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Reviews For: Palstar AT5K

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Palstar AT5K
Reviews: 41MSRP: 1195
Description:
The AT5K takes power handling to the next level coming in with a rating of 3500 watts single tone continuous performance with low losses & wide Z range. Bands 160m to 15m with limited Z range on 10m. The AT5K provides balanced OUTPUT with high power 5kW TEFLON cable balun at the INPUT of the tuner circuit for excellent balanced feed antenna operation.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com/en/at5k.php
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00414.4
KC4CP Rating: 2007-02-24
The TANK of TUNERS! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This thing is a real "tank." Some might consider it over kill, but I love it. It is soooo easy to tune and will literally tune anything. The built in fan is a nice option, as well as the "peak hold" meter and cross needle meter.
N4MWY Rating: 2006-04-17
great tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had (and still have) an MFJ 989D, which is now sitting in my ham room gathering dust. The Palstar is more expensive but it is better built and has a greater range of matching ability.

I will keep the MFJ as a back up; it would be fine for field day or something like that.
WR1H Rating: 2006-03-26
This is the one to get Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Seems that the fellow Ham below got the "UPS Special" Treatment on his unit. It happens bud !

For the "real" review:

This is the "Rock Crusher". This unit is built like a tank, and will "roll over" anything in its way. Matches up very nice with anything, from verticals to beams, to dipoles. I have run power levels between 2KW and 1KW thorugh the unit with no issues, all day and night on contests.

Love it, and higly recomend it !
N5TML Rating: 2006-02-10
the king Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
thanks paul for a great piece of equipment, if you need a tuner to do a lot of tough work this is the one to get. just wonderful! get one and give all those other tuners on your shelf to your buddies
WV4R Rating: 2005-10-23
Big-Beefy-Beautiful... itz the AT5K super tuner! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Palstar_AT5K_AntennaTuner

After a couple months of On-Air evaluation, I want to add my two-cents regarding my recent AT5K Direct Factory Purchase from PALSTAR.

First off, I talked at length to Paul, the owner of PALSTAR, regarding my interest in his products. Paul is very customer-oriented and he went the distance to be sure he understood my needs & which unit would suit my operating style best. Paul is the First reason I purchased my AT5K because if I do not believe in the seller I am not motivated to purchase. I settled on the AT5K unit because of my interest in 160m this winter & the AT5K is the top of the line in low frequency matching.

After ordering directly from PALSTAR, I was advised on the manufacturing date & the ship date. The unit arrived within the promised time. The shipping container was special contoured foam, which totally protected the unit, which arrived unblemished.

Owner Manual is very thorough & very user friendly.

The exterior is cosmetically attractive with a heavy cabinet and super finish. Even the machine screws match the unit.

Once I installed the operating unit, I began appreciating the features/benefits of such a high dollar antenna tuner. EVERYTHING is uncompromising quality & the beefiest size for any continuous-duty legal limit uses… virtually ONE to ONE everywhere!

Power Meter is Two-needle, backlit. Unit features Average-Peak-Peak Hold functions & very accurate when directly compared to my trusty old Bird meter. Meter requires supplied 12vdc or can be run off your supply. The meter alone is well worth $250. Paul told me the accuracy is achieved by using two-transformer design. All I know is that it works great!

Antenna Switch is a big, tough, switch for TWO antenna systems Thru/Direct with Bypass which is very convenient for a dummy load hookup. The antenna switch alone is well worth $200.

A very heavy-duty 12vdc open-frame relay switches for true BALANCED LINE use.

A whisper-quiet 12vdc Fan can be switched ON from front panel if you run the max into a bad match… shame on you.

OK… I had to Look INSIDE before I installed the unit to be Sure nothing was mucked up in shipping. Engineering, Materials, Design, Construction is beauty to behold. From the machine screws securing the cabinet/chassis to the look & feel of the massive ceramic/silver plated rotary inductor AT5K rules. The layout was picture-perfect. There was not even a finger print on the inside. If I closed my eyes & dreamed of the ideal Look of a tuner, this would be my dream after over forty-six years of hammy radio.

Tuning is very predictable with the smooth tuning controls/counter. Make a chart; you will always be in the ballpark.

Customer service… well I did have a minor adjustment. Paul sent out over-nighted the part INCLUDING the TOOL to remove/replace the part myself saving potential reshipping nightmares. In twenty minutes, his expert instruction put me on the air. This is world-class customer service.

Some hammy radio guys might see the AT5K as a bit pricey but I challenge anyone to homebrew the design, materials, workmanship, features & benefits for the factory-delivered cost.

Looks, Function, Capability, Materials, Finish, Service truly earns my AT4K the FIVE STAR rating from WV4R. 73 es God bless, Murf.
K0CWO Rating: 2005-09-06
QRO! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I own a bunch of tuners; Ten-Tec 238B, Heathkit 2060A, 250 watt Johnson Matchbox, and a Palstar AT1500BAL. The AT5K is a heavy duty tuner. Very capable to handle continuous legal limit as long as it is presented with a reasonable load. I use a 756ProII to drive a QRO HF-2500DX. As an antenna I use a 140 foot home made Cobra (linear loaded) doublet which resonates on 160 meters. None of the afore mentioned tuners loaded the Cobra very easily on 160. The AT5K loads this antenna with ease at legal limit. Tuner efficiency seems on par with the other tuners. Customer service from Palstar is excellent! This may be the last tuner I'll ever need.
KY6R Rating: 2005-08-13
Solid Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is hands down the most rugged, well built tuner I have tried - and I have tried all of the best.

However, its range seems a bit limited as compared to an Ameritron ATR-30 that I tried - which would tune up anything (but had a roller inductor that was very "hard" compared to the AT5K).

For example, I don't seem to be able to tune my C3SS on 17 and 12M. If there is a trick - hopefully someone out there will let me know.

But it does seem to tune all of my other antennas no problem, and the roller inductor and turns counter is far superior to the Heathkits, Ameritrons and other that I have tried.
K6QE Rating: 2005-05-14
AT5K Review Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
As soon as I opened the box of this tuner, I knew it was something special. The controls were so velvety smooth, I couldn't stop twiddling the knobs! My first impression reminded me of the old collins gear: Quality through out.

My first impressions were no disappointment. The tuner works just wonderfully. It even tuned my 40 meter dipole on 60 meters and I had a couple of very good contacts.

This is a realtively expensive tuner, but in my opinion, worth every penny. I am sure I will never need to purchase another tuner. I highly recommend it.

Jim, K6QE
W4WFB Rating: 2005-05-06
Best Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well, first of all most of the pictures of the AT5K seem to show the top cover to be a different color from the front panel. It appears to be a light brown. Actually, the top cover and sides are a beautiful powder coated black. The front panel is the same color but a matte powder coating.
The schematic diagram appears to be incorrect on the S1B switch. Coax 1 should go to switch position #4 and coax 2 should go to switch position #5. This is no big thing though.
The chassis and top cover are .090 ga. aluminum construction. "Gauge" is not in my everyday vocabulary. I was very pleasantly surprised at the thickness and ruggedness of this tuner. It is about the same thickness as the Alpha 99 construction.
When the antenna switch is turned there is a loud clunk for each position. This attests to the quality of this massive switch.
The roller inductor really is as smooth as others have said. The smooth vernier drives on the large input and output capacitors along with the smooth roller inductor make for easy tuning.
The wattmeter is accurate and the two second peak hold feature lets you see what the linear really is doing.
There is a red LED that lights up to get your attention when the AT5K is in the balanced output configuration. The default configuration is unbalanced, and the ground relay is not energized in the unbalanced mode. (This relay breaks the ground connection in the balanced mode.)
The inductor turns counter shows five number postions, but the top two positions are not used.
The AT5K is a very high quality tuner. It handles my 1500 watts with ease. My antenna is fairly efficient at the frequencies I use so the fan is not always necessary. When it is on I do not find it excessively noisy.
Palstar has made an outstanding tuner in the AT5K. This tuner has no equal. Yes, it is expensive, but this one will be around when others fail.
It is packed well when shipped. Paul has a winner in the AT5K. Pony up to the plate and buy one of these. You will be glad you did!
Roy Morris W4WFB
KW4CQ Rating: 2005-02-16
State of the Art Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I previously had a AT1500CV tuner by PalStar and sold it. I decided to go for broke this time and order Paul's new AT5K to replace the previous tuner because I needed a tuner with a more conservative rating. Folks, this has got to be mother of all antenna tuners. There is nothing to compare it with on the market today. Built for high power handling capacity and long term reliability the components inside the box are truly massive. I particularly like the new metering system that gives you the choice of monitoring Average Power or Peak Power with Hold for 2 seconds. This gives you an opportunity to glance over at the meter and see you actual peak power before the needle settles. I have measured the tuner's power and SWR accuracy against a Coaxial Dynamics 83000A RF wattmeter and the AT5K tracks almost absolutely on all bands. An amazing feat of engineering by PalStar. Tuning is fast and easy. I keep a chart on my operating position with all the pre-sets noted for quick band changes.