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You can
write your own review of the Tokyo Hy-Power HC-1.5Kat.
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KC4CP
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 22, 2010 03:57
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Works Great!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I own the THP 2.5 Amplifier, so the matching tuner was a natural choice. I drive the THP equipment with a FLEX 5000. Here is what I have discovered:
PROs:
* Having 3 Antenna Connections is great! I have an MA5B beam (5 bands, 10-20m), 40m dipole, & 80m dipole. No antenna switch needed! (The Palstar Auto Tuner has only 1 Antenna Connection.)
* Virtually the same price as the Palstar Auto Tuner.
* Though I don't yet have it set up for "Full Automatic" (I am lazy - but I will get there), I do have it connected to my THP AMP. In this configuration, it tracks with the AMP Band Selection and tunes when it first detects RF. No need to ever touch it. Sweet!
* Tuning time is never more than 2 seconds.
* It handles Legal Limit +++.
* It is amazingly small and takes up very little space on my operating desk.
* Easily tunes much higher SWR than advertised. On 80m, it tunes 5:1 or higher SWR!
CONs:
* (Really I wouldn't call the following item a "CON" because I don't think any AT would be able to do this - but it is note worthy). It tunes 10-40 with ease. On 80m it needs a little help on the lower end. Tuning is possible 230 Khz either side of resonant frequency = 460 Khz total. However, my dipole is resonant at 3.880 - so it tunes through 3.999 with ease, but 3.650 is as low as it will go. IF I ADD SOME LENGTH TO MY DIPOLE & make it resonant at 3.770, I would be good down to 3.540! Can't ask for much better. I run the 80m antenna out of the THP tuner and through my Palstar 2K manual tuner. I keep the Palstar tuned for 3.770 and I am then good from 3.540-3.999. You could do the same with 160m. Again, no legal limit Auto Tuner is going to be able to tune more than this.
* I do miss the cross needle meter.
Well, there you have it ... my review of the THP HC-1.5Kat. If you have a THP amp, this should be a very easy decision. And it should work fine with any other amp/rig.
73,
David WR4N (ex - KC4CP, AC4CP)
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W1JUS
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 28, 2008 13:46
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Silence is golden
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Just received my HL-1.5Kat back from AVAL in VA. The turn around time at their shop was TWO days!! It's now as quiet as a church mouse!!! I routinely tune
SWR's over 3:1 on 80 by using the presets (you'll need to experiment to see what works on what freq on
80 &40 with high SWR ). I thought about giving Expert a try but didn't like no one answering the phone & the Bible quote on web site turned me off big time.
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W6VA
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Rating: 2/5
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Dec 27, 2007 13:07
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SWR Problem/Fan Noise
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The tuner failed to handle even a 3:1 SWR(claims to handle 4:1). Tried to load up on 40 meters with no more than 3:1 and faulted out every time.
Tuner did work on 2:1 or less so it was working. The fan noise has a high pitch whine to it which is very annoying. The amplifier fan is much lower in pitch and is not intrusive but for some reason the tuner fan is much higher pitch and possibly louder which makes for a very unpleasant sound in the shack. On the plus side it does match the amplifier nicely and band tracks as the amplifier and rig change. Manual tuning is very confusing. All in all I can't see this being worth the asking price. It is a shame since the amplifier (an HL1.5) is very good. Ended up not keeping the tuner.
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W1JUS
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 8, 2007 12:38
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Best Tuner I've Used
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I received the HC-1.5KFX about a month ago and I
really like only having to talk into the mic to tune. Another plus its size, lots of room for the flow of air - 1k tuners need to be a certain size! - maybe thats the reason users are not instructed use 1/2 power when contesting,talking longer than 3-5 min and to keep swr under 1.6!
The presets for 160 & 80 are very useful.
When I first used the tuner with the HL-1.5KFX it
showed virtually no Pr - I thought there was no Pfwd until I checked - full 1K. What a tuner !!
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K6PTS
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 12, 2007 23:17
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Great Tuner - Works as promised
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Bought the HC-1.5KAT & the HL-1.5KFX 1KW amplifier together from HRO-Sunnyvale (although the tuner was backed ordered from Japan for about 8 weeks).
When it was finally delivered I couldn’t wait to get it on the air. I was immediately pleased with the fit and finish, it was the perfectly matched companion to the amplifier. Along with the auto-tuning / auto band changing features, I can seamlessly switch bands without a care. You never even have to touch the tuner when making band changes … it’s great!
I'm driving the amp with an Icom-756ProIII and a simple 20/40m wire dipole antenna. The tuner effortlessly extends from my 20 & 40m into 40-10m. Hopefully I will be able to get a solution soon for 80 & 160. The HC-1.5 gives you three antenna inputs so you have plenty of room for all your antennas. I’ll add to my review after a couple more months but right now I am extremely pleased. The Tokyo Hy-power combo is definitely a capable and worthy alternative to folks looking for a solid state 1KW solution at a very attractive price point.
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W6OP
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 17, 2007 12:06
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Very nice tuner
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Even though I have only had the auto tuner a couple of weeks I thought I should add a review since it is a new product.
The auto tuner works great with my TS-480 and HL-1.5K amplifier. As I change bands on the TS-480, the amp switches bands and the auto tuner switches bands to follow. This is probably the feature I like the most. It tunes via rf sensing so as soon as I start to transmit (CW or SSB) it immediately retunes. If the amp is not in standby, the tuner switches it to standby while tuning so you are not hurting your amp transmitting into a high swr. The great thing about this is you can just switch to a frequency with a DX station and make a call without tuning. It will tune while you are making your first call. If you move up or down the band it will retune if necessary
THP says you need 50 to 85 watts to tune but I find I can tune at 10 watts (CW). If I am not ready to make a call, I'll just move to an unused frequency, hit the tune button on my TS-480 (10 watts) and be ready to go. I run my TS-480 at 70 watts anyway so I don't over drive the amp so I really don't have to tune ahead of time anyway.
I tried manually tuning the amp also. It initially was confusing. There is only a Function button and a single knob that also can be pushed in to set parameters. I am used to two knobs for the capacitors and a knob or switch for the inductor (T match circuit). Once you get used to it, however it is quite easy and fast to tune manually. The inductor is fixed and there are two motor driven 3000 volt variable caps. Using the one knob, both caps are adjusted at the same time.
On some bands additional fixed caps are also switched in.
So far the tuner has worked great for me. It tunes all my antennas on all bands. Well almost, I had my cables crossed and it wouldn't tune my 6 meter antenna on any HF bands :) Once I connected it correctly it worked on all my HF antennas. All of my antennas that are not resonant do not present too high swr. The matching range is closer to the built in auto tuners in transceivers than some other manual tuners. There are three antenna outputs and the band tracking remembers which antenna to use. It is not designed to work on 6 meters so it bypasses the tuner when you switch to that band.
It does have a small internal cooling fan. While it is pretty quiet it has a higher pitch to it and is noticeable over the sound of my amp when I don't have my headphones on. I always operate with headphones, though, and then don't hear it at all.
Overall, great! I really like the fact I don't have to switch bands, and I can just transmit without tuning and it puts the amp in standby until tuning is finished.
Pete W6OP
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