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Reviews For: LDG AT-897 Autotuner

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : LDG AT-897 Autotuner
Reviews: 54MSRP: 239.00
Description:
Bolt on wide range autotuner for the Yaesu FT-897. No cooling fan! Latching relays means no current draw once tuned. Provides access to CAT port for computer control of the radio.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ldgelectronics.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00544
IK1FVO Rating: 2006-05-11
Like the "Enterprise":Galactic! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great performances like entire LDG autotuners family!
Unscrewed FC-30 ,that seems an old Fiat 500,AT-897 put me in another dimension of tuning capabilities on portable operation with any type of wire or vertical radiator!
Only a little suggestion to factory:the LED for tune maybe better used if also light up steady when tuner is in by-pass mode..avoiding to check with SWR meter the condition of tuner(inline or Bypassed...)
N8XD Rating: 2005-10-07
Bit the Dust Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After 1.5 years, my AT-897 stopped working. I sent it in for repairs, and a few months later they sent it back to me saying they couldn't find anything wrong. Support for the product seems to be limited to 1 very busy technician. I had been using it an FT-897. Though I tried it with different antenna combinations and Another FT-897 and FT-857 radio. It's out of warrenty and in the trash bin. While they work, they are pretty good -- when it fails...uh well just think of them as disposable.
N2DY Rating: 2005-04-30
Far Superior to the Yaesu FC-30 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I originally bought the Yaesu FC-30 when I bought my 897, thinking that the combination would make a great bring it anywhere setup. I was disappointed that the FC-30 has very limited tuning range. It is really designed to trim up an already almost resonant antenna. It does do that. It has a constantly running fan, making the tuner useless when using batteries. That is just poor design and thinking on Yaesu's part. The one good thing about the tuner is that it matches the 897 nicely in looks. It has that military sort of look to it.

I have now removed it and have purchased the LDG AT-897. It was cheaper and it outperforms the FC-30 by a mile. It can tune just about anything. It does not require a fan and uses latching relays that do not use a lot of power on standby, making battery use practical again. I wish I had gone with the LDG in the first place. The LDG does not look quite as nice but the performance overcomes that. I have a very new model and it appears that LDG has made a better attempt to match the Yaesu paint on the 897. It is not too bad.

Do yourself a favor, skip the FC-30 and pick up the LDG AT-897. You won't be sorry. I am having a great time with it.
G7DHW Rating: 2005-04-21
Brilliant Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This ATU does all it says for the FT 897. It doesnt have the noise problems of the FC ATU from Yaesu. It even loads up on 50 Mhz with a G5RV!!..After sales service from LDG has been brilliant and turn round for service/repair is very quick and they are most helpful.A must for any 897/897D owner.

G7DHW
NE1RD Rating: 2005-03-05
Another in a great series Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This fantastic little tuner is a natural addition to the 897.
Though it is a "bolt on" device, after a while you might
find as I did that that radio looks naked without it! Certainly,
the radio feels naked without it as you get used to the
convenience and speed of this auto tuner.

In addition to its speed, it also matches a wide range of
loads making this a great addition for anybody who wants
to use the 897 in remote or challenging locations.

No review would be complete without talking about the
personal and caring service you get LDG. This small business
cares about each customer and goes the extra mile to make
sure you're happy.

I can't imagine owning one of these radios without this tuner.
KG7DX Rating: 2004-06-15
Ugly, but it works! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Darn, this thing is hard to look at, after the beautiful "military" look of the FT-897 and its tuner twin. But... it works, and works well... There's an article somewhere recently that puts it inside the parts for Yaesu's tuner.. good idea! LDG, PLEASE get a better designer! This tuner is just plain ugly! But darn, you guys build good stuff!
K4SCH Rating: 2004-03-27
Great Tuner for the FT-897 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have found the LDG AT-897 to be an incredibly good tuner for the FT-897 and a wonderful replacement for the Yaesu FC-30. I would recommend if you get one to also either build a One touch tune control cable or buy the W4RT OTT module so you can tune up by just pushing the tune button on the tuner itself. You can find a schematic of how to build the cable on the FT897 group on Yahoo.com in the photos section.

73 Jim K4SCH
KC9CZJ Rating: 2004-02-08
Great product. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This tuner works exactly as described by LDG and I could not be happier with it.

It does everything I ask of it, which is to tune my G5RV Jr. @ 30' on 10, 17, 20 and 40 meters. I should tune the remaining 10-40 meter bands, but I haven't tried yet.

Replaced my FC-30, which did everything that it was designed to do, but it had some difficulty with my G5RV Jr (SWR over 3.0 to 1 on all but 10 and 20 meters).
K9XT Rating: 2004-01-30
Also works with FT-100D! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've owned the AT-897 since its introduction several months ago. The recent firmware upgrade to version 1.5 has really improved the tuner's ability to tune an antenna.

My only real complaint about the tuner is the way the SO-239 connectors were installed. There was no electrical connection between the connectors and the tuner's case due to paint on the inside of the case and the mounting nuts on both connectors were loose. Both of these issues were easily corrected by myself.

I found the AT-897 can be connected to an FT-100D through a W4RT One Touch Tune module for the FT-100D. The FT-100D will provide power for the AT-897, making this a nice combination of the small tuner and small radio.
KB4LP Rating: 2004-01-16
Middle of the Road Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This tuner seemed to work in the manual mode and using the OTT-897. However, about every 8th tune or so, the tuner would not tune. Removing the OTT-897 controller would make the tuner work again manually, but it would not tune at various times on the same band. The red light would come on but nothing would happen. The OTT-897 was swapped out but the same problem continued, so I don't think the OTT-897 was at fault. One thing I noticed was that tuning to one frequency and then retuning to that same frequency (never moving off the frequency), the tuner would tune for two different values with a wide variation between the two tuning operations. This happened regardless of the OTT-897. The antenna is a folded dipole at 68 feet long, so it was not useable above below 40M.
The CAT connector on the OTT-897 (not manufactured by LDG) is too big to fit the connector hole on my FT-897. You either have to peel away some of the connector plastic or continually plug it back in. This needs to be addressed by the manufacturer of the OTT-897. Other than that the OTT-897 seemed to work as advertised. After about a week of frustration, I returned the whole setup to the dealer who promptly charged me a very large restocking fee. I will probably go to an SGC tuner in the near future. To the tuners credit, when it did tune properly, the SWR was nearly zero. This tuner does not have memories, so the tuning algorithim has to do it's thing everytime. The rating of 3 is because of the erractic tuning operation described in this review. Perhaps, it is the luck of the draw since others seem to be very satisfied with this tuner.