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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
M0MRR Rating: 2006-09-05
Impressed Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have owned the Palstar AT1500DT atu for about 5 months after buying it from new.

It arrived double boxed and is quite a large and heavy atu – measuring 12 ½” wide by 4 ½” high by 12” deep, the most immediately noticeable thing about the tuner is that there is only one large dial which is for the differential capacitor. The specs suggest the capacitor can manage 19pF to 385pF@5kv and the inductor is 26uH, providing an impedance match of 20 – 1200 ohms.

I have used the atu with a non resonant dipole, longwire, moxon rectangle and horizontal loop. The inductor is a breeze to use and very smooth in its action, the selector switch which provides direct or tuned options is very positive in action. So far the atu has matched whatever I have hooked up. I run an Icom 7000 which sometimes drives an Acom 1000, and there have been no issues using the tuner with the Acom at power – no arcing, funny noises, popping etc which I have previously experienced with junk product.

Matching the antenna to radio is achieved by simply adjusting the roller inductor and the one differential capacitor which makes tuning very quick. The peak hold function (when the unit is powered by 12v supply) is a nice feature.

All in all I am quite impressed with the tuner, it looks quality and does what is expected of it under load conditions. When it first arrived I had a couple of questions which I emailed Palstar direct and am pleased to say, were answered promptly.

This product is quite a few pennies – but the old adage “you get what you pay for” is very true. I am happy with the product.
K3BFQ Rating: 2006-08-11
Excellent!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've owned my AT1500DT abt 2 weeks now and I'm very Impressed!! Not only with the build quality, but ease of operation! I've been in the hobby 50 yrs. now and this is the 4th tuner I've owned,and it out performs all others !It'll tune every ant. I throw on it without "talking back" I hope they stay in business a Long time and show how good American quality can be !! It's a definite keeper at my shack

Larry, K3BFQ
KJ4ZM Rating: 2006-06-27
Well made and easy to use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had the 1500DT since May and have found it to be a pleasure to use. It is not only built well but is very easy to use. The look and feel of this tuner is one of solid construction. It is also quick to get a good match. I agree the Peak-hold meter is very nice and a pleasure to use. I really like the convenience of tuning one antenna and then going direct on the same antenna in a different part of the band or switching to a different antenna to check a different direction. You can even tune into a dummy load!(do hams do that?) Nice Tuner.
W7RJR Rating: 2006-06-13
Perfect Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I traded in an AT1KM for this model. See my review on that model. The peak-hold and peak reading meter is well worth the extra money. The tuning controls operate smoothly and the construction is superb with high grade materials.
My advice would be to spend the extra bucks for this one over the AT1KM.
K1LDP Rating: 2006-05-22
Quality built easy to use and AWESOME METER!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Took my time before buying this one. I'm real happy I bought this Palstar after lots of research.
For the money you get a legal limit easy to use and high quality built very nice looking tuner. Comes with the wall plug in transformer for the lighted meter and an excellent manual. Very easy to tune all bands. I'm working frequencies I had never worked before with my vertical and my Yaesu FL-2100 B amplifier fed by my Mark V.

A big Plus for the METER. It's a thing of beauty.
Peak and peak hold for your power reading with 300 or 3000 watt selectable scales. With the second needle SWR big display makes the two knob matching a snap.

If you buy one you will definitely enjoy it.

73
W8ER Rating: 2006-05-05
Really really NICE! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Smooth and built like a tank. It's very easy to tune and allows me to operate anywhere in the band .. unlike my old Nye. This just can't be beat!
KC4CP Rating: 2006-04-22
SUPER Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my second Palstar tuner. In my humble opinion, they are the ONLY HF tuner to own (LDG makes great auto tuner ... but they have a max of 1KW). This one is built like a tank, works great, & easily handles legal limit (PEP). I especially love the fact that it has a TRUE PEAK READING meter & PEAK HOLD meter. It is extremely easy and smooth to tune. SUPER TUNER!
W2CDO Rating: 2006-03-24
Nice Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just got this from Palstar. It matches everything I have beautifully, but everything I have is coax-based, so I can't speak to the balanced function. Beautiful construction and silky smooth operation.