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Reviews For: Palstar HF-AUTO

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Palstar HF-AUTO
Reviews: 106MSRP: $1695. USD
Description:
* 1 Watt to 2500 watts....average, peak, and peak- hold
* Load into a 10:1 SWR from 1.8 to 54 Mhz
* NO CI-V cables required
* Tunes on SSB
* Digital Display...no analog metering
* Remotable... up to 400'!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com/en/hf-auto/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
64.51064.8
KO1C Rating: 2020-12-12
Always Does It's Job! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've owned this for a year, it's always tuned any decent antenna that I've connected to my radio.

Granted some other tuners may tune fast on frequencies they've memorized, but this tuner does real well on memorized frequencies too.

I've had ZERO problems with this tuner, I can highly recommend it!

David KO1C
WU3U Rating: 2020-11-04
Well worth the money! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I’m still cringing a little from spending the money but it was well worth it. I was trying to run an Expert Solid state amp that peaks at around 1.2kW using an LDG AT1000ProII tuner and I got tired of trying to keep the power as high as I could without going over 1kW. While the LDG tuner worked great, I can now let her rip and run full power.

It tunes much faster than I thought it would. Surprisingly it tunes my 9:1 balun with a 44’ wire on it to 1.0:1 on 160m across the band. I’ve worked most of the eastern half of the U.S. on 160m. I realize the efficiency of something that short on 160m is nil but it’s working.

The initial tuning takes a little while to find the best match but after that it memorizes the tuning it tunes very quickly. The difference between fixed capacitors and inductors compared to a roller inductor and variable capacitor is the difference between close enough and right on. Seems like I’m getting more forward power and the receive seems to be just a tad better with the variable components compared to fixed components.

I really think I could have got by with the AT2K or AT2KD but having something that auto tunes is much faster. This thing is a beast from a size standpoint. Be sure you have room for it, it takes up a lot of real estate in the shack.

I’d say this is one of the best pieces of gear you could spend your money on especially if you have a compromise antenna like myself.
W3PH Rating: 2020-09-11
Game changer for me Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
9/2020 update: I had never upgraded the HF-Auto firmware, since 2014, so I decided to do that. The process was quick (serial connection from PC to tuner) and while the tuner was 5 stars before, it's even better now. Seems to tune faster, very wide tuning range. I have a bunch of tuners (including two manual Palstar ones) and the HF-Auto is by far my favorite.

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I'm located in a multi-acre setting blessed with lots of 60' trees, but winter ice storms make aluminum antennas iffy. I have lots of wires in the trees in various configurations, all fed with open-wire line with DX Engineering current baluns. I've gravitated to Palstar tuners over the past decade because they're so great, but this one should win a special prize. It learns the right settings for each frequency/antenna and tunes very quickly - much more quickly than I can turn cranks by hand. Had some ice damage to my directional wire arrays and wound up using a 160 meter doublet on all bands for CQWW CW, and the HF-Auto made the antenna part transparent. Takes 5-10 watts to trigger tuning, so I crank back power to 5w when changing bands, give it a few seconds of RF, and then I'm ready to go at full power. Has no problems at 1.5kw. This has been a hot seller for Palstar, and I can see why.
W9BB Rating: 2020-08-16
I agree with other's AMAZING Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have now owned the tuner for a few months and does everything as advertised, another great Palstar product .I also own the Palstar LA-1K which is another amazing product and works seamlessly with tuner. KEY UP AND ITS TUNED.
N4NUI Rating: 2020-07-12
Great auto tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had been using a manual AT2KD for many years. Now that I am retired and am able to spend more time in the shack, I decided I needed an auto tuner and after much research I bought the HF-Auto through HRO. My unit has software version 2.36. It was very easy to setup !following the instructions! It tunes my 20m and 40m double bazookas, my Alpha-Delta DX-LB Plus, and my 20m>6m Hex beam well. I have a true magnetic loop with a VERY HIGH Q and it found a match with that at the high Q frequency setting of the loop cap. But, I did set the stepper rate at slow. People who complain about it doing a re-tune using SSB have the delay set incorrectly or a LOT of RF in their shack. Or, they are over-driving their rig / amp on SSB and the tuner is seeing the high frequency variation on voice peaks. This version of the software is set so you can go from AUTO to Manual with a quick tap of the mode button. It reads the frequency directly from the RF with no transceiver cabling required.
I went through all of my customary spots on the bands from 80m through 6m using low power and it memorized those settings and returns to the LC setting for minimum SWR quickly. Because of my QRO amp, I have it set in the 2500 watt range. I spent 10 hours on the bands today just to play with my new tuner and it worked flawlessly. The ads say there is a "supplied RS-232 Cable" for updating the software but it was not in the box from HRO. I'll wait three months and I'll post an update.
NT8F Rating: 2020-06-25
Amazing piece of equipment Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I thought my AT5K was a great tuner until I received my HF-AUTO. Simple to follow instruction with many options for setup. After auto tuning you can switch to manual tune to tweak the match then save the new settings in memory. Tunes my zerofive 10-80 meter ground plane to a flat match across all operating frequencies. The display provides useful information not found on most auto tuners. The entire team at Palstar is dedicated to a great made in the USA product and provides great support if needed.
WN4BXW Rating: 2020-06-06
Great tuner ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using this tuner for about 5 years. Works like a dream. Once i get a match i switch it to manual to operate

AC4R
KR9G Rating: 2020-03-28
Never a Disappointment Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a three year review. This Auto Tuner should be a welcome addition to any to HF operation, with only two exceptions, one that has 100% resonant antennas, there isn’t many of us out there. Two, if your radio and/or amplifier is capable of handling a 10 to 1 mismatched transmission line. While the tuner remembers where I usually go, when contesting I just re-tune it quickly in the middle of the band
I’m operating and don’t worry about it, unless you’re on 80, which is a bit broad, and you might have to adjust from one end to the other. I will admit to being a bit old school, and feel the need to check SWR when changing bands or antennas, by hitting them
with a low power shot of CW. When I have a brain cramp and fail to “re-tune”, the tuner has always bailed me out even with the KW in line and operating. I’ve never had a disappointment with Palstar equipment, I only wished they were able to bring the
highly anticipated HF transceiver to market. It would have broken my brand loyalty addiction. When matched with the Palstar LA-1K amp, what a pleasure, they were made for each other. Giving this piece of equipment a 5 is a pleasure. I, after 40 yrs in the hobby, I find a tendency that we all seem to be acquiring, we seem to be so “hyper-critical” that many find fault with everything. The equipment available to us at this time makes many of us appliance operators, but on the whole, good ones.
AB7BS Rating: 2020-02-21
Perfect Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Absolutely perfect tuner. My first HF-Auto started in the shack connected to a wire and my 43ft vertical. Worked perfect. My vertical has a 200ft 1/2 hardline run. So, I bought a second HF-auto and remote mounted in inside a weather prof cabinet and the door is 3 inches above ground. This keeps the cabinet at dirt temperature at 53F according to my temp sensor (inside) year around. this removes all my cable tuning losses and made my vertical come alive. Then, I use the remote head option inside the shack to control/monitor the ground mounted unit-200ft away! I know it sounds extreme, but, it maximizes performance. These are so well built, but, of course, I removed the cover on each of my tuners and checked for any possible weak soldier or other future problems signs and could not find any. The C & L tuning range is off the dang map! it will tune anything. I changed my tuning speed to "slow" so that i get a match that is below 1.1 every time.... its 1.03 - 1.07 all the time. I run 1500 watts with these poor conditions with an LDMOS amp that is rated for way more and the tuner is cool and no arcing. I see a review that says a mfj is better..... ha ha, now that's jokes right there... been there, done that. gone. Worth every nickle and don't be a cheep ham. If you run power, never, never trust your amps output to anything less then the best insurance policy...... Palstar
W2NER Rating: 2019-12-31
Not bad Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a update. I have been using the MFJ-998 and the Palstar HF-Auto for some time and I can tell you the HF-Auto is a great tuner, one of the best out there. However I can tell you the tuning range on the MFJ-998 is much better. I know this sounds nuts but its the truth in my setup. If I had to give up a tuner, the HF-Auto would be gone.


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I have MANY tuners, manual and Auto tuners. This is the best hands down! You won't go wrong investing in one.