| WB0OEW |
Rating:      |
2022-07-03 | |
| works well even at 1 W in the Tucson heat |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I have my tuner outdoors in the Tucson sun and was concerned about our 110 degree summer heat. So far no problems at all tuning my short vertical on all bands 40-10m after a year. It tunes down to 1.1 or so every time. It is even fast enough to follow the very brief WSJT-X band hopping tones while running WSPR at 1 watt. |
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| N4FH |
Rating:      |
2020-12-08 | |
| Worth Every Penny |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I'm recently on the back on the air after a 20+ year absence. I wanted to get up and running quickly with little expense, so I opted for a Hygain AV-18VS vertical. Unfortunately, the prospect of running outside to move the clip on the matching coil for every band change was discouraging, especially in inclement weather. So I discarded the coil and installed this remote tuner. So far, it works like a champ. It's been able to match my antenna from 80m to 12m without a hitch. So far I've worked quite a bit of DX, more than I thought possible with 100 Watts and a vertical antenna. I attribute much of that to the RT-100. And it couldn't be simpler to use. I press the tune button on my Omni VI and within a few seconds, I have a match. |
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| N9SD |
Rating:     |
2020-12-03 | |
| Good for what it does - I would mostly recommend it |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I’ve had the RT/RC-100 for over a year.
The first one I had would not maintain a tune once it found a solution - EVEN WHEN I TURNED THE POWER OFF! Given that it uses latching relays, this is clearly not right. I shipped it to LDG, they sent it back after having done nothing to it, and, surprise, it had the same problem.
After a second go-around, LDG was very helpful and sent me a replacement unit. This one works much better. However, the unit would sometimes start searching for a tuning solution right in the middle of a QSO. So now, as another poster mentioned, I turn it off after it has found a solution.
I also have found it does not always return to previously found tuning solutions when I return to the same frequency. Roughly 80% of the time it does fine, but sometimes it still takes 30-40 seconds to find a match.
Despite it’s very few shortcomings, this little tuner is pretty dang good. It allows me to get on the air in a very antenna-limited environment with a decent signal, and does what it’s supposed to do the vast majority of the time. So I’m grateful to the folks at LDG for making a neat little tool.
AND...when you price out other tuners, this is a bargain.
Go buy it. As long as you can put up with it’s few quirks, I think you’ll find it helpful.
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| N4ECW |
Rating:      |
2020-08-20 | |
| Works Great For My Application |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased an LDG RT-100 for use on a TW2010 antenna as a potential replacement for the various switching arrays. This remote tuner did the job!
With the RT-100, I achieved excellent results on 10m thru 60m with 1.1:1 SWR and exceptional signal reports. On the lower bands, the laws of physics caught up with me. The size of the structure and lower efficiency on 80m and 160m was not as good as a long dipole or double bazooka. Nevertheless, the unit tuned both bands but with more 5/5 reports on 75/80m and 5/5 and 5/3 reports on 160m.
It may be that using the 'big brother' RT-600 with more power, may have slightly improved the outcome. Also, the time of year may have affected the signal reports.
The RT-100 served as an economical alternative to the multiple center section switching arrays on the TransWorld Antennas line.
One disadvantage is that the RT-100 utilizes an LC rather the a PI system as on an Icom AH-4 or Yaesu FC-40. Consequently, the tuner often takes up to 20 seconds to effectuate a tune unless used on the memory.
Finally, my RT-100 developed a relay issue just slightly past the two year warranty period. LDG repaired the unit at no charge and it's back in service.
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| NO9E |
Rating:      |
2019-04-13 | |
| Simplicity with Yaesu radios |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The tuner is slow but lightweight and takes little power when tuning. No power needed when matched. It shines with portable Yaesu radios as it needs no injector.
Enable ATAS and set tuner to ATAS. To tune in any mode, press PTT and left or right button until tuning is complete. Since the coax operates at low SWR, even RG-174 is OK for 50ft. With FT-891, this is a 6 lb combo with minimal parts count.
The combo is very convenient when portable. Just attach a coax, possibly wrapped around a toroid for a cheap but effective balun. Many efficient setups become easy. If a vertical does not radiate well, have a dipole with the tuner up in a tree. If an antenna on a beach is good only in one direction, erect the vertical in the water..... |
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| WA1X |
Rating:      |
2019-03-11 | |
| Works as advertised |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I installed this about a month ago out ad the edge of the woods. I use it on a 160m fullwave horizontal loop, fed with 300 ohm twinlead down to a Comtek 4:1 balun.
It trims the loop on all HF bands from 160m to 10m. Using it for a while on different bands, it builds up its memory for tuning settings at frequency.
It's been running very well, even in single digits temperature (F) outside.
I do find that it won't switch on the first CW after a band change. But a quick tap of the key for a half second will cause it to switch quickly from its stored settings.
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| AJ8S |
Rating:      |
2018-09-03 | |
| Works great! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have been using the RT-100 at my remote station for a couple of months now and it has been working great. I drive it with a Flex-1500 at 2 watts on WSPR with band hopping and it handles that just fine re-tuning almost instantly once the initial tuning has been done. Since I cannot reach the "Tune" button I use a remote relay to power the tuner down and then up again while transmitting a carrier when using a frequency for the first time. This makes it re-tune perfectly in ten seconds or less. My only reservation is that the companion baluns, both 1:1 and 4:1, are not the best when bench tested with a miniVNA so I use a different brand but the tuner itself is perfect for my purpose. |
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| W4HRL |
Rating:      |
2018-03-11 | |
| I like it! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I utilize a vertical antenna cut for 20M with the feed point elevated to about 9 feet above the ground. Total height of setup is about 26 feet (9 foot mast plus 17-feet of antenna). This is used with six 16-foot counterpoises that run from the connection point to 4-foot tall electric fence poles supporting the far end. There is a 1:1 choke at the coax connection point.
By utilizing the RT-100 / RC-100, I am able to use this antenna setup on 40M, 20M, 17M, 15M and 10M with good results.
My way of using the RT-100 deviates from the instructions somewhat but I have found it works best for me. I do not leave it on all the time. I tune for the band I am working then turn it off.
As an example, say I want go to 17M and use SSB at 100 watts (my default mode of operation). Tune radio to middle of 17M, select AM to provide a constant carrier at a low level.
Turn on RT-100 at RC-100, press microphone PTT to transmit, and press the RC-100 tune button to begin tuning, Continue to hold PTT and watch the SWR meter until the RT-100 finds a steady low SWR reading. At this point, release the PTT and TURN OFF THE RT-100.
Return the radio to SSB from AM, and enjoy 17M.
This procedure works well for 20M and up. For 40M, I have found that I cannot get all the band under 1.5 SWR by tuning in the middle of the band. Tuning on the lower end of the band gives me the most band coverage with a reasonable SWR. At the higher end, sometimes I need to re-tune.
The RT-100 / RC-100 works for me and my setup very well. I am glad I found it.
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| W9RTB |
Rating:      |
2017-06-10 | |
| Just As Good As AH-4 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have always like to use a remote tuner on my Zero-Five vertical. Before I went off the air for 5 years I used the Icom AH-4 with an IC-7410.
When I got the bug to get back on the air I narrowed down my choice to the LDG RT-100, since I did not want to run an extra cable for control of the tuner.
I use a 28ft Zero-Five vertical along with an UN-UN balun from Balun Design. The turn has no problems tuning from 10-80m. The highest SWR is on 80m about 1.7, but that is to be expected due to the length of my antenna.
The tuning bandwidth is good and required no retuning. I have used it on both the IC-7300 and Yaesu FT-991 and would say it works just as good as the AH-4. Tuning with the control box is easy and almost as quick as the AH-4. To get it to work properly I suggest using the UNUN
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| W1FYL |
Rating:   |
2017-06-07 | |
| Only Semi-Automatic |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
The manual says it'll remember its settings for previously-tuned frequencies. Mine seems to for 40M at least, but I must force a manual tuning cycle each time I return to 20M, otherwise SWR remains high. This requires changing the transmitter from my usual CW mode to AM or RTTY, then manually transmitting a carrier for some time, since the tuner requires RF to tune. Pretty inconvenient, and hardly automatic.
The manual says that you only need to start transmitting, and the tuner will recall its old settings and adjust; but with CW I don't see any indication that it has tuned, and SWR remains high until I transmit a steady carrier for several seconds.
Unlike some other LDG tuners, this gives no indication that it's tuning or has completed its tuning cycle. The Status Indicator lamp is nothing more than a power-on indicator, and gives no indication of tuning activity. You must watch an external SWR indicator to tell when it's working, or when it has completed tuning.
I've emailed LDG support at least three times to ask for help with these problems, but their emailed replies essentially say, "Gee, that's really strange -- it's not supposed to do that. You must have a problem with 'your system'". Really? That's customer support?
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Earlier 2-star review posted by W1FYL on 2016-05-22
Based on my very previous good experience with the Icom-dedicated LDG IT-100 tuner, I had high expectations for the RT-100, but was disappointed.
My impressions:
-There is no indicator to tell you when the unit is running a tuning cycle, or when the cycle is completed. You must use a separate SWR meter to see what's happening, or you have no way to tell if the tuner is operating at all. The “Status” indicator on the RC-100 Controller is nothing but a steady red power-on indicator lamp, and gives no information about the operating status of the tuner.
-The manual states that simply starting to transmit is all that's needed for the tuner to initiate a tuning cycle. It seems that this is true only with AM, and maybe RTTY or data, but not with CW: this feature seems to work only with a steady carrier. With CW, and I'm guessing that with SSB, too, a tuning cycle may be initiated, but it doesn't seem to be progress to completion unless a carrier is transmitted. When I'm transmitting CW, the unit seems to never complete the tuning cycle: SWR stays high, never dropping to an acceptable level.
Also, what's not said is that the tuning cycle takes a considerable amount of time -- maybe 20 to 30 seconds -- of continuous transmitting, for the cycle to complete. So, you must transmit for a long time under high SWR.
When I first set up the unit, even transmitting a steady AM carrier, the unit would not tune, and I had to manually initiate a full tuning cycle by transmitting a steady carrier and pressing the “Tune” button for two seconds – and then waiting for the cycle to complete.
-If you turn off the controller or lose power, the tuning memory is lost, and the tuner must re-tune on all bands and frequencies. This is really inconvenient, considering the amount of time it takes to tune from scratch.
The RT-100 seems unable to present as low an SWR to the transmitter as can the IT-100 using the same feedline and antenna -- about 1.7:1 at best. With my Icom IC-718, this results in about a 25% reduction in transmitter power output. The tuner seems to produce a rather broad SWR curve across the entire CW segment of each band, so thankfully it's not necessary to re-tune with smallish frequency changes.
-If it weren't for the apparent benefit of having the RT-100 tuning unit remotely located at the antenna feedpoint (reducing standing waves along the [coax] feedline), I'd go back to the old IT-100 tuner, which is very easy to use, fast, and truly automatic – effortless.
-Summary. I'll continue to use the RT-100 for now. But to avoid having to force a tuning cycle each hamming session, I'll leave the power on to preserve the memory. I intend to check the SWR whenever changing bands and before beginning to transmit, since I don't feel confident about the advertised auto-tuning-while-transmitting capability. The unit requires extra steps and monitoring to use, and I would certainly not call it “automatic”. |
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