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Reviews For: Kessler Engineering AT-AUTO

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Kessler Engineering AT-AUTO
Reviews: 88MSRP:
Description:
Production of the legacy AT-AUTO was halted per court-enforced settlement and to facilitate product improvement and redesign.

Kessler Engineering continues to service and support the legacy AT-AUTO, and is continuing to develop and release new firmware, which is freely available from the Kessler Engineering website for use on any AT-AUTO.

Although temporarily out of production, this is still very much an active product.

The revised AT-AUTO builds upon the capabilities of the legacy AT- AUTO and will debut shortly. Please contact Kessler Engineering directly for support and information.

Thanks, Don ki6sz@sbcglobal.net

Product is not in production
More Info: https://kesslerengineeringllc.com/tuners.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
25884.9
K6HR Rating: 2017-02-14
Follows My Radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the AT-AUTO for the CAT connection! I connect the AT-AUTO to my Flex 6300 with an FTDI USB to RS232 cable, and the tuner follows the radio! Tunes up without TX! Matches my multiband dipole everywhere at less than 1.05 SWR! Highly recommended!

I'm finally fully automated!
AB4D Rating: 2017-02-12
Excellent Longivity Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is an update to my original review, of an AT AUTO tuner, that I purchased new in 2008. Well, after 9 years of service in my station. I can report that I've only had two minor problems with the tuner.

The first problem I experienced was a faulty relay during the third year of ownership. The AT-Auto has two relays mounted in the rear of the unit. One of them became intermittent, causing me to lose receive at times. I found the relay available through Mouser, and ordered an exact replacement. IMO, the relay failed much sooner than I would have expected, but anything electronic is subject to contain a part with an unexpectedly short lifespan, beyond the manufacturer's control.

The second issue happened today, the meter bulb finally burned out after all these years. :) That should be an easy fix, and will get an LED retrofit. Otherwise, it been a great product for tuning my wire antennas, and one that I have no reservations recommending.

I note, there is a newer tuner on the market, designated the HF Auto. However, IMO I believe they got it right the first time with the AT-AUTO. I also appreciate the fact, that the AT-AUTO includes an internal Balun, provisions for open line fed antennas, and QRO line control to prevent keying of an amplifier during tuning or the presence of a high SWR. A few idea features that are missing on the later product.

73
AK6ZZ Rating: 2017-01-31
Fantastic product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I finally have the tuner I have always dreamed about. This tuner is a work of art and I cannot believe how well it tunes. I use it with my 80m horizontal Sky loop, my 40m ground plane and my 160m sloper. Works great on all antennas and does a masterful job with them. I would recommend this tuner to anyone who wants a tuner that does the job and looks beautiful doing it.

The experience didn't start out as seamlessly as one would hope as I bought an AT Auto from eBay and it arrived DOA. The seller was cool about it and had me ship it to Don Kessler. The seller paid for the shipping to and from, the repair and while at Kessler Engineering he also paid for upgrade mods and new firmware install. For a little inconvenience I have an absolutely mint condition tuner.

My 80m Sky wire loop is resonant at 3.3 MHz and yet his tuner has no issue tuning the entire band. My Dentron super tuner struggled with the higher portions of 75m. This tuner can do the job. I just am enamored with the tuner and plan to purchase the corresponding antenna switch soon. The Kessler remote antenna switch combined with this tuner will make a fantastic solution for me since I love experimenting with wire antennas. Super thrilled with this piece of equipment and can't wait to take it to the next level.
K4IIE Rating: 2014-10-15
Best one yet Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought the AT AUTO from a friend who bought an HF AUTO.Has been working perfectly for over a year and matches my 160M G5RV and 80/40 fan dipole.Thought I had a problem and called Mr.Kessler.He told me how to correct it and was very friendly and helpful.Wish I had bought one years ago.Highly recommended-K4IIE
VE9GC Rating: 2014-10-15
Best that I've used Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I was able to obtain an AT-Auto at a reasonable price. The interface cable was a bit short, so I ordered another from Kessler and it arrived in a timely fashion. I have the tuner coupled to my IC-7600 and a variety of antennas. It matches my 80-6 OCF Windom easily on all bands, tunes my 43ft vertical on the upper half of 160 on up the HF spectrum and works well with my 20 - 6 metre Hexx beam.

I've used other auto tuners and manual tuners but none did what this one does. It is a pleasure to hear it making adjustments as I QSY either up or down the same band or switch bands completely. I've never had an issue with it. The same cannot be said for another brand of high power auto tuner I once had (which wouldn't tune 160 on the vertical). My old manual ATR-30 was always my go to tuner for difficult matches, but the AT-Auto handles everything so well that I sold off the ATR-30 (which was a great manual tuner).

If you can find one, it is a good investment. Kessler Engineering is doing a fine job of keeping this alive and well.
K5JYB Rating: 2014-06-28
Kessler AT-Auto Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Absolutely the finest auto tuner on the market. Bought the unit used (2+) years ago and other than simple lube to steppir motor racks, no problems. Tunes <1:1.5 across entire HF band on my 160m doublet fed with 600 ohm ladder line. Would only make one suggestion for those of you having any problems, don't send it to Palstar for maintenance, go directly to the source....Don Kessler. Don developed the hardware/software and knows the device better than anyone.
K1ESE Rating: 2014-05-10
Does It All Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have two AT-Autos, one for each of my two all-band doublets. They have been a real pleasure to use.

When I QSY the radio I use software to send the frequency to each tuner and the tuner tunes to the last good setting for that frequency. That kind of control is very helpful in DX or contest setups where you change frequency and bands a lot.

The real advantage is that you don’t have to put any RF on the air to get the tuner to follow the radio. And, it’s not just a couple of memorized settings per band. There are plenty of memories.

There is no question these are heavy duty high power tuners. They have handled my amplifier and high SWR antennas with ease.

They are automatic enough that I don’t need them on the top of the desk and can stow them away on lower shelves.

Part of the attraction is the updated firmware. There have been some significant improvements.

What makes this work for me besides the features and performance is the great support provided. Emails are answered quickly and in good detail. When you are trying to find the best way to use all the features, the staff works with you, as a partner, to help you get the most from the tuner.

If you want a tested, reliable autotuner, if you want a tuner that doesn’t require you to QRM the DX or other hams when tuning, if you want to match some very tough loads, if you want a tuner that includes remote and computer control, if you want great support -- the AT-Auto will do the job.
KK8ZZ Rating: 2013-05-21
Extraordinary Auto Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Found one in mint condition at Dayton 2013 for a very reasonable price. Truly the last tuner I'll ever need. Kessler Engineering's manual is perhaps the best written instruction book in all of ham radio. After setting it up for the Icom, it works each time, every time, no fuss, no problems. I use it with the great ALS-600 amplifier.
K9DTC Rating: 2012-06-07
Great Tuner with very good support Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This tuner is great and I want to applaud Don Kessler for his support. He is a great guy. He went out of his way to explain a problem I was having using the tuner. There was no fault with the tuner just the settings in the menu needed to be changed. Very nice tuner.
VK3VG Rating: 2012-05-29
Simply The Best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the best antenna tuner I have owned.
After setting up the radio and input/output it's just a matter of letting the AT-AUTO do the work. Well built, simple to operate with the best product back-up I have ever seen from an amateur equipment manufacturer.
Kessler Engineering are doing something right.
This AT-AUTO is a keeper. 5++++++