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Reviews For: ICOM AH4 auto tuner

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : ICOM AH4 auto tuner
Reviews: 144MSRP: 319 street price 8/2000
Description:
small mobile/base wire tuner 160-6 meters. Remote control with ICOM HF rigs
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com/amateur/hf/ah4.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
351444.8
DAVER Rating: 2015-01-24
Perfect For Some (Like Me) Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Everyone's covered this in pretty good detail. If you use an Icom radio without an amp... It's incredible. Also makes for some slick portable set ups as well. It's perfect for my set up using ground mounted verticals. I use it on a cut down fishing pole, about 8 inches above a ground radial plate with 20 radials. Works better than I could of hoped. While it will tune pretty much anything you put on there I try to use 1/4 verticals for the radiator made of stealthy wire. I figure the less "tuning" it does, the better.

Only beef I could have with the design is depending on how you plan to use it you may want to change the chords coming out of it. I needed longer chords, so made some changes. Not a design flaw, just me needed to adapt it to my installation.

If you're using an internal tuner to a non-optimal antenna outside... you will see a great improvement by switching over to using it at the feed point instead of in the shack. Can't recommend it enough, if it fits within your set-up (no amp, need multiband radiator, have decent grounding...etc.).

Easily the single best purchase for my compromise station (IC-7200, AH-4, Astron Linear for power)

73,
Dave KD2AKC
KE5CVT Rating: 2014-05-27
Excellent! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own two and use them in conjunction with Shakespeare AT-1011/U verticle military antennas of 12, 16 & 32 feet. Outstanding performance. As with any antenna/tuner setup, the lower the frequency you go, the more critical the counterpoise and the more copper you need to have in the air to better the performance. Make sure to maintain the watertight integrity along the O ring and you'll be OK. I hear stories of these being mounted on the masts of ships for 15-20 years with flawless service. If you want a plug and play solution where you can hit the PTT from 1.8-60 MHz and it works, the AH-4 is it.
AB3CN Rating: 2014-05-10
6 years and AOK Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this up just above the roof so the wire doesn't get scratched by the shingles. For six years. Took it down this fall to change out the coax and put it up as soon as the ice melted. Works great. Always. Used with IC-7000 and now with my new IC-7410. I was hesitant to buy it back then because a wire is 15 cents a foot and the tuner is $300. Seemed expensive. Now I know it wasn't. Rain or shine, the tuner has been one of my best purchases in ham radio so far.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by AB3CN on 2012-04-21

I have been using this AH-4 tuner for 5 years. It is mounted on a TV mast outdoors above my shack. 90 feet of wire go up into a pine tree while on the other side is 30 feet into a cherry tree. An OCF dipole, I suppose. Anyway, with an Icom IC-7000 it tunes under 1:1.5 in 80 to 10 meters. For $300 bucks I wasn't too gung-ho to try it, but 5 years later, with 38 DX countries tallied up, I am glad I did. It is an unsung hero of stealth ham radio.
VE6AGE Rating: 2014-01-24
Wow Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Wow, it does a superb job with my Icom IC-718. Loading up a CB Shakespeare Big Stick on 10M until I get my Ultimax100 end-fed. Then it should load that one up real nice from 6M to 80M.
W0FEN Rating: 2013-06-28
Fantastic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this along with a IC-706MKiig about 10 years ago. I have used the 706 mostly for 2M. This year for Field Day I would be traveling. I decided to install the 706 and AH4 mobile for FD. I had used the Hustler system about 30 years ago and it was very good. It did require stopping and retuning a resonator to QSY on a band for best performance or changing it for a band change. I lost the Hustler resonators and had to purchase a replacement. I decided on 'Ham-Stick' 20M antenna mounted to the trailer hitch using the AH4 for tuning. It works perfect!!! I am even able to tune it on Bands lower than 20M. I know the efficiency is down on the longer wavelengths but no stopping is involved. Fantastic! It interfaces perfectly with the 706. I am happy that I was able to work FD mobile.
N4EYZ Rating: 2013-06-08
Good dependable tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my AH4 shortly after purchasing my 706G back in 2001. I ran the tuner mobile first in my personal truck (mounted vertically) and then in a company truck again mounted vertically. I took that truck up many many rough tower roads and that tuner got a lot of bouncing around. I ran the tuner into a 40 meter Hamstick mounted on the side of the truck tool bed. I worked 80 meters thru 6 daily for probably 4 years from that truck. I am retired now and the AH4 is mounted at the base of a Hustler 5BTV. Again with pretty good results considering my install. The tuner has always been dependable. My only problem has been during two different electrical storms I've taken a small hit thru the tuner cable to my 706. The tuner has never been harmed but the 706 didn't fare so well. Repaired both times by N1EQ and there is now protection between the two.
N4YX Rating: 2013-06-04
Two Thumbs Up! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had this tuner a few days using it with my mobile rig and various hamstick style mobile antennas. It's tuned everything I've thrown at it from the low end of 80 thru 6m. I've used hamstick ants for many years & now the AH-4 allows the convenience of changing bands/freqs from the rig instead of stop, get out, change hamstick, possibly tune hamstick's stinger ... etc. The only thing I found problematic was the delicate gasket. Doesn't want to stay in place during reassembly when mounted vertically.
KK7GB Rating: 2013-04-14
case not robust enough for mounting vertically in a mobile app. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I mounted the unit vertically on the inside of my pickup truck bed. The functionality of the tuner was excellent. The problem is that the circuit board is attached to the caswe via plastic standoffs. The standoffs broke and caused the circuit board to short out, taking the 708 finals with it.

If you use it in a mobile application, do not mount it vertically! Aslo, I would try to figure out a way to add more cushioning.
AA8XR Rating: 2013-03-14
love it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had a couple different basic tuners and auto tuners. I sm so happy to finally have this tuner. As it is only the second day of ownership I will wait until I have done more with it before saying much more. I just know that it is wonderful to finally have the right tuner for the radios (IC718 and IC738, which was originally used with the Ah3). I run mobile 80-10 and house same bands. But with antenna restrictions and an association it is nice to have something that can load a mere piece of wire. Love it!
ZS1JY Rating: 2013-02-12
Excellent performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is another review of the same tuner that I've purchased many years ago. After my IC706MkIIG, this rates as my second-best ham radio purchase! It manages to tune my 31ft vertical on all bands from 40m to 6m (the tuner being situated at the base of the vertical, with about 12 radials of various lengths). It performs very well during CW and RTTY contests, normally managing Q's with west coast of USA and Canada, even on 40m! Of course, good propagation conditions helps to increase the Q count. Photos on my QRZ.com web page.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by ZS1JY on 2009-06-13

I've been using the AH-4 for several years now on a half-size G5RV, but as the sunpots started thinning out, my success rate decreased since the dipole was not 1/2 wavelength above ground. I then hooked up a vertical wire of about 21 feet long, offset about 2m from the QTH wall, with the AH-4 at ground level, affixed to a 3 foot ground spike, plus the 4 wires from a 20m and 40m dipole as above-ground ground wires. During the 2009 WPX CW contest I made 50 Q's including with W7 on 40m, plus many European stations on 20m! This tuner is just amazing!

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Earlier 5-star review posted by ZS1JY on 2006-09-13

I have always been cutting dipoles for the HF bands that I wanted to operate on. This time around, in a new QTH with lots of real estate behind the house, I decided to go for the half-size sloping G5RV and the AH-4. What an amazing combo, being able to tune from 40m to 6m, including the WARC bands, with one wire! Soon after having erected this combo, I had my first QSO's with St Helena and Mayotte islands on 20m using my IC706MkIIG! I was also hearing Russia, Finland and Brazil on 40m - something new for me since this is the first time that I am QRV on 40m! And this during sunspot minimum! I can't wait for sunspot maximum years to arrive!