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Reviews For: Palstar AT1500DT

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Palstar AT1500DT
Reviews: 38MSRP: 479.95
Description:
Differential Tuner from Palstar
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00384.9
WP4NYL Rating: 2009-12-30
Great Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got this tuner a month ago. It does an excellent job tuning my G5RV which my previous Dentron could not do. It takes no time to tune and with my R7 and the charts I kept its a matter of seconds. I had a problem at the beginning which turned out to be a line problem but Paul at Palstar answered my e mail in 2 days.
K4SPS Rating: 2009-12-03
Top of the liner tuner! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have enjoyed using this tuner on my two different antennas and four different transceivers. With the reference charts I have developed, it is a minimal and easy task to switch bands and radios. This tuner is the best.

A differential T tuner is my favorite as there are only two quick adjustments to make. Buy one of these and simplify your life, You won't regret it. Palstar service is the best! K4SPS
PA1PXL Rating: 2009-10-06
Good Tuner, poor service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I use this tuner for about one month and it works without problems. I can tune all the bands on my G5RV and on my longwire.
Although the AT1500DT is a manual tuner, you are able to tune quite fast and accurate.
The new version is also capable to tune 6 Meters.

However....i'm not very positive about Pallstar's service and QA control.
I had a misprint on the facepannel, the inductor value is not quit in a line, so difficult to read, the included manual and the on-line manual are different than my model (it does not tell anything for the 6 meter possibilities), communication with Pallstar is not very easy.

I would rate a 5 if service was okay.
K1YPB Rating: 2009-04-11
Great Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just got this tuner. So these are my initial impressions. It is very well built and I can not believe how fast it grabs a match. Who needs an auto tuner? I use two antennas. A Cushcraft R8 and a MFJ-1777 100 foot wire fed with 450 (window) ladder line. Tweak... tweak... and you have a match.

I know that some OM's have made comments on the color of the meter, but I like the yellow glow of the meter. It is "warm" and goes along well with the yellow display on my TS-2000. Some have also made comment on the red buttons. I guess Palstar has been listening, as all the buttons but one (the power on button which is still red) are now all grey.

I like having the coax, and balanced outputs, as well as the as auxiliary output for a dummy load for my amp. These are very convenient features not found on the auto tuners.

The build quality is top notch. It is a lot better than the cheaper brands of tuners. You do get what you pay for. It was worth saving up the extra money for this unit. If I had a criticism, and it is a very small one of personal taste, I would rather have the silk screen printing on the front panel to be a bit finer font and less bold. But that is just my opinion and it does not detract from the quality. Everything else was premium, right down to the little washer they put under the screw heads to protect the finish of the cabinet. Rarely do you see that anymore. Palstar also give you a goodie bag of some extra screws and washers, a spare bulb for the meter and some Q-tips to clean the roller inductor plus a preformed jumper wire with terminals for the balanced line output on the rear panel. The manual is well written and answered all my concerns in setting up the tuner. They give you suggested presets to start your tuning. I find that if you use these, the match is just a tweak away.

I bought this tuner to replace my venerable Drake MN-2000 which I have been using for the past 30 years. I find the Palstar to actually tune quicker than the MN-2000. It also grabs a match in some cases where the Drake did not. So, I am impressed so far at what the Palstar can do.

This is a fine product. Do not hesitate to consider the AT-1500DT for your next tuner application.
K5TGS Rating: 2009-01-18
Look no further for a tuner! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a very solid tuner. I have other Palstar items and this one is no exception to the quality they are famous for. AND, it is made in the USA! I purchased the tuner from Texas Tower that is also a wonderful place to purchase your ham gear. Whether you buy via the web or as a walk-in customer, the folks at Texas Towers are great to work with and very polite.

The tuner came out of the box in fine shape. Palstar does a good job packing. They suggest and I agree to keep the box in case you ever need to mail it or if you move and need a safe place to contain it while you move it around.

The instructions are well done and easy to follow. They also included a wall wart for the display light!! Connecting antennas, ground and dummy load was easy. The tuning is quite easy as they include a suggested chart which you then modify based on your antenna characteristics. I am using a switch to place an MFJ analyzer in line to first tune the specific antenna (I have four to select from based on the frequency) and then switch it out for actual antenna use.
The dials are easy to use and the large meters are top-drawer quality. They have a very solid feel to them as you make adjustments. The buttons and switches have the same fine feel in use. The Peak Hold feature is very useful.
W6NFL Rating: 2009-01-15
Top Notch Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Palstar AT1500DT tunes fast and easy. I love the "Peak Hold" feature. The build quality is miles above what MFJ produces today. The only MFJ tuner i ever liked (and still have as a backup)is the 962C.... all others by MFJ that ive owned over the years were less than stellar. If your in the market for an HF tuner and use an amp then spend a little more money and go with Palstar. I recommend going to their website and look at them all. I am so impressed with the AT1500DT. I know i made the right choice in choosing this tuner.
N9AZZ Rating: 2008-12-12
Great tuner Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned this tuner for a year now and I am really impressed with it. This is the second Palstar I have owned and it is a smooth working and well built tuner. Double boxed shipped, and the Meter with peak hold is really slick. It will tune anything and I have not seen any arcing. Good job Palstar!
KA4EFM Rating: 2008-11-29
Excellent Product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had the Palstar AT1500DT for about a year-and-a-half. I am currently using a 160M flat top dipole. The AT1500DT has performed flawlessly in being able to tune on all bands 80M-10M on the 160M dipole with an SWR of 1.2:1 or better. I have used this tuner to tune into Windoms, Bazooka's, loops and about a half-dozen other experimental antenna systems. The AT1500DT tunes them all. If you are looking for a great tuner that will load into practically any antenna system the AT1500DT is the tuner for you. If my AT1500DT broke today, I would buy another one to replace it.
W2BLC Rating: 2008-11-19
Great customer service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this tuner for nearly 2 years. The build quality is tops and it sure does the job it was designed for.

Blew the meter bulb. Called to order a replacement - no problem, they sent a couple of them to me for free.

Anytime I have had a question I have gotten good solid answers and advice.

I recommend this tuner - it works as advertised!
N7ZM Rating: 2008-11-01
Does it all.... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Another great tuner from Palstar. Setup is in a Differential-T type configuration. Only one inductor and one capacitor to tune and it tunes easily and fast. This tuner rated at 1500 legal, but it handles all my ETO 91B can produce with two 4CX-800's and no arcing.