Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: SGC SG-237 "Mini" Smartuner

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : SGC SG-237 "Mini" Smartuner
Reviews: 41MSRP: $339.99
Description:
Antenna Coupler
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.sgcworld.com/products/sg237/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00414.4
KB0WGU Rating: 2003-02-23
SGC SG-237 is a great tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have a SG-237 smartuner,used with my inverted v (75'each way) and the feed line is a 600 ohm ladder line about 45' long .I drilled 2 holes in the aluminium window to run the ladder line to the tuner (in side the house), they said it woudn't tune wright, they wear wroung it tunes 6-160 meters great,73's kb0wgu.
W6NYG Rating: 2003-02-09
The 237 is a coupler Time Owned: N.A.
SGC has label their couplers Smartuners. They are actually couplers that are designed to be installed at the base of most antennas.

Other manufactures call their devices tuners.
SGC explains that tuners that have a input and output SO 239 connectors are classified as trim tuners.

Trim tuners differ from the SGC devices for several reasons. One major difference is the impedance matching has a wider dynamic range with the SGC coupler.

SGC couplers like my 237 can cover 30 to 800 ohm impedance matching.

My initial evaluation of the SGC 237 is it should be mandatory for all mobiles. I no longer have to sneak a peek at the cross needle meter, no push buttons to press and no long waiting for noisy relays to stop pulsing during tune ups.

The SGC 237 lives up to every last claim the manufacture say it will do. I can use a 15 meter Ham Stick antenna on the fender mount of my Saturn wagon on 17, 15, 12 and ten meters.

I do not have to stop and screw in a different antenna when changing bands. The results I get on the 15 meter Ham Stick on bands it is not resonate on is outstanding. On lower HF band I use dedicated mobile antennas to get better signal reports.

Keep in mind it is always better to use a HI Q type of whip especially when you are mobile.

There is some things that need to be thought of before anyone buys any coupler. It needs to as close to the feed point of your antenna as possible. That means the nine foot piece of coax with a PL 239 probably will not be long enough to reach the transceiver for most installs.

The SGC extension cable with four conductor wires and ten foot of coax runs nearly $70.

I would urge anyone to follow the SGC instructions on how to install the coupler. Attempting to use the coupler at the transceiver generally results with problems. Do not attempt to solder on a PL 259 to the 237 output ceramic insulators screw post.

A sloppy install job will definitely end up with results that it will not load antennas on all bands. You must have a first class ground.

It is best to understand the SGC 237 or their other couplers do not tune antennas. They are what I call a active balum. If your antenna has an impedance of 30 to 800 ohms then expect good results.

If the SGC 237 does no more than to constantly update the match to the Ham Stick it is worth every penny. The added safety factor makes the 237 a must for every mobile. The big plus for the coupler is the "out of sight and out of mind push to talk feature".

All antenna tuners generally work well. None can match the features in the SGC 237. No more worrying about putting too much RF in to a tuner when it is going through it auto tune routine.

The price is step but then what is safety and performance worth ?
VA3BC Rating: 2002-11-29
i like it Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
have had mine in the rear quarter of my escort station wagon running a 8 ft ss whip and using my yaesu 100d have no problems installing it and works 80-6 meters 20 meters sometimes needs to be retuned to get a perfect match and 80 sometimes will retune while in use due to the whip bending and moving too much i do not have the smartlock built yet but i am sure this will cure the problem (to lazey hi )
N2IZD Rating: 2002-11-24
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I read the reviews here before my purchase and decided to give it a try. I live in a deed restricted community and needed an option for HF.It was a bit of trial and error on my part. I first took the advise of the manual and ran 80 feet of #12 wire up the roof line of my home in a square loop .I worked plenty of DX stations and was amazed. I was having some rf problems with the speakers in every room of the house when i transmitted. We have an intercom/stereo soundsystem. After finding this was not going to work I ran about 100 of thin RG-58 out back and grounded the SGC-237 to the pool heater and ran the lead to a vertical 75 meter hamstick mounted to the gutter. This worked well.Then one night I was thinking on my drive home.What would happen if I simply attached the lead to the gutter which is connected to the Pool cage which is all aluminum. Well that was the answer.It works great. I tune the Pool cage up and the SGC-237 works it's magic. I have made contacts from 160 meters to 10 meters . All the bands with great results. Infact I worked the SOUTH POLE last night and just couldn't believe it! I have broken into pileups and usually get a 5/9 report after replacing the RG-58 with low loss RFDAVIS Burry - Flex.This unit is a great piece of technology and I highly reccomend it. Every time I have called Tech support they have been helpful and have answered all of my questions.Any questions just drop me an e-mail.
N3EOP Rating: 2002-08-13
Love it! Time Owned: N.A.
I have mine feeding a 100' dipole 10' off the via 450 ohm balanced line. Works FB 80-6m.

Have also used a 100' random wire for FD on 80-10; also worked quite well.

Hoping to set up a LARGE horizontal loop (full wave plus on 160) next field day...
N2EXU Rating: 2002-03-25
Too Easy Time Owned: more than 12 months.
What can I say? It sits up on the roof (all seasons) under its little trash can cover and matches my ridiculous bent wire sloper on all bands. Once in a while it will take an extra few seconds to tune, but it's usually right on.

I own two and the other is in the GO CASE for field day, etc. Really short antennas or badly mounted ones will sometimes confuse the tuner, but if you try to make the best antenna you can under the circumstances, you'll have real success with it.

It does draw some power, but I've used it as part of a solar powered installation and it all worked.

The SG-237 gives the ability to try all sorts of oddball antenna configurations. Tuning at the antenna reduces feedline loss and ends up with more power being radiated.

Enjoy and 73,
Lonnie N2EXU
HK3PZ Rating: 2001-12-04
great after being fixed by SGC Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The 237 unit I purchased ran into problems some three months after being put into service. First it began loosing the match, and then it did not match at all. I have had experience with SGC's customer service in the past and in this particular case, and I rate it as excellent. The 237 was sent to the factory, where it was properly repaired, and it has been operating without flaws ever since, which is a period of some five months. It matches a 44' inverted V all the way, continuously, from 3.5 Mhz to 30 Mhz.
I am very satisfied with it.
KC5BNC Rating: 2001-09-30
I LOVE IT! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've been running the 237 coupler for almost a month now with a 260' vertical delta loop and have been getting wonderful performance out of it. One side of the loop to the antenna side of the coupler and the other side to the ground stud. No constant retuning during transmit as a couple of other people have had problems with. I get excellant signal reports on 80 - 10. Much better than my DXCC dipole. If I can hear them I can work them. It took about 5 - 10 seconds for the first tune on each band. Now I just key up and it tunes instantly giving a 1.8:1 or better SWR. I'll buy another in a month or so and put up a 260' horizontal loop. I did buy the smartlock but haven't had a need for it yet. No regrets!
WQ7X Rating: 2001-09-09
Not good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
More than a year ago, I purchased the unit. I needed good tuner for my extensive traveling. I have used it in Europe, Caribbian, Asia and all over USA.
I wasn't always able to tune the antenna in the first place (example:14Mhz 20 feet long wire). When tuned, it would start retunning again. I purchased Smart Lock unit and this has improved the stability but didn't eliminate the problem.
I used all kinds of wire antennas and verticals.
Also,using a few long wires on the ground
(recommended by SGC as counterpose) didn't improve it that much.
I have tried this tuner on my 26' sail boat with the same result. The unit draws a lot of current when finaly tunned.(no latching relays).
I have been very frustrated. Imagine operating from a remote Island with it. You have many stations calling you (pile-up) and the tuner is retunning again and again.
To say in the least, the SGC customer support was an insulting experience.
I was told that the tuner is OK and I need to learn how to use it. I might not be the best RF engineer with 20 years experience but I know that this product is poorly designed and there are ATU's from other manufacturer's that are working very well.(no retunning)



ON4BAW Rating: 2001-02-15
SG-237 looses match Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After months spend with my SG-230 I got myself an extra SG-237 mainly for travel and portable operation. I tested the coupler on the same antenna system where my SG-230 is hooked up. Mainly two remarks :

1) The sG-237 needs more time to match and has less matching combinations resulting in not finding a match 100 % of the time.

2) The SG-237 looses the match in 25% of the time when going back in TX (when making QSO) and without changing anything to impendance or frequency.

I will give it a try with the LOCK option to prevent the coupler rerunning a match, but someone told me it could be a resestive problem on the relais inside ? I mailed SGC and awaiting reaction.

Besides that, the SG-237 makes a nice and compact auto coupler to carry along on almost any trip.

73's de Phil ON4BAW