| N1TZU |
Rating:      |
2011-04-15 | |
| Exceptional manufacture |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I bought the LDG Z11pro tuner about three years ago to use with my FT-817 backpack station..used it for two summers and it stopped working..It more than likely was my fault..I think I push it to hard into a high SWR situation..After procrastinating for six months I decided to send it in for repair about three weeks ago..because I,m planning to sell the 817 portable station..I just received a box from UPS..The service slip from LDG Electronics read.." Unit not repairable..replace with new Z11-pro2 unit at no charge to customer " Now..You can't beat that for a company that stands behind there product..I was not expecting that at all..LDG Electronics will always get my business in the future..I did buy the AT-200 pro to use with FT-857D..LDG Electronics is GREAT..I give them the BIG THUMBS UP..!!!!!!! N1TZU...BOB....Brunswick,Maine |
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| K1EHZ |
Rating:      |
2011-02-25 | |
| Excellent Tuner! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bought the Z-11 Pro II tuner lightly used from another ham, including the original receipt so the warranty transferred. It is installed in a Carlon box at the base of an S9 31' vertical antenna 50 feet from the house.
There was an intermittent problem so, after exchanging e-mails with LDG, I sent it to them. They reproduced the problem and identified the short coax that came with the tuner as the culprit. (Should have thought of that myself!) They replaced the coax and returned the unit quickly at no charge.
Because of the cold weather here in New Hampshire (down to -14F), the batteries were not holding up. This was resolved by running an extension cord to the antenna site to power the tuner.
With these adjustments, the tuner has worked very well through the winter weather so far, under 3 feet of snow and at consistently low temperatures. E-mail help and actual service have been excellent. I would definitely consider other LDG products based on this experience. |
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| KK5JY |
Rating:      |
2010-11-15 | |
| Simple, effective, good value. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is a nice balance between cost and capability. It runs a long time on AA batteries if you are willing to solder the holders to the PCB.
It has a very reasonable tuning range, and you can extend that by using matching transformers at the antenna. LDG actually encourages this for some antenna types, and they sell a 4:1 balun for this purpose, although I prefer the ones from Balun Designs. Make sure you use a transformer that steps the impedance in the direction you need, though--know your antenna.
It is nice to be able to fine-tune a tuning solution using the front panel buttons. Doing this I have been able to trim many antennas down to 1:1 SWR, although the tuner almost always gets me down to 1.5:1 on its own.
They aren't designed for exposure to elements, but the operating temperature range is impressive. Contact LDG by email and they will give you more info.
I have worked some DX contests from hotel rooms with wire hanging from the ceiling using this tuner and a QRP transceiver, and enjoyed every minute of it. Of course, I asked for a top floor room so my antenna height was also pretty good!
Bought it, enjoyed it, worth every penny, would do it again without hesitation. |
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| KB8DFK |
Rating:    |
2010-08-24 | |
| Ok but not Great |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
purchased new in July 08, started failing in late 09, automatically tuning up in the middle of QSO's then it just stopped working on some bands altogether. Sent back to LDG under warranty on my dime, a MONTH later I got it back after they replaced some relays. Think I'll be going back to a manual tuner.
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| EA7EE |
Rating:     |
2010-08-06 | |
| Not reliable |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have troubles with the device the same thing that KD8LCD have. The device in a few years become unstable.
I tried to repair it and I've come to the conclusion that it is not a failure due to RF, but a design problem.
In fact I managed to repair it bypassing the transistor Q1 near R23 and R26, so that now the device is always powered. The current consumption is about 60mA, but at least it does not fail now.
In short, a very good device but with some design problem, I think overcome in the PROII model. It got a good SWR very fast.
Greetings
Manuel |
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| N8SDR |
Rating:   |
2010-03-05 | |
| Going DownHill |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Okay I have had this tunner since May of 09,
When I first got it it worked very well over the last couple months it has been performing very bad, ( NOT WEATHER RELATED AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED ON TRANSMITER < FEED LINE OR ANTENNA)it Will no longer hold a tune on some bands on 10 meters where I run are local NET, without the tunner I have a 1.2:1 match on that Frequency if I use the tunner it will tune then untune and countine to chatter and not stay tuned (Also note even when I have a good match and try and put the tunner in bypass mode it will still cycle lock and unlock). It's also happening on other bands where I have a good match as well. Im not the only one with this issues there are more and more users having this problem as the months go on, if you do a search you can find others with this issue as well. I have been informaed that there have been in some changes in the design, but will pass on another LDG. |
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| MM0IMC |
Rating:      |
2010-02-11 | |
| Does exactly what it says on the tin! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this auto tuner a couple of days ago as the built-in one on my FT-450AT doesn't have the required range I need.
I use a temporary telescopic 9 metre roach pole with a 4:1 un-un balun for 40 metres, at this length it's a 1/4 wave length and I have no problems using it without any tuner on 40/12/10 metres. The built-in ATU for the FT450 couldn't tune it on 20/17/15 metres. With this auto tune, I can now! I can even tune for 80 metres, although the antenna is a very poor performer at that wavelength.
As I'm limited to 10W PEP due to my licence, it's hard to compete with the Kilowatt stations in Europe. Having said that, with the above combination I've worked the following recently...
England, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Romania, Moldova, Switzerland and a new continent for me - Africa (Morocco).
Not bad for a QRP station with a ground mounted antenna and surrounded by buildings on all sides... |
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| K6IT |
Rating:      |
2010-01-27 | |
| Excellent! Fast and convenient! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I purchased this to work with my FT-817 (and as a backup tuner for my TS-430). It tunes quickly and has presented absolutely no issues. I am pleased with my purchase. |
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| KI6LNX |
Rating:      |
2010-01-07 | |
| They're Grrrreat |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I've had this tuner for a couple of weeks now and I know that I made a good purchase, It does what it is supposed to do, as advertised and then some compared to an MFJ model before this one and often had to struggle tuning to 160 and 80 meters but not anymore. I recommend it to everyone specially to new hams, Unless the new ham is willing to spend hundreds of dollars more on a product that will do the exact same thing. But then for some it comes down as to how pretty it looks. Survey says "Get one"
.I must stated that I am in no way putting down MFJ enterprises, They are a great company and have great product. The MFJ is now a back up! |
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| KB5IAV |
Rating:    |
2010-01-03 | |
| Good product, needs some work |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've been running one of these for over a year and here's what I think of it. I have a 60 foot 1/2 open loop in my attic fed with twinlead and using an MFJ balun, it will tune 80-10 meters quickly, more quickly then I can tune a manual tuner to do it. It doesn't always get to 1:1, but the manual controls on the front let me tweak it down. However, I have the problem others have mentioned, of it tuning at random during QSOs, which can be a real pain. In addition, sometimes if I'm listening to HF and talking on my handheld with a rubber duck, sometimes the tuner just starts tuning! If I use my Isoloop, which is not connected to the tuner, sometimes it tunes anyway! I'm going to try switching to semi-auto mode and see if that works better. It is still a good tuner, but could use some improvements. |
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