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write your own review of the Ameritron ATR-15.
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N3OQD
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Rating: 4/5
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May 8, 2010 06:36
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update
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Got this tuner for $150 about 2 years ago at a local hamfest. After several patches to the plastic shaft to the left Transmitter capacitor I finally called MFJ. They sent to me at no cost at my request two shafts for good measure. This morning it went in easy. Trimmed and with a few light taps with hammer to secure. Now it is good as new. Pros: quick tune, well built. The only con is that because of fixed inductor taps, tuning range for my random wire is limited. For other antennas I am sure that this is not an issue. All in all a pretty good set.
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K9MI
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 9, 2009 10:45
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One Comlaint
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My only complaint is that there isn't a "direct" setting for antennas 2 & 3. That wasn't a problem when I had a good antenna switch. Just use 100 watts now, but no problems when I had my AL-811. Sort of overkill for my 100 watt station, but I bought it used for a very reasonable price, and it would cost a lot more then I spent to replace it with a tuner of it's quality.
Mike - K9MI
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EA6TS
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 5, 2009 01:16
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Solid like rock
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hi guys:
Mine is here in the shack for about 3 years and still like first day.
Working with no problems with an ACOM 1000, no arching and no problems.... Please don't compare with MFJ
I prefeer to use antennas 1,1swr but in 80 or 75mts its quite difficult if you wanna work ssb and cw and then he job of the ATR15 is needed.
Good help in the shack
73's from Menorca Island
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KE4VYN
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 12, 2009 21:40
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Still rocking
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Been almost a year and still works great. New radio (756Pro) and new amp (AL-1200) and still no problems. Not to speak of the antennas.
Just bought another one off Ebay to build a twin station, so will keep ya'll upto date on this.
Lee
KE4VYN
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W9OY
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 22, 2004 12:17
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Good Tuner
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had this tuner for years, and it works well. The meter is useful for setting SWR, and is reasonably accurate as to power as well. The tuner is not infinite as far as range goes, and there have been some loads I could not get to 1:1 on the SWR. It has never arced and remains cool to the touch at full legal output. I tried the balun once, but found and external DX engineering balun worked better. The antenna selection switch is also an asset. You can choose 3 coax, one open wire balanced and one long wire output. The first switch position also can be bypassed, so if you lets say "tune" your beam you can also set the switch to bypass the tuner.
The knobs of the Capacitors are insulated with press on insulators, and one of these came loose. I fixed it by drilling a hole through the insulator and capacitor shaft where the press on insulator joins it, and putting a piece of 14g wire through the hole. It was an easy fix, but my guess is if you tune much at all with this tuner eventually this joint will fail, and require fixing.
The inside of the tuner is impressive, big beautiful caps and coils and switches. Over all this one is a keeper, and in my opinion much perferable to a roller inductor.
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K0KAV
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 14, 2003 20:50
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I really like this tuner
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've had 'em all and this one ranks right up with the best of them. Smooth meter movement, gives me a match on anything I've tried it on, with ease. I was very fortunate to pick up a like new used one for a good price. Quality , big wide spaced variable caps, great tapped inductor. All components look excellent. Definitely a keeper!
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KB4QLZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 26, 2003 05:58
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A++
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Tunes my G5RV from 10 to 80 Meters with my Ameritron AL80B without any problems. Have used it to touch up a 160 Meter V. Never has arced with 1K.
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NZ4I
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 21, 2003 00:04
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Great Tuner!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had at least one of these tuners in use at my ham station since 1989. They work very well, and the meter is easy to see. However, as been stated before it my require calibration to be very accurate. My first unit, did have some quality controls issues, but they were quickly fixed without any need to involve the manufacturer (although this is not fun on something you buy from a store). Definately, my first choice in terms of a high power tuner.
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N9AI
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 18, 2002 11:55
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Excellent!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I got my ATR-15 used about 1 1/2 years ago and I've never had a single problem with it. The quality is excellent. The tuner is very well built with rugged contruction overall and the switches and ceramic insulators getting particularly high marks. I run about 800 watts ouptput through mine, but it'll take twice that, except on 160m, where it's rated at a kilowatt out.
While it's true that the ATR-15 does not have a roller inductor, I find that the switched inductor has plenty of range- I've been able to tune both my G5RV and 40 meter dipole for 160m. I might be biased on this, but I prefer the switched inductor. I've always found roller inductors to have reliability problems on antenna tuners, especially in this price range.
If you can find an ATR-15 at a reasonable price, buy it! They're getting pretty hard to find these days and I'd bet that's because people are starting to realize that they're at least as good as the ATR-30 and better than the ATR-20, for less money. I consider mine one of the best deals I've gotten in amateur radio.
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N4LQ
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 25, 2002 13:56
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Rugged
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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One of the most rugged, well constructed tuners. Range limited due to fixed inductance taps instead of roller but easier and quicker to change bands of course. My 160m antenna wouldn't tune until I added some inductance to the coil. Balun can be rewired for either 1:1 or 4:1 ratio. Having a switch for this would be handy. Meter isn't very accurate but good for swr checks. Switch quality is the best. This is a lot like using a Johnson Matchbox only not a true balanced tuner.
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