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Reviews For: Palstar BT1500A Balanced L Tuner

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Palstar BT1500A Balanced L Tuner
Reviews: 37MSRP: 795
Description:
Dual inline roller balanced L network antenna tuner with Hi/Lo Z and Hi/Lo C relay operated push buttons. Incorporates illuminated cross needle power/SWR/reflected meter with active peak, peak hold, average readings, 300/3000 watt selection. Covers 1.8 - 29.5MHz. 1000 watt single tone, 1500 watts PEP.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00374.3
KY3W Rating: 2012-08-27
Not for Everyone Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It is built very well with quality components. In case anyone is wondering, the relay problem has been corrected some time ago. Don't be afraid of wiping out relay coils. Where this tuner falls short is in the design. There is not enough capacitance range to sucessfully tune all bands, especially 160, 17 thru 6M. I had read where others had to add a cap to the terminals in the back to tune 160. In my case, I needed to add 1000 pF to tune the upper portion and 1820 pF for the lower. By shortening or lengthening the feedline, I could make it tune say 17M but then I would lose another such as 10M. If I could make it tune 10M, I would lose 15M, etc. A borrowed VCI 1500 tuner could easily tune 160 thru 6M, despite the feedline length. After much experimenting, I finally called Paul at Palstar and he was very cooperative. He allowed me to swap the BT1500A for an AT2K w/ 1:1 Current balun. The AT2K tunes all bands with no problems whatsoever. I'm very happy with the AT2K and regret not believing other reviews that reported insufficient tuning range on the BT1500A. I am not a tuner expert by no means but I do have a degree in electrical engineering. Based on my experience and comments from others, the BT1500A will work fine for some and others should avoid it. If you want to tune 160M on an antenna that is less than say a half wavelength, this is not the tuner for you. I do, however, think it would work fine on most 80 & 40M wires. I have also read full wave 160 loops seem to tune fine. If you're looking for a tuner that will "tune a wet noodle", the BT1500A isn't it. I hope this review helps others in their decisions.
W2CS Rating: 2012-02-06
Very Disappointed (Update) Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
In addition to my prior review of this model I should like to add that one of the relays just blew. The coil now leaks black, smelly goo and the relay no longer closes. However it does produce a nice wideband hash "signal" over all bands so at least the defective relay makes itself obvious :-(

For all the reasons stated in my first review and this update I cannot recommend this tuner to a friend, especially one running 1500 W output.

I am now in the market for a robust tuner and will sell this one for parts shortly.
K4YAB Rating: 2011-11-07
Operation Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I installed a 140 ft double zepp dipole,fed with about 35ft of 450 ladder line. The tuner works great. I did have a problem at first,I couldn,t get it too tune the antenna.
I called Palstar and talked to Paul. He told me to check the setscrew for being loose on the Variable Capacitor. She enough it was loose.
Tightened the set screw and the tuner works great.
In the instruction manual it says the Variable Capacitor is for fine tuning...I understand that,
but when I got the tuner to work the Variable Capacitor changed the Swr alot.
So I would advise when first getting use to a new one, that you make sure and rotate the cap 360 degrees just in case while tuning with it and the Roller inductor.
AD5VM Rating: 2011-05-20
The ONLY way to tune... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Maybe I'm missing something but, I don't understand why the vast majority of hams with multi-band antennas are feeding them with coax to a transmatch. Just look at the reviews for the high power antenna tuners! I can't imagine running a KW on 20 meters through a feedline tuner and a hundred foot of RG-8 to some random length doublet!! Gasp!!! I'm no RF engineer but it seems the only time it's good to use a tuner is to use a coupler at the feedpoint (like an AH-4 or SDG product) or to use a balanced tuner between your rig and a balanced feedline. I'm not trying to start a debate, if you're reading the BT-1500A's reviews, you have seen the light and know all this. You are on the right track here, go ahead and call Palstar and place your order O wise one. The thing is built like a brick S%#t house inside a battleship and the customer service couldn't be better. Ladder line is NOT hard to work with, all the bad things you ever heard about it was probably just propaganda created by Big Coax!:D keep your runs a couple inches from gutters and window frames and put a twist in it every few feet and you'll be fine. I run mine with a 160 meter loop through the trees @ 50 foot in the shape of a jacked up rectangle with 600 watts and the signal reports I get on ALL bands 10-160 are comical and sometimes make me feel guilty. I don't know how many of these antenna tuners I've 'sold' over the air for Palstar but I think they need to start giving me a commission or finders fee lol.. Buy It!! just Buy it! I know the XYL will freak but just remind her of all the crap she buys, hell at least with a Palstar product, no matter what happens to it you could get about a hundred dollars for it at a scrap metal dealer!! 73.
NA0AA Rating: 2010-10-12
Works well for my loop Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK, I have had this now for a couple of months tuning a 160 meter loop fed with homebrew open line. It matches my loop well on 160 up to 15 meters but runs out of range for the very highest bands. To be honest, this neither surprises nor disappoints me - the antenna pattern is not that good anyway there.

The setting indicators are reasonably repeatable once checked, although I double check frequency with an analyzer that I switch into the line. Usually if I use my cheat-sheet, I can get to 1.3:1 without needing the analyzer, which is good enough for my radio to be happy.

I have not tested this above 100 watts yet, but I bought it with the intention of using it with an amplifier in the future - it's certainly built for the job.

I've long been an autotuner fan, but I'm impressed with the quality and easy of use of this tuner - certainly if you have a need for a dedicated balanced line tuner, this merits consideration.
G3TXQ Rating: 2010-06-08
By no means perfect! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
"Built like a tank" etc etc, but this is why it gets a 3 from me:
* Limited matching range at low frequencies as a result of the 960pF max capacitance
* Poor balance at low frequencies as a result of the low choking impedance of the input balun
* Low tension on a jockey wheel makes one of the roller-coasters intermittent at one end of its travel.

And a few "niggles" I don't expect when I spend £580 on a tuner:
* Supplied with the two roller-coasters "out of sync"
* One case screw missing
* Not supplied with a 12v power adaptor in UK

A shame - I like Palstar kit, but the BT1500A doesn't live up to the high quality I expected. It has given way to a Ten Tec 238 with a good 1:1 current balun at the output which has better balance and a wider matching range.
KJ5XF Rating: 2010-04-23
Great balanced line tuner! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this tuner for over 2 years and it works like a champ!. I am using it with a 40m doublet
fed with 600 ohm open-wire feeders. I can tune it on all bands from 40m up to 10m (including the WARC bands). Great product!
WA3A Rating: 2009-12-25
FB Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have used only open-wire fed balanced antennas for nearly 30 years. Dipoles, Vees, Rhombics, Loops, Lazy-H, etc. I have built several tuners similar to the BT1500A and knew that this balanced L design was a good. I first saw the design from AG6K in QST. My homebrew units suffered from lack of capacitor range and switching capacitors was cumbersome. The BT1500A solves this problem. As others have said, it wont match everything but usually feedline length adjustments will solve that. Ive noticed that adjusting the length of coax between the tuner and the rig also is useful. After having some match problems on 10 (too much capacitance) I looked at the schematic and found that by removing two screws and lifting two leads from the hi/lo pass relay ( I NEVER need to match anything less than 50 ohms) I can now reduce the minimum capacitance even more when using the hi/lo pass switch. It even allows me to match on six meters on some antennas. My only complaints are backlash on the capacitor vernier (not all that bad) and the crank on the inductor is too small. For such a beefy tuner the tiny crank is marginal but useable. As others have said, the quality of the BT1500A is excellent. Dont bother with the other popular brands for a balanced tuner.
KI4BUN Rating: 2009-07-24
Buy once, cry once!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This tuner isn't cheap. Neither in price or in quality. Palstar builds 'bullet-proof' gear. I'm running a 137' dipole fed with about 50 ft of true ladder line. It'll tune about anything I throw at it. I had various tuners over time but nothing like the quality, capability, fit, and finish of the BT 1500A! Not even close.

Most of my operating is on MARS frequencies so being able to tune outside the ham bands is required. Of course there are no issues, but the repeatability of the settings for a given frequency are superb.

Just a note on Palstar's customer service. After many, many hours of use, the meter bulb burned out. I emailed them asking if I could purchase a new one...I got one in the mail a couple of days later...gratis. I'm a fan.

Buy once, cry once. You won't be sorry.
K9SQG Rating: 2009-06-19
A real keeper, excellent quality, excellent staff. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The BT-1500A continues the Palstar tradition of an excellent product. You don't see people selling theirs and for good reason. Note that my experiences are with 40 and 80 meter horizontal loop antennas for swap net operations.

The overall design is rugged, has a clean appearance, and matches my Drake gear perfectly. It gives no hint of being strained even at legal limit power levels. Resetability is right on. Never thought much about "peak and hold" on a wattmeter but now I wonder how I got along without it. Customer support is A1 and Paul and Don care about the people that use their products. Mine is a keeper and if it gets sold, it will be by my survivors.

On the slight downside, the labels took a little getting used to but a lot of things do. A chart of settings gets you back to where you want to be in seconds. The price is not entry level but the quality and capability is second to none. You get what you pay for and this tuner should be considered a lifetime investment, you won't have to put any money into maintenance or repairs.

Thanks Palstar for an excellent tuner and excellent customer support!