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Reviews For: Turbo Tuner

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

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Review Summary For : Turbo Tuner
Reviews: 156MSRP: 269. USD
Description:
Automatic Screwdriver Antenna Controller for Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu. Handles antenna motor currents up to 2 amps. Firmware is user upgradeable using a computer. Controller is powered by the radio. Plug and play with no calibration required. Works with all models of screwdriver antennas. Tarheel, High Sierra and others. RF bullet proof with extensive RFI filtering. Full 30 day money back satisfaction guarantee and 2 year no questions asked parts and labor warranty. We stand behind our products.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://WWW.N2VZ.COM
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001564.5
WA8YUA Rating: 2006-09-13
Makes an installation deluxe Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The installation is an IC-7000, Turbo Tuner, and Lil Tarheel. This is my first HF mobile installation. I did a lot of research before deciding how and what I wanted in an HF mobile installation. With the help of Bill and others at the 2006 Hamvention I decided to make what I thought was the best installation possible.
I am very glad I purchased the Turbo Tuner. Good basic directions. The installation went great. My eyes are on the road. I have perfect tuning every time. My installation of the Turbo Tuner is in the trunk of my car. A few cable ties did the trick. As for the comments on CW announcement, it is a very nice feature and proved to be very useful during the initial setup. After using the Turbo Tuner for just a short time, I found that since the tuner worked flawlessly, I don’t feel the need to be able to hear the CW announcement. I do like the availability of this feature. Should the next installation be in the passenger compartment it’s another plus of this excellent tuner.
Thanks for the great product,
John, WA8YUA
G7MND Rating: 2006-09-06
An automatic screwdriver antenna tuner that works! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hi, having tried sticking a tuning scale to the back window of the car, installing an Antenna Boss, then going back to the tuning scale..... I read about the Turbo Tuner on eHam.net. Duly interested, I e-mailed Bill to see if he would ship one to the UK.
He did, I installed it (velcro pads again), and it works a treat!
I run a Yaesu FT-857D into a HS-1800Pro, and operate mainly on 40, 20, & 17m which the TT handles with ease.
Only improvement I could suggest would be a louder CW ident (will try K0BOJ's solution).
Love the Park function.

Cheers - Will - G7MND

K0BOJ Rating: 2006-08-15
cw sound not loud enoug Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hi, I am old enough that the high end sounds disappear on me plus the hearing is getting old to. My unit is installed under the drivers seat so I can't hear the cw signal at all. I just installed a small Radio Shack mini amp with a suction cup mike on my TT. Took a little while to find the best spot to mount the mike but does it make a difference. The amp is mounted on the console and has a volume control so you can adjust it for conditions. Now I can hear the cw without any trouble at all. This is all in a 2006 Toyota Tacoma.
Dave
K4QS Rating: 2006-08-01
Fantastic Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my first experience with HF in the car and it seems I did it right the first time. The installation is a IC-7000, Turbo Tuner, and Baby Tarheel II in a Volkswagen Jetta.

The Turbo Tuner was easy and quick to install with clear easy to understand directions. Operation is fool proof and tunes the Baby Tarheel without trouble 80-6 meters.

I don't think there is another set up to consider. Bill is a great guy to deal with too.

Chuck K4QS
KS4OT Rating: 2006-06-24
This Product is just unbeliveable Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I hve a kenwood ts 480 hx in my mazda pickup truck ... running a tarheel model 75 screwdriver antenna called a stubby ... when i installed the screwdriver antenna on my truck i had to use the manual switch that came with it until my turbo arrived .. the best match i could get with the manual switch was averging around 1.2 to 1.4 swr .... the 1.4 was on 80 ... when the turbo tuner arrived i set it up just like the manual told u to which is easy and straight forward ... so i checked 10 meters first and wrked great 1.1 on 10... so i decided to trick it and go straight up to 80 and see ... it was amazing .. 1.1 on 80 anywhere i go even 60 ... i dont care wat band i go on its 1.1 swr and just with a one push of the tuner button on rig and presto its there and 1.1 never have to take my eyes off the road ... its a must for driving ... no more looking at antenna to see where it is or using a counter ... really nice .. i would suggest all mobile operators to get this tuner u want regret it ... well worth the money ... thanks bill for a great product ....

ks4ot
jimmy
K9FN Rating: 2006-06-02
This device is amazing Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got an IC-7000 a couple of weeks before Dayton, and put it in my pick-up truck right away. I have a PREDATOR screwdriver antenna (by N9JMX). At first I tuned the antenna via an up/down switch and an external SWR meter. This antenna does not move very quickly, and there was NO WAY I would try to tune it while driving. I could not make it to Dayton this year, but a friend was there and picked up a TURBO TUNER for me. It was a breeze to install... and after I set the DIP switch for the appropriate stall current, I pushed the tune button on the rig (on 20M SSB)... it found a match and I worked Germany on one call from here in Indiana. I have spent very little time in the truck since then, but have worked more DX and a handful of states on 75, 40, 20 & 17 meters. This device works so well, I can't imagine using a screwdriver antenna without it.
AB2MH Rating: 2006-05-31
The ONLY way to tune a screwdriver antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought mine from Bill at Dayton 2006.

I absolutely love this thing. I'm able to QSY and change bands without taking attention off the road! The park feature is also nice as the top of my antenna is just below the maximum height for the garage.

One complaint though - the case could be changed a bit. As it is, I had to use tiewraps to secure it. There were no mounting holes, and the coax connectors were on the top. Also, an external speaker jack would be nice for the confirmation CW signals. The TT is mounted in my trunk and I can't hear it because the trunk is soundproofed so well. It's a bit of guesswork but I rarely have problems. However, that would have been a nice touch.

But make no mistake, this is the only way to tune a screwdriver antenna.
WC4X Rating: 2006-05-29
Excellent Product/Great Customer Service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had the very first Icom version of Bill's Turbo Tuner-Actually it was his pre production unit. Bill worked with me and sent me several code revisions as he was doing his final development. For some strange reason, my installation proved to be challenging, but I finally got it all working with the original Turbo Tuner. A few weeks ago at Dayton, I met Bill and exchanged his original pre production unit for a brand new Turbo Tuner. I installed it and it is working perfectly. I am using the High Sierra Sidekick antenna on a license plate mount.

When comparing the auto tuners on the market today, just read the reviews about the workmanship, the results, and the customer service. N2VZ is producing an excellent product and providing the kind of service that keeps him ahead of the pack.
N1OLO Rating: 2006-05-24
Great add-on for High Sierra 1800 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
What a wonderful product! I was up and running in 15 minutes. Its great to be able to safely tune the antenna while I'm driving.

The Park feature takes a little getting used to but I already used it pulling into a drive through.
K2CGH Rating: 2006-05-06
Dead on tuning with eyes on road. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Had the pleasure of personnally meeting Bill, N2VX and picking up my turbo tuner at his shack in NJ. Using the turbo tuner with an Icom 7000 and Lil Tarheel II screwdriver. Can't stress enough how important it is to ground/bond the antenna mount with braid to the vehicle body. After solving my grounding issues, Turbo Tuner works like a charm, always stopping the screwdriver motor, more accurately than you can do manually. Works great with the tune button on the Icom 7000. The diagnostic morse signals from the turbo tuner make troubleshooting a breeze. Mine worked with all the default settings, but remember to set the Icom 7000 CIV serial interface settings to 300 baud and address 58H.