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| Reviews Summary for PALSTAR AT5K 3500 Watt Antenna Tuner |
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Reviews: 19
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Average rating: 4.5/5
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MSRP: $1195
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Description: The AT5K takes power handling to the next level coming in with a rating of 3500 watts single tone continuous performance with low losses & wide Z range. Bands 160m to 15m with limited Z range on 10m. The AT5K provides balanced OUTPUT with high power 5kW TEFLON cable balun at the INPUT of the tuner circuit for excellent balanced feed antenna operation.
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More info: http://www.palstar.com/at5k.php
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You can
write your own review of the PALSTAR AT5K 3500 Watt Antenna Tuner.
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KF8KL
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Rating: 5/5
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May 22, 2008 11:32
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Great tuner!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I must echo NV7E's sentiments--this is a great tuner and I also used to own an MBV-A which I sorely missed when I sold it a few years ago. I no longer miss it as the AT5K will do everything and more. I also have a limited antenna situation because of a small lot. That being said the AT5K has handled any match I've thrown at it with ease. I will also add that Paul is a real gentleman to deal with and I have the sense that he will never produce anything that isn't outstanding in its class. Bravo Paul and keep up the good work. K8LD
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W3ZDF
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 27, 2007 18:31
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Great Engineering
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I received the AT5K today, outside of the Rotary Inductor readout spline loose, and I fixed that. it performs as I expected. Thanks to Paul.... it is a great tuner used with my HT-18 Hy-Tower....
The quality is well worth the cost... as I have had several MFJ tuners.. and we all know what the initals stand for.... and this is a great product..... the AT5K....
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NV7E
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 5, 2007 05:28
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A new standard of excellence
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I got the AT5K as a replacement for the Nye-Viking MB-V-A which has been my long-time standby and has saved me many times over the years when other tuners failed. The great thing about the MB-V-A is that you can be sure it will never arc, although it does have limited capability on 160 meters.
One reason I like Palstar is that you can make a special request and they will listen to you. I had to have the AT5K shipped in a smaller carton than normal to meet size limitations. Paul responded immediately that they could put one in the box normally for the AT4K to solve the problem. It was shipped out fast. It arrived in perfect working order.
The Palstar AT5K is an extra heavy duty tuner. It’s a big one, about twice as big as the MB-V-A. It fits nicely on top of the Yaesu Quadra System. The variable capacitors are much bigger than in the MB-V-A, 600 pf versus 160 pf, as is the roller inductor, 35 microhenries versus 23 microhenries. The AT5K manual does not make any claims about not arcing, and in fact hints it could happen, but I really can’t see this unit arcing or failing even at the maximum legal power level and then some.
Operation is a little different from other manual tuners. It runs on 12vdc and must be turned on to function when using the coax outputs. It has an internal fan which is not noisy but you can turn it off if you want. With its large L/C circuit capability, it works great on 160, 80 and 40 meters, where you really need a good tuner to do the “impossible”. In my cramped urban antenna situation, I use it with the Traffie HX-5Bi Hex-Beam to function on those bands. Palstar claims only limited capacity on 10 meters. My Hex-Beam functions at 1:1 SWR on that band anyhow so I just use the bypass function of the tuner on 10 meters. The manual explains how to tune to keep power loss as low as possible. The power meter seems accurate. Tuning settings are very reliable. You can return to them at the same frequencies with the same results.
I think the AT5K sets a new standard of excellence for manual tuners by which others will be judged and which would be hard to surpass. ZS6SIG
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K5VY
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 24, 2007 20:09
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Worth the price
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Bought this tuner during the holidays 2006-07..Took a bit longer to get here. Well worth the wait! I've been using the MFJ's and Ameritrons without being very happy. The comments about "bullet proof", "a tank", "rock crusher" are all true! I've used it under some very severe conditions when it shouldn't have been able to make a match and it came right through. If you're matching several different HF antennas you won't go wrong with this one!
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KC4CP
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 24, 2007 18:18
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The TANK of TUNERS!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This thing is a real "tank." Some might consider it over kill, but I love it. It is soooo easy to tune and will literally tune anything. The built in fan is a nice option, as well as the "peak hold" meter and cross needle meter.
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KL1SE
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Rating: 0/5
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Nov 1, 2006 00:54
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POOR QUALITY TUNER
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Like most Hams I check e-Ham reviews before I purchase a product. Until now all has been great, this time I was fooled into thinking Palstar was a quality tuner. The first time I ordered the AT5K it came direct from the Palstar factory with a factory damaged installed relay. I informed Paul at Palstar of the problem, he told me to use the tuner even tho the relay body was cracked and the terminal was loose. I asked for a replacement relay, he insisted it was okay. After much debate Paul said he would send one out. It never came, I called him again, and again he said he would send it out. That one never came either. Paul also said he would send spare parts at no charge because I was in Alaska,on the invoice it had spare parts at no charge, but Paul never sent them. When I asked him why he said "I never send spare parts and if I did, there would be a charge" I asked for a refund and Paul said no. My credit card company said to send it back and they will deal with the problem, so I did.
I really thought this was a one time problem and I wanted the tuner so I ordered the AT5K once more from another ham company . Now the interesting part comes into play, today when this tuner arrived, it had a note taped to the manuals from another Ham. This note told of a broken Input shaft that was found when he purchased the tuner. He was sending it back to Palstar. This factory damaged tuner was sent out to me as a NEW tuner at the price of a new tuner. The price tag of $ 1,200. it a lot of money to pay for a poor tuner. Twice I tried to purchase a $1,200 product, only to find that Palstar do not care what they produce. This is not what I want,or expect for that price. The second factory POS is on it's way back to the place I purchased it in the morning. They were very helpful in this manner and I appreciate that very much. Before you buy anything.... make sure that the company will back up there products, Palstar won't!
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N4MWY
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 17, 2006 10:24
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great tuner
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I had (and still have) an MFJ 989D, which is now sitting in my ham room gathering dust. The Palstar is more expensive but it is better built and has a greater range of matching ability.
I will keep the MFJ as a back up; it would be fine for field day or something like that.
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WR1H
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 26, 2006 05:43
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This is the one to get
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Seems that the fellow Ham below got the "UPS Special" Treatment on his unit. It happens bud !
For the "real" review:
This is the "Rock Crusher". This unit is built like a tank, and will "roll over" anything in its way. Matches up very nice with anything, from verticals to beams, to dipoles. I have run power levels between 2KW and 1KW thorugh the unit with no issues, all day and night on contests.
Love it, and higly recomend it !
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KF2GG
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Rating: 0/5
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Feb 15, 2006 07:48
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Dissatisfied
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After reading all the positive reviews regarding the AT5K I decided to go for the best and buy it.
Unfortunately, I had extremely bad luck. All within 1 month's time.
Firstly, the inductance started to freely turn and had to go inside to tighten up sleeve.
Secondly, the balance/unbalance button had problems.
Thirdly, the inductance knob was to stop at all zeroes but kept turning and turning. Something broke loose.
Forthly, had a problem tuning up on 160.
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N5TML
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 10, 2006 13:38
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the king
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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thanks paul for a great piece of equipment, if you need a tuner to do a lot of tough work this is the one to get. just wonderful! get one and give all those other tuners on your shelf to your buddies
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