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write your own review of the Ten Tec Model 238.
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KC6RCM
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 27, 2011 23:04
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Handle the inductor knob with care.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The inductor knob can separate from its assembly if handled (slightly pulled on) too roughly. Then one will need to restring the dial which can be time consuming and will try your patience. The tuner is not a very good performer on the 160 meter band without upgrading the four 470pf capacitors.
I bought mine new in 1990. Overall, it has worked reliably over the years and it does look nice next to other similar styled Ten Tec gear.
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LA8KHA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 25, 2011 03:14
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Works fine with me
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just purchased a second hand hard to get TenTec 238, and after some houres to get used to it,I,m happy with it.Tunes my loop on 3.5-3.8 Mhz flat,5.260-5.403,5Mhz and also on 7.005-7.150Mhz flat.On my Cushcraft MA5B the same result, it tunes the SWR needle flat.Handels 1KW with no problem.Cannot understand how slipping knobs has something to do upon how the tuner is working.This has to do how itīs build and checkout.
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AA8KY
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Rating: 2/5
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Jan 5, 2010 19:31
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Never worked well
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have a Omni 5 and a 238 tuner. I bought the tuner new. They are both rack mounted. I have had the 238 back to the factory twice since I bought it. It seems the knobs keep slipping, and for some reason will not stay tight. I have even fixed it several times, but it keeps slipping. I never really used it because of the problem. I love ten tec, owned many of their items, but am wishing this would have worked out. It is still in the rack, but I am weary of trying to fix it. Both times it was at the factory, it was bad within several days. I didn't feel up to keep sending it back. The mfj tuners always worked fine for me. I wouldn't trade my omni 5 for any other rig. Hate to leave a bad review, sorry.
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N4OI
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 16, 2008 05:41
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Set and Forget!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have an indoor multi-band dipole antenna in the attic that needs a little help in the reasonance department. I had used the internal tuner in my Yaseau FT-920 but it was always re-tuning itself and just gave up sometimes -- you get the picture. I converted to the Ten Tec 238 tuner and it is great! I set it one time when changing bands and the SWR is gone for the whole CW sub-band -- no re-tuning! By the way, the dial cord broke early on but I just removed the plastic indicator altogether. I found that if I set the CAP to the nominal value for the band, I can tune the inductor very quickly without using the pointer at all. (Maybe I will make a nice wood panel to fit over the now useless inductor scale.) 73 de Ken -- N4OI
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KA5ROW
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 19, 2007 18:03
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The Best Tuner
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The Ten-Tec 238 tuner I by far the best tuner I have owned. My previous tuners were a MFJ 989-C and a Dentron MT-3000 and both them worked fine, except on 160 meters. But on 160 meters Ttey would arch at about 300 to 350 watts. The Ten-Tec would not arch, even at 1300 watts. The Ten-Tec is a L network and both the MFJ and Dentron are a T network. I don't know if that had any thing to do with it are not, but the Ten-Tec has never arch. The only thing I don't care for is the slide rule dial but the new 238-B has corrected that
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KG4LRU
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Rating: 5/5
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May 9, 2007 22:14
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One of the Best
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The 238 has been great its rated as one of most efficent as reviews by QST .The inner workings of this tuner our the same as a new 238b I own both. Also this Tuner is the same as the 229 will handle 2KW output will Tune everything my Xmatch will. The complaints of slide Dial our true usually caused by the string over streesed causing dial to go out of alingment. The meter is exactly the same as the old 229 and the new 238 B . It always works . If the tuner hasnt been abused Its safe bet. Typical price 300-375 and the best thing the factory still can service them.
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N7OAY
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Rating: 2/5
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May 8, 2006 08:36
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Looks good next to my Omni V, but less than stellar performance
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Bought my 238 from eHam classifieds after using an MFJ 949D for a number of years. On the first day the inductor knob fell off and the dial string had to be re-strung! The string and pointer arrangement with the "bungee cord" is pretty 'tinny' in my opinion. Also the unit is so light that it slides across the smooth surface of my desk while tuning unless I anchor it down somehow. In addition the lack of a meter light switch is mucho annoying. As far as performance goes this tuner has yet to outperform my old MFJ unit. I have not been able to achieve an swr of less than 2.0 on 40 and 80M. Overall a less than satisfying purchase. I see a used Dentron tuner in my future!
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KE6PID
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Rating: 5/5
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May 31, 2005 11:42
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Great
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The 238 works great. Will match any of the antennas quickly that I have. Dials are calibrated for easy QSY. The antenna switch is great, allowing 4 antennas to be connected. It's also well built, being reminiscent of commercial grade equipment. It would be an asset to any shack.
A couple of nits, there is no power switch to turn off the pilot lights. Since I power this from the station supply, I use that to control the lamps, so this is not really an issue for me. To offset this, the lamps are good old American CM style bayonet type, so spares are easy to replace and available at Radio Shack. Sexy illumination? No. Functional? Very.
The other issue was that the roller inductor had a slight amount of binding when turned. This turned out to be an easy fix, but should have been caught at the factory during final Q.C.
In short, it's maximum steak, with minimum sizzle.
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KC8HXO
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 4, 2005 14:59
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Simply outstanding
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Matches all my wires on 10-160M, whether running QRP, or with the old 3-500Z's just a glowing! No problems. Good quality, and MADE IN THE USA!!!
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AA8VE
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 31, 2004 14:48
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Good tuner but...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my 238 for several years, bought it new and never had any problems with it as far as tuning it would get a solid 5, I've matched all sorts of antennas and feed lines with no problem even with over 1 KW power. However there are a few things I'd have liked to be different which have been changed in the newer 238B version. The lack of a DC power switch has always bothered me, what would be so hard about putting in a small switch to turn the lights off? I can add a switch or replace the SWR set pot with one that has a switch to turn off the lights but this should have been included. Once the tuner is set I'd like to be able to turn off the lights to make them last longer. Another thing I don't really like is the elastic band they use as a spring for the turns counter, these rubber bands only last a few years and then they fail and replacement is quite a chore. I rebuilt mine with a long metal spring and a pulley that won't wear out or fail. A tuner in this price class shouldn't need any mods to get it to operate properly for the long term. This type of slide rule indicator has been around a very long time and there are plenty of better systems than an elastic band. These are minor complaints but could have been done better in my opinion, the 238B is an improvement in this regard. I do like the tuner and it sure looks great in line with my Omni V and Centurion. It's nice to have just one setting combo that will give a proper match and the settings can be logged for easy QSY. The controls work well and I like the 4 position antenna switch plus a bypass switch. I've never had any arcing or failure and would recommend it to any one who wants a high end antenna match network but would recommend finding a better method for tension of the turns counter. If the elastic fails at a critical time the string can get tangled and lock up the inductor which can be very frustrating. At least make frequent checks to be sure it's in good order before a contest or something so you don't have any problems. It would be best to add a digital turns counter of a sort if the original appearance is not too important. All in all I would buy it again if it was the only model T*T had available, I think the new 238B is quite an improvement as far as the turns counter system. The L network is much better than any T match I've used and it's faster to tune. The circuit design is probably the best offered in any modern commercially built tuner and I'm glad to have it, I feel no need to look for anything else since it covers the entire HF spectrum with great result. The ballun can become hot and saturate in high miss match conditions but this is the nature of all balluns and this one is well built, just keep an eye on the SWR when running high power with the ballun in line, if it starts to rise the core may be getting hot and some change may be needed in the antenna system.
73 Jeff aa8ve
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