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Reviews For: ACOM 04AT Automatic Antenna Tuner

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : ACOM 04AT Automatic Antenna Tuner
Reviews: 11MSRP: 1200
Description:
The 04AT is ACOM's 1200 Watt automatic antenna tuner, designed to complement their 600S and 1200S solid state HF amplifiers. It is unsurpassed in its degree of automation and level of protection.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.acom-bg.com/products/antenna-tuner/acom-atu04at
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15114.6
EI8JB Rating: 2022-12-26
Excellent Automatic tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am using my ACOM 04AT outdoors at the base of my mast and controlled via the feedline from my 1200s, the tuner is very reliable and is well made.

Apart from the 04AT having 4 antenna inputs which is an additional feature I wanted something automatic that I could use instead of a manual switch that would be compatible with my 1200s amplifier.

The combination of the above equipment allows in depth testing between features of the tuner where results can be displayed on the 1200s screen to assist in fault finding if various errors or alarms appear.

I like that fact that tuning memories are created for various antennas and bands and these are automatically selected when the various bands are selected from my rig.

Initially about 6 weeks after purchase it was feared that there may have been a fault with my 04AT not holding memory and after an email to Val at ACOM he had sent me a PCB/Battery Upgrade which was not actually required in the end as the fault ended up being caused by a setting configuration in the initial installation.

The ACOM 04AT is a reliable product with excellent customer service.

VA3LUK Rating: 2021-12-26
great produckt Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received the antenna tuner a few weeks ago after almost 4 months of wait.. At the beginning it did not work at all but this is because my amplifier 1200S had a fault that is not visible when you do not connect the tuner. I am very satisfied with this product, I looked inside and saw a very professional made of electronics. He works great . I installed the box on the tower very close to the antennas.
K3VAT Rating: 2021-11-26
5 Years of Flawless Operation Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased both the ACOM1200S and the ACOM 04AT from DXE ~ 5 years ago.
The 04AT has clocked 17,000 hours of perfect operation with 4 antennas: two verticals for 160M and trap (80/30M) and two dipoles for 17M and trap (12/15M). I use a decent ground radial field for the verticals (~24 radials ~ 40-65' length). Untuned SWR for all my antennas is < 2.5:1 and the 04AT matches them down to a 1:1, no questions. I've made thousands of band changes and the unit has never once failed.

Would definitely recommend the ACOM Amps (700S or 1200S) with the 04-AT! 73, Rich, K3VAT
N0ORQ Rating: 2020-11-19
Seamless Operation UNTIL... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
the $3700 Acom 1200S failed to operate after a flash On and Off power outage!

Brand new amp and a Acom 04AT tuner. I purchased them both over the phone from DXEngineering. The amplifier has now been sent back to DXEngineering for repair.

When the tuner arrived and I took it out of the box it rattled! So I sent it back to DXEngineering for them to fix it. It arrived again after about two weeks. Turns out all it was was supposedly a loose screw.

After installing it at the base of my MBVE It worked like the cats meow for about 14 or 15 days until the power outage. It was fantastic being able to make QSOs with DX stations that have not been able to hear me without the amplifier! I added some 25 countries almost immediately.

However, this tuner only works with the solid-state ACOM amplifiers. So until the amplifier gets repaired and comes back I have a worthless $1300 tuner sitting at the base of my MBVE. It was necessary to disconnect it from the antenna and hook back up the LDG Proll 200

The remote 04AT tuner at the base of the MBVE does work much better than the LDG Pro 200 sitting on the desk in the station.

2020 has been a crappy year overall for just about everything it seems!
NJ3A Rating: 2020-01-20
ACOM 04AT Tuner, ACOM 1200S, IC-7300, S-Box, MyAntenna EFHW-8010 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Background: I've recently updated my ham shack in the most pleasing way. After purchasing an IC-7300 (Awesome Rig BTW), I decided I needed an all around all band (almost) wire antenna due to, how shall I say...the need to run in total stealth mode due to some antiquated HOA rules...so, I choose the MyAntennas EFHW-8010 2K wire. Perfect fit in my situation. Additionally, I purchased an ACOM 1200S Solid State amp. Reasoning..I don't have a 240V outlet in my office (shack) This ACOM 1200S is perfect for my needs. I also use an N6TV S-Box interface between the rig and the amp...(Bob sends great instructions)...Back to the amp and tuner. While I had hoped to only drive 600W output, I actually get closer to 850W with 20W drive from the IC-7300. This is why I also added the ACOM 04AT Tuner to the team. This tuner requires no control wires and once the bands are tuned (ALL BANDS 10-80 <1.3 SWR, didn't try 6) with the tuner during setup the memories are there and band switching is immediate as everything is linked. I'm a happy camper with the ACOM 1200S, ACOM 04AT, ICOM IC-7300, N6TV S-Box and MyAntennas EFHW-8010 2K...IT ALL WORKS... BTW: The ACOM 04AT tuner is mounted out of the weather, in the wife's She Shack along the tree line where the MyAntennas EFHW-8010 2K antenna is hiding (check my profile). Directions are there as well as YouTube and Google...All I can say is this tuner is great...and works in conjunction with the ACOM 1200S amp. Perfect pair...

Very satisfied with the ACOM 04AT Tuner.

Would I recommend it...If you have an ACOM 1200S...absolutely

Can't comment on other amps, as this is all I have...
G8UBJ Rating: 2020-01-01
a new product with teething issues Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just set one up with a 1200S using 2.0 software - Some observations -

It really MUST have a CAT connection to the transceiver in order to work correctly. I have an FTdx-5000 and this presents an issue as I also want to run logging software and providing two RS-232 connections is an issue. if you have an Icom o(CI-V) or newer Yaesu/Icom etc with USB this may not be a problem

I noticed the amp de-selects the tuner in the menu if left in standby or switched off overnight. I guess this is an Amplifier software issue? - This is now fixed by Acom in their latest software!

It is definitely best to set it up in the shack and once working run it remotely, I have a single hardline feed and four antennas and it takes care of everything.

The menu system user interface is a bit clunky, a mouse and keyboard (USB) interface would be a real plus..

It doesn't default to bypass on one antenna if the amp is off so you need your amp on all the time.

On the whole the amp is great to use once set up (I won't go back to my old tuners) but a little fussy, and not a good choice if you like to play with home-brew antennas

G0WYD Rating: 2019-06-07
just the mutts nuts Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
works a treat with the 1200s, simple to set up and the fact that you can run it 100 meters away from the main station will be a help to some people like me with a garden that is not the best for antennas and a wife who does not want to see much if anything of my antennas etc. and the fact that it ha 4 antenna outputs and 1 in with no control cables to worry about, and its handling power is well below the uk limit but that also helps, well done Val what a tuner.
SM5TAO Rating: 2019-01-22
Perfekt match for the 1200s Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I give 5 points for this wonderfull tuner, fast tuning, monitoring of many atu parameters from the 1200s, support for 4 amtenna setups connected to different bands and anttenas, lot of protection, follows frequency subband with the tranceiver and the 1200s if connected to CAT/rs232 in my case , very reliable.
WR8O Rating: 2018-07-23
Great Tuner Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Been using the tuner for a while now and it works as advertised. Yes, it does switch all ant to ground when the amp is turned off.

Once you tune it on a certain freq., it stores that info for later and displays the segments that have memory settings. Totally tunes all my antennas except 80m on my ground mounted vertical.

Very forgiving on mistakes. Easy menu to follow.

73 Ron WR8O
N4MIT Rating: 2018-03-21
Not worth the money Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The first tuner was DOA and it took several weeks to convince Acom it was defective. Apparently they don't make mistakes in Bulgaria. They do ,however, take lots of long vacations. Now for the bad news.

after replacing the tuner, the amp forgets the tuner settings when powered down. Amp must be powered up to even use bypass mode. if the antenna SWR (untuned)is 3:1 or higher the amp will kick off even though the manual says it will still take 1200w at 3:1, at 3.5:1 the manual says 900w. The tuner brings the SWR down to 1.0:1 but the amp still will not play. There is a cheat, place the amp in operate then "menu - atu measure" the amp will stay on-line now and I haven't seen any issues even when the untuned SWR is 5:1 and running 1000w and the tuner's internal temp stays low.

I'm a DXer and Contester and this tuner is too unreliable for me. Just when I start to call the DX it trips the amp, not just off-line but power down and loses it's settings. I've had it lock up to where it took several power cycles to straighten it out and get back in the pile-up. I even had it black out the amp's screen making me think it trashed the amp too.

I have an MFJ 998rt remote tuner that works much better and way more reliable. I just wish the MFJ had 4 outputs I guess I will have to buy another 998rt for my other antenna.

Final thoughts... it may be a useful box when Acom gets the bugs worked out... till then stay away... far away from the 04at

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Earlier 0-star review posted by N4MIT on 2018-02-17

Mine was dead out of the box and I cant get any answers from ACOM. I purchased the 1200s and the 04AT on Jan 29 2018 and it has never worked. I keep getting the run around that ACOM will make it right but they haven't made any attempt to do so. I purchased the CAT cable and it still doesen't even attempt to tune. I hear the fan running inside but that is it. when the tuner is activated it presents a 10:1 Swr to the radio even on a dummy load. The lack of communications is astounding as well as the lack of concern for the customer. I paid $4600 for this pair and I feel that I deserve better treatment. I wish that I had bought anything else. I have an MFJ-998rt and at least it works.

I wouldn't suggest this purchase to anyone at this point. I am very disappointed and if this is not resolved by March 1 I will be sending it back and buying anything else.