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Reviews For: ATU-100 EXT

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : ATU-100 EXT
Reviews: 12MSRP: $70
Description:
Auto tuner 1.8-55MHZ 100W
Product is in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
23124.3
KE7FD Rating: 2023-03-04
AT-100M Only as good as its weakest link Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
For a QRP tuner it's a must have, but as something that needs to be reliable, don't buy it. The issue is the built-in battery. Mine won't hold a charge and for being new, that's a problem. The rechargable battery is affixed to the inside lid of the case which means taking everything apart to get to it. This may or maynot be how this series of tuners are set up, not sure. If they simply went with a battery that's more reliable/robust, it still wouldn't increase the package size by much. It's like cutting off the nose in spite of the face. Not well thought out.
K6SDW Rating: 2023-01-17
It works, for $81 I was surpised! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this particular tuner, Pasotim ATU-100 Pro+ 7X7 1.8-55Mhz, off Amazon and the damn thing works!! Coming from China, it took a month to ship and I was figuring I wasted $81. Knowing Amazon's refund policy I said what the heck and made my purchase in November....unit arrived well packed with just the ATU and USB cable for charging.

There's many different manufacturers of this tuner and prices ranging all over the place. I'm pretty sure it's based on the N7DDC design.

This is my third try using a cheap Chinese ATU and this one works great!!! The other units from different manufacturers (I'm sure they all come from the same source) didn't work or weren't reliable ... this ATU is super fast and with its internal battery should work for years to come.

On 80 and 40 meters, the tuner finds a match in a second or two .... as I go up in frequency it takes a bit longer to find a good match. The tuner seems to handle 100 watts with ease.

No manual of course, the description does say the ATU needs at least 5 watts to operate which I tested and is true, so you QRP guys might not find this tuner useful.

I just looked back at my Amazon listing and the tuner I bought is unavailable now but there's plenty of listings elsewhere...even a kit version can be found on the usual Chinese dealer websites.

GL
N7WR Rating: 2022-06-09
I'm impressed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Based on reviews here and the fact that while produced in China this is an N7DDC design I bought one for use in my mobile. I have a big truck so my oldie but goodie Kenwood TS 130SE fits in just fine along with a number of other radios.

I use only mini hamsticks as antennas and have had good luck with them though even with careful tuning they are, as expected, pretty narrowbanded. With the 40 meter mini hamstick even though my ground to the truck frame is good, I could never get the SWR below 2.0:1. With this tuner I can get it down to 1.2:1 anywhere in the band. On 10, 12, 15, 17, and 20 using the tuner results in 1.1:1 and I'm very happy about that. I don't use 75 M mobile so have no antenna for that to test.

This tuner is quicker to find a good match than just about any auto tuner I have ever used. I'm amazed. On 20 M today from the west coast I worked all over the USA, KL7, YB3, and EA7. Not bad for 100 watts, a less than optimum antenna, working through small pileups. For the money I don't think it can be beat.
LNXAUTHOR Rating: 2021-12-22
poor man's AH-705 Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
purchased a pre-built ATU-100 (N7DCC) tuner with no internal battery and firmware set for 1W tuning... i have used this tuner with my 705 and an old MP-1 Frankentenna (cut and threaded extension mast, Buddipole whip) and an MX-P50M amp for /p ops at 20W

works great!

recently i replaced the UHF connectors with BNCs (an easy task), and crafted a small battery holder to fit on the top of the tuner.

my tuner works fine with a 9V battery, so i am able to place this tuner at the base of verticals or slopers out in the field... the 9V is adequate for several outings and my op sessions are short anyway...

i have used an old LDG Z11 for many years (which can run on 18V - two 9Vs in series - see the manual), along with a homebrew DC-over-coax box set (thanks to AD5X's article "Remote DC Power Through Your Coax Cable")

this tuner simplifies the task even more, and as a bonus, is less than 25% of the cost of an AH-705... true, mine is not as robust, uses a bit more power, isn't waterproof, etc...

but it works, and allows me to experiment with portable antennas inexpensively

a much smaller qrp version of this tuner, the ATU-10, is now out and if some enterprising folks come out with a water-resistant housing design, the AH-705 could have a run for the money
N3PM Rating: 2021-11-04
Noisy Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Have tried this and the 40W low power version with several transceivers. Found a clicking noise starting at 7mHz and present in increasing volume up to 28mHz. On 50mHz the hash generated made the receiver unusable.
There was no noise with just the shield connected, which explains why several turns of the interconnect line on a type 31 toroid made no difference.
When the tuner is off, there is no noise. Swapped with an LDG, and there is no noise.
Both of my units have the display, that may be what's causing the problem.
KC4UBC Rating: 2021-06-24
Sweet little tuner THUMBS UP Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Nize ATU for sure. Works great with my Icom IC-738 and the Home Brew Doublet.
Very fast tune, so fast I did'nt think it was working. I tuned up 80 thru 10 and it worked flawlessly on every band. Using only 5 to 10 watts for tuning then running the power up after tuning. The price is prefect for me because I am so cheap. I have to give it a thumbs up !
W1AJT Rating: 2021-05-14
Pleasantly Surprised QRP Version Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Pleasantly surprised that the QRP ATU-40 functioned so well. It is the QRP version of the ATU-100 both of which are based on the N7DDC tuner. I did extensive testing from 7 MHz to 54 MHz with both closely resonant and non-resonant antennas and it worked like a charm giving very good low-SWR and wide bandwidth. I was able to easily tune with less than 2w. I only use 10w maximum for POTA so this really provided a high value low cost solution coupled with my IC-705.
K2TL Rating: 2021-05-01
Buy one! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Almost hard to believe. I also have the upgraded "Plus" model. Works right out of the box with zero setup. RF sensed tuning. Near perfect 1:1 with either my twinlead fed doublet or 80-10 EFHW on all bands 160 through 6. I like the display info, although very small. I do miss having the ability to select 2 antennas but my work around is an outboard coax switch. Bypass is when the unit is turned off from a rear panel switch which is a bit inconvenient. And it is FAST! Almost instant. I have owned several autotuners over the years. This one is as good or better than any of them. It would probably make a great remote tuner if you could get it in a weatherproof box and a couple of Bias Tee's.
W3ZRW Rating: 2021-04-27
A jewel Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just got this a week ago and boy am I surprised. I paid $90 for the upgraded plus model. The only controls are a push button tune control on the front and an on-off rocker on the back. You do not need to use the tune button. Just start transmitting and wham it immediately tunes the antenna. I use an end fed wire antenna connected to the roof flashing. This thing tunes all bands at least 1.2 to 1 except 160 where it is 2.2 to 1 have not tried 6 meters since I do not use that band. It is super fast and noiseless, has a very useful display. No need for rig hook-up cables.
KM6TVV Rating: 2021-04-24
Fast, wide coverage, low cost Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just got my ATU-100 today and I could not be happier. Hooked it to a 31ft wire vertical via a 50ft coax, and achieved low SWR on 160m, 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m. It is fast, compact, and the display is very informative: it shows the power level, SWR, L and C values. The small size is very beneficial in my go-kit. Note that the finished tuner is sold by various suppliers - some models have an internal rechargeable battery, while others do not.