.  (The fault can also be "over 
temp" in addition to poor match.)

The functionality of the system degrades gracefully and informs the operator 
as to the nature of the problem -- without the operator having to attempt 
further transmission.

73,
-Doug, W7KF