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Reviews For: LL-Tuner

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : LL-Tuner
Reviews: 18MSRP: EURO 1195
Description:
This balanced antennatuner is a very special one. 100% handmade by Kees PA0LL. Easily holds legal limit 1,500 Watt. Covers 160 - 10 meters. Extremely high efficiency!
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.lltuners.nl
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00185
HB9ANM Rating: 2009-02-11
Excellent performer, beautiful design Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been using several tuners, some by high-end manufacturers. This one beats them all and performs as beautifully as it looks. Smooth tuning, excellent stability and repeatability, a perfect match on all bands (including 160 with my 2 x 16 meter doublet and 23 meter window line)… Everything you can expect from a high-end piece of equipment. Excellent support by Kees, PA0LL. In spite of the two capacitors, it is not a double PI filter but a double L tuner using either the input or the output capacitor, depending on whether the antenna is high or low impedance, a better solution than switching the capacitor back and forth. Large plate spacing is not required for the input capacitor, since the voltage at 50 ohm will never exceed some 275 V even at (US) legal limit! And its value can be increased up to 5'000 pF in increments of 500 pF with the front-panel controlled caps. Very useful especially when your antenna is too short for top band! The special shape of the output capacitor plates helps reduce residual capacitance to a very low level. The silver-plated, air-wound roller inductors tune very smoothly. The whole set-up is strictly symmetrical, keeping all connections as short and direct as possible. All components are top quality and the whole tuner is a feast for the eyes.

Kees no longer uses an input balun but a straightforward 1:1 toroid transformer! A design which, as far as I know, is not found on any other commercial tuner. But it is very effective indeed and even after 60 seconds at 1 kW, the transformer does not feel warm to the touch at all. The result is superb balance, only some 100 mA difference between the feeders (at high power) as measured with an RF ammeter – but even this is probably due to the antenna, which can never be perfectly balanced in itself!

Expensive? Well, not really, considering the fact that you will never need to buy another tuner again!

Yes, it's really a keeper! Thanks, Kees!

Richard – HB9ANM
DO8WA Rating: 2009-02-10
The Best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
talking about the new product "LL Super S-match".
Working here together with 2x20m dipole and 28m of ladder line.

Exellent work. Even a wider Ohm range than the standard LL-Tuner(at 1KW+).
Hi/Lo can be switched at the front - no fuzzy messing around at the output on the back.
Always meets the written down Dip points. Puts a smile on my face every time I tune.
Not to mention the look(made like a swiss watch)and the support from Kees.

Keep your MFJs for fielddays, but use Kees´ in the shack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3eImdSJaxc&feature=channel_page


KK4RR Rating: 2008-12-17
Unsurpassed Craftsmanship Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This tuner is a work of art, a masterful design, and an outstanding performer. Kees, PA0LL was a delight to work with. This tuner is as good as it gets. I presently use it to match a wire loop of approximately 80 meters length, at an average height of 15 meters. My LL tuner, replaces an excellent Palstar AT4K, which would not load a balanced line antenna, on 10 or 15 meters.
LA6PH Rating: 2007-09-25
A handmade Masterpiece from PA0LL Time Owned: N.A.
I am running a 2x13.2m EDZ with 450 ohms open feeder for 14Mhz point to point contacts with old buddies in Spain, Crete,Cypres and Madeira. The antenna is also used on 80m through 10m.
With my old tuner of a well known upper class brand I could never run more than 140Watts on 80/40M. Based on the eHam Product Review I decided to give the LL-tuner a go.
And what a surprice. Out of the box came an Engineering Master Piece that performs like it looks! Handles all of my operating freq's within SWR 1:1 . I needed some advise from Kees (PA0LL) and he reponded promtly. Thanks Kees. This is a Keeper!

John/LA6PH
PA1HR Rating: 2007-09-24
QRO (even on 160 and 10) is no problem for this antenna tuner! Time Owned: more than 12 months.

The last 20 years I have used two Annecke, several Palstars, a lot of other brands and homemade antenna tuners. Very nice tuners, but the LL-Tuner from PA0LL is the best antenna tuner I have ever used!

Even on 160 and 10 meters QRO of 1,5 kW is no problem at all!

At this moment I use a DeltaLoop antenna of 410 feet length at 30 feet height. Before I used an Inverted Vee dipole of 2 x 65 feet. The LL-tuner works excellent with both (very different) antennas on from the 160 until the 10 Meterband. On all amateurradio frequencies the SWR is flat 1:1. I did'nt succeed this with the Palstar AT-4K.

Kees PA0LL did about 20 years of R&D to get his LL-Tuner as he is now. IMHO it is mechanically and electrically the best antenna tuner for balanced feederline on the market!!

Kees is always doing his very best to get his customers satisfied. The after-sales of Kees is as good as his tuner. He is very helpful and gives a lot of information and excellent advise.

Forget all the other antenna tuners for balanced feeders. Save your money and buy the best antenna tuner you can find on this earth!

This tuner does not get a 5.0, but a >10.0!!!

PE9M Rating: 2007-09-24
Beautiful piece of equipment!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Dears,

I've buyed this tuner last month and didn't have any regret about it!

The tuner is designed and build by Kees PA0LL, a very nice, friendly and well experienced OM.
Kees PA0LL is developing and building ATU's for more then 15 years, what you can see in his products. Every part of the tuner is carefully overthinked and chosen.

The LL-tuner is not only technically outstanding but also a visually 'must have' with his transparent cover. The roller-conductors have an aircore and are wounded with thick silver-plated copperwire. The tuner is builded-up symmetric to keep an good balance at the output. Only short pieces of (teflon) wire are used. The variable capacitors are designed to keep a minimum of rest-capacity when you don't need them.
I'm totally not suprised when this tuner will be a collectors-item as Kees is building his tuners in very limited series.

I've used different tuners with balanced line outputs such as Daiwa and a (symmetric) Annecke. With an antenna-current meter in the feeder-line the LL-tuner is bringing the most current to the antenna. This tuner can easily handling 1,5 Kilowatt. For sure this a 'tuner-for-life'.

Did I made you curious, check the photo's of Kees PA0LL site. Those photo's will say more then all my words.

http://www.lltuners.nl

Kees PA0LL, thank you again for this nice ATU!

Regards, 73

Marco PE9M






PF7X Rating: 2007-02-28
provides excellent DX capabilities Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This tuner in conjunction with a low angle radiant antenna provides excellent DX capabilities on multiple bands.



I purchased my first PA0LL tuner 2 years ago. It has since been used flawless in conjunction with multiple home brew antenna configurations;



-Rotable PA0LL Delta loop (3x 5.5m)
-Center fed dipole (27m)
-Of center fed dipole at 33% (10m)
-Sigma 5 like vertical dipole (2.7m and 4m)
-Vertical base antenna with a length of 12 meters fed 3 meters above ground with 2 x 20m + 2 x 10m + 2 x 5m radials



I have used Titanex TwinCom cable for all above setups and operate an ICOM756Pro3 with 100W.



Common observations;
Achieve flexibility: With the LL-tuner it's possible to load up just about any type of antenna or metal
Easy and comfortable to operate: Antennas tune easily SWR 1:1 on all bands (160m to 6m)
High quality: industry best components and very efficient matching concept with hardly no rest capacity in minimum position of capacitors - low loss
Consistent reference indications: all tuning knobs show exact and consistent reference-points
Low noise compared to MLB with 30 meters of wire 15 meters up



Overall: Antenna experiments and DX capability have increased significantly by LL tuner concept



Just added VK9DNX on 30m, 20m and 17m to my log using the LL tuner and the vertical. (VK9N to PA is over 17000km)

In the mean time I purchased a 2nd PA0LL tuner, again its hand made by Kees/PA0LL and build with industry best components. Now it even looks more beautiful - It's art!!


Thank you so much Kees! 73 de PF7X, Chris

PA0QRS Rating: 2006-08-08
The best you can Bay Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is a SUPER balanced antenna tuner with the highest efficiencies you can bay !!
Most factory tuners have a bad efficiency. Also you will blow up them by high power output!
If you see the website www.lltuners.nl , there is no need to tell you more about the quality of this tuner !! I tune up easily a 20 meter long dipole with open line from 160 till 10 meters.
Quality is much better as a factory made one.
Those tuners are handmade, even the components used in it.
SURE BUY THIS TUNER, WHEN THE BEST OF THE BEST IS NEEDED !!!
PA0QRS ( info@schippermt.nl )