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| Reviews Summary for Dentron MT-3000 |
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Reviews: 19
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Average rating: 4.5/5
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MSRP: $900.00
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Description: Dentron MT-3000
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More info: dentron
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write your own review of the Dentron MT-3000.
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WY4J
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 23, 2007 15:44
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Indestructible
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned this tuner since 1978 and is a tank. It will tune everything is faced with. Mine is in pristine shape even down to the watt meter switches everyone complaints about. After not using it for 20 years all I had to do was open it up and clean the antenna and inductance selector contacts with a pencil eraser and it was good as new.
If you find one in good shape, grab it and it will be last last tuner you will ever need.
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WW3QB
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 15, 2007 19:18
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A Tank
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I got mine in 1978. With an amp, no sign of too much heat inside when I opened it up. When it was built, 160 meters was very limited with many power restrictions, and there were no amps for 160. So Dentron may have not done much testing of it on 160. But on the rest of the bands it matches anything. Consider it for 80-10 meters. The buttons for the watt meter still work, but will occasionally pop out. The rest of it is built like a tank.
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5R8GQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 4, 2006 20:16
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Truly Serious Tuner
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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So many tuners on the market today are just plain junk, and I don't mean only MFJ.
I have had this tuner for 7 years and it has never given me a speck of trouble. It is built like a military piece of gear. Unlike MFJ's phoney "True Legal Limit Tuners" (Most of which will not handle 1.0 kw on RTTY or 1.5 kw SSB on 160m), this tuner handles it all. I bought it used from Burghardt. I have never had any problems with the wattmeter buttons or power meters as some have. I have used it to tune verticals, loops, dipoles,(coax and twin lead fed) and long wires. I am a RTTY contester using high power, so I have really poured lots of RF through this tuner for long periods of time. It has traveled with me literally around the world. It has been dropped, sat on, bounced around the trunk of a car. I wouldn't use any other tuner.
If you see one for sale, JUST GET IT, because folks who have them rarely sell them.
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W2PA
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 6, 2006 08:11
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Solid at high power
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This tuner is very solidly built. I routinely use it on all bands, 160 through 10m, and almost always find a match. It handles 1500W without complaining a bit - not a sound. The built in dummy load is convenient too (at lower power, of course). The only reason I did not rate it a '5' is that the wattmeter selector switch buttons (with the green indicator) tend to come off easily and the indicator stops working. This doesn't affect operation of the meter but it's annoying.
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VK2YDD
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 29, 2005 23:34
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Great Tuner
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had many MFJ tuners in the past and when my friend says he was getting rid of the 3000A Tuner i grabed it. The usit is well constructed and using very heavy duty parts. I use several anteena with it and also a dipole fed with home made open wire feeder. Its dosen't hesitate and easy to tune. This must be 15-20 years old and beats all the moden turners i have seen on the market..
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K8IA
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Rating: 1/5
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Jan 16, 2005 08:37
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Get something more modern!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This thing may have been an adequate tuner when it was built 25-30 yrs ago, but with todays power levels and more emphasis on 160m it is now a sorry piece of crap.
I mainly use (or try to use) this tuner on 160. Its losses there are major. With 1500w into tuner and tuner into a 2:1 load it showed almost 400 watts of loss! Thats significant heat folks!
I have rebuilt/realigned the main selector switch 4 times now the past yr, all mechanical problems. In addition, I had to replace some of the components on the metering board.
As soon as I get a new tuner, this one will be scrapped for parts. There still are two decent variable caps in there. Its scrap value is the reason I give it a "1" rating.
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K5YZS
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Rating: 3/5
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Nov 9, 2004 02:07
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Not Very Efficient on 160 Meter Band
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I agree that the MT-3000A is built with heavy duty components and the pushbutton switch flags can fail. However, when network efficiency calculations are done with HAMCALC (menu-f, program 16 by ZL1LE) using 240 pF for C1 input series capacitor for 50 to 200 ohms matching, the calculated loss on 1.9 MHz for a Q=50 (small box), the C-2 is 114 pF and network loss is 0.97 dB or 20.1 % loss. 20.1 % loss at 1500 watts RF power is 301 watts network loss-OUCH; more than a soldering gun. I modified my MT-3000A to 750 pF for C-1 and 675 pF for C-2 and the coil no longer overheats and the coil steel mounting end plate no longer gets hot. HAMCALC program f-16 now calculates my loss is only 0.26 dB or 5.0%. Now my coffee cup does not keep warm in the mornings setting near the MT-3000A. ARRL programs TL, TLA or new TLW show similar efficiency problems on 80 & 160 meters for small value T-network series capacitors. Network programs for the average ham have been available for over 10 years now. Why keep wasting the $2000 transceiver and BIG$ amplifier RF with poorly designed networks on 80 and 160 Meters? Good luck OMs. 73 Jim K5YZS
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WV4I
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 17, 2004 07:14
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Quality Construction
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After several recommendations and having upgraded to an AL-1500 legal limit output amplifier, I bought one of these. First thing was to remove both covers and inspect. All heavy duty components, e.g. switches, hex wrench screws, quality backing plates, SO-239 connectors, ceramic insulators, etc., and not surprisingly no signs of damage. If you've opened other tuners, you know what I mean.
This tuner brings me back to a tapped inductor vs roller type. While some roller inductor tuners may work fine at lower power levels and/or minor mis matches, this is frequently where trouble starts, arcing, etc.. My initial impression is that the MT-3000A tuning range is much broader even at 1.5KW continuous output, 40m/80m, than any tuner I've ever owned. Why? Because I'm not at max or min capacitance, and even on 80m, only half the available inductance is needed...160m next. I'm (fine) tuning an HF6V vertical w/out the 160m add on. Fed directly, this antenna has about 125kc 2:1 SWR BW on 40m, and abt 35kc on 80m. Mine is optimized for 40m CW and 75m SSB.
To be fair, the meters, Fwd and Ref, really are relative power readings given their small size, readability. And, the wattmeter select buttons do loosen with age. And perhaps more than one coax bypass selection might be nice.
But, if you're QRO, and want to finish the quest for the ultimate transmatch, buy one of these. Mine was $270, and cosmetically not real great, at least until it got a good cleaning. Have seen mint looking units go for $350 on Ebay.
Remmeber, life is too short for QRP, sorry guys, hi.
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N9QZD
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 14, 2004 04:17
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Well made
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is a well constructed Tuner. Match just about anything.
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W7KID
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 9, 2004 01:51
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Awesome Tuner, Best I've Owned
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is actually the 2nd MT3000A I've owned. Shouldn't have gotten rid of the first one. I can't complain about one single thing on either one I owned. I think especially if you keep things relative and compare this tuner to what is currently available you're NOT going to get a better tuner for the money. I've also owned a couple Heathkit 2060 tuners, and I prefer the switched inductor on the MT3000A over the roller inductor. I can tune anything flat that I throw at it, a 5BTV (just to get the extra bandwidth), a 70ft loaded dipole that I can load up 10-160, and a 375 foot long wire that I put up in a double loop configuration that I can also tune flat 10-160. I've also owned numerous MFJ tuners, 962, 989, etc. and there's no comparison.
73, Ken
W7KID
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