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Reviews For: Palstar AT1KD

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Palstar AT1KD
Reviews: 8MSRP: $369
Description:
Antenna Tuner with Digital Led display
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com/palmain.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0084.9
VK2NZA Rating: 2019-10-25
Solid construction, solid performer. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased this tuner used but well looked after from an Amateur in Greece, it made it across the world to VK in great condition.
This model used twin rows of red LED's contrasting the AT-1KM that is supplied with Palstar's cross needle meter.
Both are otherwise similar in specification.
This is not my first Palstar tuner having previously owned a rare AT5K-Plus 4500 watt model, only reason for selling is that I will never run that sort of power and another VK offered me a good price for the privilege of owning an almost 5 kilowatt tuner.
This tuner certainly doesn't float around the station desk when being used , its very solid and has a smooth action to the controls.
The original owner had removed the 4:1 balun explaining that he had found it wasn't as capable as some other aftermarket baluns, in my case I am using a Balun Designs 1:1 and 4:1 current baluns, switched in after the tuner.
The tuner works very well and I have little trouble matching any load on my all band 135 ft doublet, 80 meter OCF and ZS6BKW can be selected by relay switch after the tuner.
I do however use a Johnson Matchbox Lite with my 80 meter loop.
My only complaint and it is not a criticism of the tuner manufacture, the amount of spinning required of the crank in comparison with a Daiwa CNW - 518 that also graces my shack and is my preferred tuner, both the AT-1KZ and the CNW 518 handle a Kilowatt however the Daiwa is not specified for 160 m and the AT-1K is.
My instructions are confusing, the tuner is indicated as having a 1200 watt capacity in one area and a 1000 watt capacity in another, either way judging by its internal construction I believe it will easily handle a kilowatt and more.
Its just that the CNW -518 when adjusted requires very little spinning/adjustment of controls to reach an excellent match.
I'm not able to comment on the power handling as the highest output used currently is the 185 watts available from my Yaesu FT-1000D and it does this easily..
I paid $450 Australian dollars for the tuner in 2017 and feel the amount was well worth the expenditure.
Palstar products stand the test of time and the quality of this tuner is excellent.
WA1SEO Rating: 2009-05-12
Works well Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I was deciding whether or not to build, buy, or modify a less expensive unit when this tuner was made available to me for a good price.

My requirements were simple: Be able to tune my 80 meter, ladder line fed, dipole on all bands (including 160). I was going to be happy with 80-10, however.

I use an external Balun Designs 4:1 Balun so the internal one wasn't of much concern. I use an ALS-600 so I didn't need a "high power" tuner.

Results: This tuner works very well. The controls are smooth and are operated easily. Even though this has a differential capacitor, I do sometimes find more than one setting that achieves a low (<1.5:1) VSWR match. I use a Bird 43 watt-meter when operating barefoot or the VSWR meter in my amp. The LED display looks pretty as my kids say, but it isn't the easiest to tune with.

Bottom line: It works like it is supposed to although the LED's aren't the easiest to use.

73 WA1SEO
EI3GSB Rating: 2008-08-22
Superb tuner! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought my AT1KD back in June with some spare parts from an American owner and since getting it back to my shack in Dublin I am very pleased with it so far.

The first thing I did was to lubricate the roller inductor rod, it was very squeaky!, and clean the inductor contact wheel as well as the turns on the inductor itself. I also found that the large tune handle on the front was very smooth, maybe from usage?, and was a little awkward to comfortably turn so I replaced it with the spare one which had a better 'grip'.

With the above jobs done and using the tuner in conjunction with an LP-100A digital wattmeter I can achieve some very good SWR readings and power output. Far and away better than the internal tuners on my TS-690 and TS-850. As a previous review mentioned, the accuracy of the LED readout may not be the most accurate but when you've made a note of the settings for each band it's very easy to get a 'close enough' reading and then fine tune using the LP-100A, well... that's how I do it!

Having bought an amplifier last year I needed a tuner that could handle the higher loads and I'm delighted with this particular model, pity Palstar don't make them any more, they're not that easy to find either, I was lucky to find mine and it's a keeper!!
K1GUY Rating: 2005-05-10
Supurb Time Owned: N.A.
I wanted the 'D ' model for this tuner as I liked the design, with the LEDS which match nicely with my
Alpha 99. I usually run around 600 watts, however, I have easily put through 1000+ watts on this tuner SSB when the SWR is low. Having used a few tuners in the past, this product is hands down the best. Best looking, smoothest to operate, and easily tunes
my random wire antenna of 135 feet on 160 meters as well as 80 meters. This is the first time I was ever able to get out on 160 with this antenna. I also use it to fine tune my Hustler vertical. The
unique design of this tuner makes using it a simple, quick and fun task. This is a quality built unit. If you need an antenna tuner, THINK PALSTAR, you will not go wrong.
AB2EZ Rating: 2005-01-21
Very nice... as expected of Palstar Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this tuner to "trim up" the match on my coax-fed dipoles... which are all cut to be resonant on the low-frequency (CW) ends of their, respective bands. The internal autotuner on my main transceiver was working too hard and taking too long to find a match to my antennas when I used them on 75 meter (AM window) and 40 meter (AM window) frequencies where the SWR exceeded 3:1. I'm not using it to tune into the types of highly reactive loads that one might encounter with something like a center-fed doublet, fed with ladder line on 160 meters. I would have selected a balanced-balanced tuner for those types of tasks.

I wanted a tuner that was compact (I'm only using 800 watts, maximum), of high quality, and quick to tune. I also wanted a tuner that would look good in my shack.

This tuner meets all of my requirements. It works like a charm. It is easy to tune. The controls are smooth. The physical design (appearance, ruggedness) is excellent.

This is my fifth Palstar product. As expected, I am very happy with it. In fact, because of their great products and excellent customer service: whenever I need something for the shack, and Palstar makes it... then Palstar will always be my first choice.
KG5I Rating: 2004-12-06
Nice Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned this tuner for a few months. I required a tuner since I bought this amp. I drive about 600-800 watts thru it without any trouble. The digital SWR/Power meter makes tuning a snap. This is a quality built unit and looks very good on desk. It's big; about the same size as my IC-746. I really like the built-in antenna switch. It has two tuned PL-259, 1 bypass PL-259, and one balanced line 4:1 for ladder line.
VE2-FFP Rating: 2004-11-28
Best i ever had. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've been experimenting with it for one week now and i must say that for a research of about 1 month to get the best antenna coupler my money could buy i am very positively satisfied. I fell in love with the lighting system ... it's just great. I own a modest station but i was mature to have a great quality coupler that could accompany me in my experimentation with wire antennas. The quality of construction is indeed there as other collegues on this site has mentionned in there reviews. I will continue to support this companie in the future. Merci ! Palstar. Francois VE2FFP.
W5ZZG Rating: 2004-04-24
great tuner, so so wattmeter Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
As a tuner this thing is great. Tuning is very fast with the bar graph indications as they are easy to read. The wattmeter indications, however, seems to be approximate. For the price, I still think this tuner is a good buy for not much money.