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Reviews For: Palstar AT1500BAL

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Palstar AT1500BAL
Reviews: 14MSRP: $695
Description:
DOUBLE L (TWIN BALL BEARING BELT DRIVEN EDGEWOUND SILVER PLATED ROLLER INDUCTOR)160m to 10m BALANCED LINE ANTENNA TUNER
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15144.9
K7EC Rating: 2004-11-08
The BEST Balanced Tuner made! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my Palstar AT1500BAL since Jan 2003. I use it mainly on 75M with occasional operation on 40M and 20M. I feed a random length inverted V antenna with 450 ohm twinlead.

This antenna tuner works so amazingly well that my signal reports while using it are typically 1 to 2 S units better than when I use my MB5-A tuner!!

Recently, while tuning the tuner into a High SWR, I forgot to place my amplifier into the standby mode. The result was instantaneous and terrible (not only killing the tuner but also the amplifier)! I called Paul at Palstar and explained what I had done and made it clear that it was TOTALLY my fault. This happened shortly before the CQWW SSB contest and I really wanted to operate on 75M during the contest. I asked Paul if there was a chance to get the tuner back for use in the contest and he replied that they would do their best. I sent it to them and was really delighted to receive it back in ample time for use in the contest! When I looked inside the tuner to see what they had done to fix it, it was obvious that not only had it been repaired beautifully, it had been completely updated to current production specifications! This was all done at a very minimal cost to me!

If you use a balanced antenna system, this is clearly the best balanced balanced tuner to use! PALSTAR really provided me with amazingly good service!

I highly recommend both the AT1500BAL and PALSTAR!!
KD5RD Rating: 2004-04-11
Best tuner ever! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned 5 tuners in 24 years as a ham and with out a doubt the very best tuner has to be the Palstar AT1500BAL. Indeed, I do prefere balanced line feeders for my wire antennas and after looking at the hamfests at some of the prices for the old balanced line tuners and the construction quality of Palstar I personally think that the obvious choice would be to go with the Palstar. The first tuner that I owned was a used full size Heathkit tuner and it was splendid. After a number of years "out" of amateur radio I got back into things and not really knowing any better purchased one of the "lower power" MFJ tuners. What a piece of JUNK. After it BURNED UP I purchased the largest MFJ tuner and it lasted a shorter time than the first one did, all of this at 100 watts or less I hasten to add. I later found out that there is an acronym for MFJ that is very well deserved. After these fiascos I purchased an Ameritron ATR-30 tuner and will have to say that it has performed admirably. However, after discovering for myself the advantages of 450 ohm ladder line feeders and some of the benefits of "true" balanced line tuners I started looking and thankfully found Palstar. I first called the company and spoke to Paul, the owner, and had an in depth discussion about tuners etc. From the get go this tuner has performed flawlessly. I currently use an 80 meter loop that I feed with 450 ohm ladder line and was never able to tune it very well on 160 meters with my Ameritron tuner. When I did and tried to apply power with my Alpha 76CA amp there was so much reactivity that it basically was impossible no matter how many tuning nulls I tried. Well, not with the AT1500BAL, I was able to tune my loop and apply a full legal limit of power with out any problems what so ever. That is, no problems with the amp or the tuner. Unfortunately, I think that many hams these days are unaware of antenna dynamics regarding feedline lengths. If you find you have a problem tuning with any tuner change feedline lengths, ie., longer or shorter and you will probably fix your situation sucessfully. However, this did not make a difference with my Ameritron tuner. I would purchase anything that Palstar offers because they use quality components, intelligent engineering, and stand behind their products 110%. If you call them you will get an answer and it is actually by a HUMAN. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!




N5TML Rating: 2003-06-19
very very nice Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
well i have built a homebrew version of this tuner and used it with great sucess. when i saw these were being sold i just had to have one. and i am greatly surprised . this unit is built very nicely and is very capable of matching a wide range of loads. i have never been more pleased with a product i had to buy. i would buy another in a heartbeat if i needed it.
AA6CC Rating: 2003-01-20
Top Of The Line Twin Inductor Balanced Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Brand new from Palstar. Just received mine. If you are looking for the best balanced line dual inductor tuner, this is it. It uses a 1:1 Ferrite INPUT current balun and a true balanced L-network output. Total inductance of 44uH for extended impedance range on 160m (2500+/-J2500). Ball bearing roller inductors and vernier drive on this quality unit. Power rating is 1500 watts pep. The tuner is a joy to use, a high quality well engineered piece of equipment and a must for those using balanced lines. See Palstar website for more technical details.