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Reviews For: DU 1500

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : DU 1500
Reviews: 5MSRP: ABT 400 Euro's
Description:
Strong well build T-tuner
Product is in production
More Info: http://ha8du.ham.hu/index[2].eng.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
1454.6
W3IRE Rating: 2023-03-03
Great tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After a bit of a learning curve on this, I found this is a great tuner. A little different than what I'm used to. Does the full 1500 watts.
VK2ACD Rating: 2021-10-18
Top quality build Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the DU1500T via Electrodump electronics in the Netherlands. 449 euro, 1000 AU$ priority post to Australia. A superbly built no-frills manual tuner from HA8DU. Heavy duty, first class components, smooth and precise controls. 4.5KV capacitors. I needed a bigger tuner for an Elecraft KPA500 acquired recently; looked at Palstar and MFJ and went with this after looking at the manufacturers website. Its all class, I think it will outlast me.
N0GW Rating: 2016-10-20
Solid and Simple Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the DU 1500 T. It is a standard T network tuner with switch selected inductance instead of a roller inductor. This unit is quite rugged in design and construction. It is obviously built for full legal power operation.
I find the switched inductor more convenient than a roller inductor. Returning to a previously logged setting for capacitors and inductor takes only 4 or 5 seconds.
This is an expensive antenna tuner but its components and construction are solid enough that it will likely be working as good as new 50 years from now.
G0PZA Rating: 2016-08-03
Well made manual tuner Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I acquired the DU 1500 T Differential tuner used, from a friend. It was brand new and unused. Used with my PW1 linear as the internal auto ATU in the icom went a while ago and the wanted £ 2000 (USD 3000) to fix it !!

Overall very good. solid. well made. Matched everything I threw at it.

Small criticism; the roller coaster inductor sticks a little. Not as smooth as would like it to be.

Garo G0PZA
PA1ZP Rating: 2011-10-18
Simple strong HQ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hi All

I found this tuner for a friend of mine, he bought it to replace the several Mighty Fine Junk ( MFJ 945 and 941E) tuners he blew up every few month.
He used these on an open wire fed homebrew vertical with only 100 watts PEP from a FT857D.

The diodes in the pwr meters blew, he fried the capacitors several times , but I managed to keep the MFJ941 running and canibalising the 945 to adopt parts for the 941E

I managed to repair these MFJ's every time, but my friend got very sick of these badly constructed and fitted with the worst toy components you can think of.

Then one day a year ago I stumbeld up on the DU 800, DU 1500 T, DU 1500 L, DU3000 tuner build by HA8DU on a hammeeting and hammarket.
I was surprised by the very solid tuner and the high quality parts and capacitors and coils and switches and BLUN in this tuner.

These tuners are beatifully build and well put together with nice craftmanship and the best available parts.

If you look on HA8DU website at these tuners and you look at the size and Quality of the ceramic insulted capacitors and the ceramic swithes the coils and BALUNS, you will see that though these tuners lack all noncence s in lights, LED's or other gadgets, that these are very high quality tuners wich are build with best vailable components.

Nice big knobs make tuning very smooth and simple.
Nice scales on the C-s from 0-100 to refind settings time after time in a moment.

Is there nothing to complain.
Of course, not every thing is perfect and I would like to see that the tapped inductor of the DU 1500 has more steps on it.
Some times it is not possible to find a true 1 : 1 SWR on each band and frequency because steps between the taps on the coil are bit to great.
More steps on the tapped inductor would salve that problem.

Further nothing to complain, it is not a cheap tuner but all the DU tuners have very solid and high quality components.
These tuners lack all whistles and bells and have the quality where it belongs , in the very high quality capacitors and switches and inductors.
There quality is used where it matters and the money is not wasted on bells and whistles.

The ceramic Capacitors tune very smooth and the ceramic switches are of finest quality.
Nice big knobs for big hands.

These tuners will serve you for a very long time.
My friend gave it ot me after more then a year of use and said "please look at it"
I said why, he said "I think it is broken " I already have it for over one year.
We examend it and it was still working as new nothing was wrong.
My friend was not used to the idea that he could use a tuner for well over a year without blowing and frieing parts as he did with the MFJ's all the time.