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Reviews For: Palstar AT2K

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Palstar AT2K
Reviews: 130MSRP: 595.95
Description:
A newly-designed, smaller roller inductor allows the AT2K to tune 6 Meters, while a relay-switched toroid adds the extra inductance needed for 160 Meter coverage. Newly designed capacitors feature lower minimum capacitance for improved high band performance, while maximum capacitance has been increased to 400pF for better low band performance. In addition, the Peak/Peak Hold metering from the PM2000 has been incorporated into the AT2K.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com/en/at2k.php
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
231304.6
PA7KK Rating: 2010-10-21
First look at quality, not the price. Time Owned: N.A.
The tuner came in a very well packed box.

What a relief to use this tuner after a MFJ-986 tuner.

The quality, design and finish pleases me. It could very well be this is one of the best products I ever bought.

It tunes smooth and easy. No arcing, wild meter fluctuations, or other problems. Some may think it is expensive, but it is cheap considering what you get.

It is easy to see people with commitment to technics made this.
N7MSM Rating: 2010-10-09
Another great Palstar product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased a AT2K which is my 2nd Palstar tuner, the other is a BT1500A. I enjoy experimenting with antennas and currently have a 43' vertical and a 260' multi-band dipole, fed with a 300 ohm ladder line and a DX Eng 1:1 balun. The AT2K matches both 6m though 160m. I have found the folks at Palstar to make a great product and provide excellent customer support!
K0CN Rating: 2010-09-28
Great Tuner! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned the AT-2K for over a year now and thought I would share my thoughts and experience. This has been a great tuner for me on all bands 160 through 6 meters. I have used it with a Radio Works Carolina Windom 160 and now with a 160 meter loop. I have always been able to match all bands 160 through 6 meters with an swr of 1:1. The tuner has never malfunctioned once. I use it barefoot and with the linear running 200 or 1000 watts. No arcing no problems just great performance. As for customer service. When I first got the tuner, I thought I had a problem with the roller inductor. I called customer service and received very friendly and personal attention. The problem I reported turned out not to be a problem at all. The service person walked me through the issue to my satisfaction and all was and still is in great working order.

I am very happy with this tuner and highly recommend the AT-2K to anyone looking for a unit of this size.
73, Al - K0CN
KD8LUJ Rating: 2010-09-26
OK TUNER Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My Dentron Supertuner plus does a better job tuning than this particular tuner. Meter quit working about 6 months after using. Called Palstar and talked someone about the meter and he was very grumpy that he had to help me. I don't know what that was all about? Oh well live and learn.
G0JKZ Rating: 2010-07-15
Fabulous Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ok, I've only had this tuner for a couple of weeks but I am more than impressed.

I decided on going manual after a bad experience with an LDG AT-1000 pro. All I can say is wow! Built like a tank, superb internals, and very smart to look at.

Oh, it works too!

Very easy to use, all controls smooth running. Tunes my doublet everywhere from 80m to 6m and easy to return to a previous setting using the markings on the capacitor knobs. The reduction drives are just right, not to quick or too slow.

The dual scale output power is nice, it is great to peak it all at qrp levels and it be accurate before hitting the 'loud' button on the amp!

The only downside to this tuner is physical size, it dwarfs my icom 7200, but then it has to be big for those high rated capacitors. I don't consider it a problem as the linear dwarfs the ATU and I bought it to handle the high wattage from that rather than it being a living room ornament.

So, in summary.... the best £450 gbp I have spent on an accessory in years.
KG6MZS Rating: 2010-06-17
Not Perfect Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I finally broke down and forked out the cash to replace my MFJ-949E that my elmer had given me. I use the AT2K on two multi-band doublets.

First the good news - the tuning capabilities of this matching network are fantastic. I tune everything from 6m to 80m with it and it handles that job outstandingly. The scales on the variable capacitors and the roller inductor make returning to a band very easy. The backlit meter is excellent and I love the amber glow.

The bad news - There is no bypass on the balanced line. That was a feature I did use on the MFJ-949E. I went to outboard 1:1 baluns, so this wasn't a big deal. There is no dummy load like on the MFJ-949E.

The biggest problem that I have with the AT2K is that the roller inductor developed a squeak. I mean a squeak loud enough to wake up the YL in the next room. I sent the unit back to Palstar at my expense and when it returned the squeak redeveloped. I notified Palstar about this telling them that I did not wish to spend the considerable sum to ship it to them a second time and never heard back from them. This is really a shame on an otherwise great product. The MFJ 949E certainly isn't as beefy and doesn't have the tuning ability of the AT2K, but it never gave me a lick of trouble in the 5 years I used and abused it.

Here is a more detailed review:

Tuning ability 5/5
Functionality 3/5
Looks 5/5
Workmanship 2/5
Customer Service 1/5
Documentation 5/5
Value 4/5

73 de Eric, KG6MZS
WD1W Rating: 2010-05-02
Bought One ... Then 2 More Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought one ... was so impressed I purchased two more. Tunes all bands to zero reflected power, repeatable settings, set and forget over a wide frequency range, loafs at the power I use ... 100-1000 watts. It's worth every dollar.
K5QWG Rating: 2010-05-02
80 thru 6 on one antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
When I unboxed the tuner, it was wobbling on its four rubber feet -- removing the cover and reversing it eliminated the wobble. I also noticed the calibration was a bit off on the output capacitor, so I loosened the hex nuts on the shaft and lined up the "100" scale with maximum capacitance. Otherwise, I couldn't see any problems.

The build quality is pretty high, but these tuners are hand assembled, I would imagine, so a little finishing may be needed.

I just put up a new 80 meter dipole for all band operation. It's 128 feet long, using 18-guage bare copper clad steel wire. It's fed with 92 feet of 450-ohm ladderline to the 4-1 balun on the back of the AT2K tuner. With this setup, I can tune the low and high ends of every band between 80 and 6 meters with a 1:1 SWR. The smaller inductor really does work on 6 meters, where I can tune 50.125 for SSB, and well as 52 and 53 mhz for the repeaters. I haven't tried it out on 60 meters, but otherwise, I can hit just about any frequency between 3.5 and 53 mhz.
W7RUE Rating: 2010-04-18
Outstanding! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
After purchasing another tuner of another brand and being terribly disappointed by the poor (broken) construction, I shipped it back to HRO Portland. (A great bunch of guys by the way!) They talked me into purchasing a Palstar AT2K which was quite a bit more expensive ($180 more!). I was was concerned about paying the higher price but when I got it in the shack and opened it up, I was very impressed with the build quality; the Palstar AT2K is a real work of electronic art in both form and function!

I have been running this tuner for about 8 months now and I couldn't be happier! It re-tunes to my preselected bands and frequencies without having to re-adjust the settings. The build/quality control is fabulous for this price level. I am extremely happy with it. I may purchase a high end auto tuner in the future but I doubt that I will let this one ever leave my shack! Great job Palstar!

'73 "Rue" - W7RUE
GM6HGF Rating: 2010-03-23
Solid Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I am very impressed by the quality of this tuner which I use (in conjunction with DL-2K) instead of the radio 'internal' atu when running qro. Nearly as big as the FT-1000MP it is easy to use and the meter is easy to read. Not the cheapest but in my opinion you get what you pay for. I am sure it will really prove itself further when I put a wire up for the lower bands. Excellent quality.