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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
WB6FQZ Rating: 2010-08-27
I like it Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have two AH-4 tuners. One is mounted on the ladder of my motorhome feeding a 30' vertical and the other is for portable use specifically Field Day. This thing flat works! To the few posters that gave it a bad mark, You're not not doing it right!
AC2C Rating: 2010-07-24
Great Tuner ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My Icom AH-4 is ground-mounted and drives a 110' long inverted "L". It quickly matches on 160M through 6M and I have not found any spots that it will not match.

The tuner mates seamlessly with my Icom IC-756Pro3.
WP4FJS Rating: 2010-04-10
Outstanding! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Under rain, wind, hot, salty weather, this unit performs outstanding. I am currently using it on a Loop configuration. As Icom states tunes 3.5-to-54 Mhz, the only thing left for me is to try tune a light bulb with it.
W2JUV Rating: 2010-01-25
Thumbs Up! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Installed an AH-4 in June 2006 and it works perfect. It's connected to a 125ft wire and tunes 160m-10m. Yes, it tunes 160m, even though rated for 80-10m, it handles 160m fine business.
KK8ZZ Rating: 2009-11-09
Great 75-10 tuner Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Works fine with a Zero-Five 43 foot vertical. I mounted mine inside a Tupperware container to keep snow and rain from the terminals, and it works. The long cable run wasn't much fun for the power/control, but it gets extra points for easy set up
KQ4FM Rating: 2009-10-13
Excellent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have several AH-4s. I use one mounted back in my truck tool box and into a 6 foot whip. It works great on 40 through 10 mtrs. I have one at my shop hooked to a 400 foot loop...works fine. Here at the house I have one up in the attic that feeds a 75 mtr dipole simply running along the shingles of my roof ridge (center at 32 feet) and then running down the hips. I work anyone I can hear on most bands. They all tune really fast and have been trouble free for 3 years now.


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Earlier 5-star review posted by KQ4FM on 2009-10-13

I have several AH-4s. I use one mounted back in my truck tool box and into a 6 foot whip. It works great on 40 through 10 mtrs. I have one at my shop hooked to a 400 foot loop...works fine. Here at the house I have one up in the attic that feeds a 75 mtr dipole simply running along the shingles of my roof ridge (center at 32 feet) and then running down the hips. I work anyone I can hear on most bands. They all tune really fast and have been trouble free for 3 years now.
K0JXI Rating: 2009-04-05
Great tuner w/706M2G Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I used the tuner at a rental house I was moving into. Had a old militay ground that was about 4 foot into the ground setting outside the window. Would take the 706 from the base location and set it up at the rental house several times a month. Ran a 60 foot wire from the roof peak out to the garage --- 20 ft vertical and 40 horiz. Sat the tuner 2 foot from the radio on a inside table and ran the wires through the open window. Sealed with a towel. One evening I set up the radio and hooked up the ground wire first. The phone rang and had a 15 minute converaation with a local ham friend. Later worked a 6 meter E skip station on six. Took a few tries but got him. Worked several friends on 80M at 0800 the next morning. They commented that the signal was not as strong as usual. Looked down at the tuner and discovered that I had never hooked up the antenna wire and was just running on the 5 foot ground rod wire. Not bad for six and 80. Worked a little better with the 60 wire attached. HI
Only complaint is some computer hash on the higher bands. Sure it had to do with the closeness of the radio to the tuner and maybe that the control wire is not shielded. Have not run it mobile yet. Waiting for new min van---73 Dale
W3QJ Rating: 2009-03-15
Works well Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have used one for mobile in the truck, used end feeding random wire & substantial ground plane. Also used with various loop configuration. Simple, easy, painless operation. Although interfaced with a number of Icom radios (I use one with 706, 7000, and ProIII) It can ne made to work with many other HF transceivers with the proper interface.
KD0TRG Rating: 2009-03-15
ICOM AH-4 is Good To Go Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
ICOM AH-4 Tuner(antenna coupler) – I have been using this in the back yard to support a horizontal delta loop, constraints of the yard force me into this configuration. Hot end of the tuner hooked to one end of the loop, tune ground hooked to the other end of the loop. So far, I am impressed with the AH-4 ability to tune my loop and I am very impressed with the seamless operation with the ICOM 756ProIII. I’m using 18g sprinkler wire from the local home improvement center to cover the 100 feet between the radio and the AH-4.

I have a second one on the truck hooked to an 11 foot whip – so far it just works. I like things that just work!!
K7MDO Rating: 2008-12-17
Workhorse Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I think I get to be the 101st reviewer of this tuner and would only like to add the following. I am certain a good antenna cut to the correct length and properly matched to the feedline will do a better job on any given band than the AH-4 does with a random wire. However, the incredible convenience of a simple end fed wire for all bands is just to good to pass up. A great piece of equipment when coupled with an Icom transceiver.