| WA9VEE |
Rating:  |
2009-03-09 | |
| The best yet |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Oh yes, this is one fine tuner. I bought it on the mistaken notion that there was something wrong with my Tentec 238B… not so, because it turned out to be a faulty coax jumper. But guess which tuner is the keeper? Yep, the Palstar. I have Palstar’s antenna analyzer, and now this tuner.
It looks cooler, and with the 160M extra inductance inserted, it gets me on 160’s low CW portion, where the Tentec was finding my particular long wire setup just out of its 160M range.
The dial lights glow yellow instead of bright. That's good because the bulbs should last forever that way. The coax connectors are 1st class, and a good fit, unlike some MFJ models that really tear up the coax trying to get the connectors on and off.
The roller inductor crank is smooth and easy. I think it’s odd that the counter goes down in numbers as the inductance is increased, but maybe that’s some sort of industry standard. The tuner is at a slight bevel tilt for easy viewing, and so heavily constructed that I have my Ameritron amp sitting on top of it.
I can’t speak to the imprecision of the power meter mentioned in prior reviews since I have nothing to calibrate it against, but the SWR meter is really fine. The Tentec design required me to set forward, then switch to reverse to read the SWR, which is so time consuming, I just used the SWR reading from the rig. This Palstar does all automatically, and with greater clarity than the feedback I was getting from the rig's readings.
The circuit design does seem to require more retuning as I change frequencies looking for signals than the Tentec did, but perhaps that’s the result of having better SWR metering to tell me what’s going on.
Being on the 2nd floor, RF grounding is a usual problem, and I did get bit off the metal crank on 10M 100W. Ouch.
I like this tuner best after having used MFJ’s, and Tentec. And with Palstar’s 160M additional toroid inductance switched in as necessary, it’s a keeper. Be aware the tuner must have 12V power supplied to get the relay to switch in the 160M setting.
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| N9PYS |
Rating: |
2009-03-08 | |
| N9PYS |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Over the years I have had Ten-Tec's, MFJ's, Drakes, Nye Vikings, and 6 months ago I bought a Palstar AT1500CV. The CV was a great tuner and would work good on 160m. I then started to look at the AT2K. After all the reviews and 2 of my Ham friends comments on the 2K. I sold the CV and bought the AT2K. I had had it for 2 weeks now, and it is one that will never leave this shack. I run an inverted "L" on 160m and an 80M loop. Although the CV would match on 160m, it would take some time to do it. With the 2K and its 160m cap, it tunes 160m quickly and flawlessly. The new metering circuit is dead nuts on. The peak function is done nicely and the overall construction of this tuner is very professionaly built. I feed all the wires with 14 gauge, 450 ladderline. The vernier dials are very smooth and feels similar to turning the vfo on the radio. I must give this tuner a 5. It works like Palstar claims it to work and is the latest in the Palstar line. As far as Palstar's customer service is concerned, I must say their response on the phone and emails is quick. They do understand what we finicky hams want with service. So, my hats off to Paul and his company. |
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| former_K8CEB |
Rating: |
2009-02-11 | |
| Absolutely the best for the money |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently purchased a Palstar AT2K from HRO. I have 2 MFJ tuners which work to some extent on a 160 Meter loop being fed with Stancor 2004 coax. The Palstar AT2K will let me tune to where I have zero reflected wattage showing after tuning to any of the bands I use. I can tune 160, 75/80, 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 Meters and get a zero reflection reading on the reflected wattage scale. I run a SB220 on 75/80 mtrs when needed at around 500 watts. I STILL get a zero reflected wattage reading running the amp.
This tuner is very solidly built. Very user friendly. It also was affordable to me as I am on a very fixed income at my age of 66 years. I would highly recommend this tuner to anyone that wants fine quality, great ease of use, and something that I can count on to last for many years to come. I have talked to other Hams I know that cannot get their other brand tuner to tune on 160 meters satisfactorily for instance. This is a great American Made product. Might cost just a bit more than some of the competition but a person definitely gets what they pay for in life. Thanks Paul and the rest of his employees for producing a quality product for us to own. 73
Greg Fisher
k8ceb |
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| HA5RDP |
Rating: |
2009-02-08 | |
| Perfect Tuner |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Perfect Tuner,
do not regret to have sold my MFJ-Tuner.
The band switches work fine and it tunes every piece of wire from 160 to 20m..
I´m using it to tune an endfed longwire antenna and my inverted VEE-double dipole for 80 and 40m.
Using 500Watts and it handles that well.
Peak-hold function is good and the C´s and L can be adjusted very smoothly.
Bought it from Heinz Bolli in Switzerland, quick reaction from him, super service and nice contact with Heinz personally. |
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| K0WA |
Rating: |
2009-01-12 | |
| Good Tuner |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| This is a great tuner, but as everyone states, the watt meter is not a scientific instrument. I traded up from a AT1500CV to the AT2K and I am glad I did. The build is good, components are good as well, and it does tune up just about everything thrown at it. The unit works quite well on 160 meters and seems to have enough "C" and "L" to get the job done on my Inverted-L. It handles good power (1500 watts) from my AL-82. The turns counter is very nice...does not bind...and turns smoothly. I have determined all my matching points to my antennas and I can go "to the numbers" and the antennas are matched. I do not have to tweak. The cost of the tuner is good, but I think it is rather high for the quality of the watt meter. The watt meter should be more accurate at the higher power levels. But, I use the watt meter to find the match points and really pay very little attention to it. |
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| W7CPA |
Rating: |
2009-01-12 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought myself a Christmas present that included the AT2K and DL2K dummy load. The build quality is excellent. The inside is quite spiffy.
The PWR/SWR meters are not very accurate but since I use a NIST calibrated PowerMaster, I don't care much. I did attempt to recalibrate but had to compromise for calibrating at 100 watts and 1500 watts and ignoring the non-linear everywhere else. The 3000 position SWR is really off so I will explore this with PALSTAR since it might have an actual issue that needs to be fixed.
The important fact is how well the tuner works with a ladder line fed, 135' antenna. I use a QuickSilver top shelf 4:1 balun and 10' of FMR-400 low loss coax to get into the shack. 80-6 perfect. 160 is on the edge but working. I plan to add relays to turn the antenna into a T for 160. I run an Alpha 87A at full steam.
Nice work PALSTAR !!! |
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| OH7PS |
Rating: |
2008-12-23 | |
| Tuner is ok but QC not |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
What can I say not mentioned before here. Got mine from ML&S, shipping was prompt and pricing very moderate.
Tuner seems to work as advertised and tunes easily. The FWD meter is a bit "jumpy" and can be trusted only when very close 1:1 and a slight turn of cap makes tens of watts difference on the meter (slight increase of ref power)
The reason why I rated this unit 3 is that 3000W scale was way out of acceptable tolerance. 100W showed 300W on the meter - huh. I had to tune the trimmer and it was at least a quarter of a turn off (this is no shipping "damage"). So now I need to buy an external watt meter after all when I tought this would be accurate enough as mentioned here :(
The unit itself could be rated 4-5 and QC 2-3.
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| IK2SAI |
Rating: |
2008-11-06 | |
| Superb |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
It was bought brand new at ML&S, UK at an excellent price, with an excellent service.
The unit itself is well built and it looks like something that will last forever.
I use it pushing up to 800 w pep with no problem at all.
Even the instrument appeare to be of a class by itself: you get a 3Kw peak (real pep) / avg with peak old function unit.
I have had a minor problem and it was well solved by Paul @ Palstar with the help of ML&S.
Reccomended. |
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| WV4R |
Rating: |
2008-10-03 | |
| Simply The second BEST Tuner ever owned… |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Simply The second BEST Tuner ever owned…
One thing nearly 50 years of hammy radio taught me is there is a plethora of tuners out there both commercial & homebrew. I have owned many and operated many more so I think I know a good one from ‘mighty fine junk’. By the way I still own my first, bought new (circa 1960’s), a SWAN ST-1.
I bought my first REAL legal-limit HF amp a few years ago & wanted a tuner I would never worry about burning up. So, after listening around the bands & examining the “AT5K BIG GUY” (the Beegest at the time) I bought factory-direct Primarily for 40m, 80m & 160m wire antennas. As soon as it arrived, I took it apart (Of Course!) to peek inside. I was amazed at both the obvious quality of components & layout… First Class in every way. It tunes anything I plug into it on 160m & 80m & 40m & 20m… Period. Oh yes, COLD to the touch too. By the way the Customer Service is jest about as good as it gitz.
A couple years later, I wanted a second all-purpose tuner for the Auxiliary Console where I am limited to 1kw Max. I pulled up the PALSTAR factory website immediately started drooling over the hi-rez pix of their new “AT2K”. One of my hammy radio buds had purchased one. I couldn’t wait to get my greasy fingers on it to spin the knobs. It was love at first tune. This time I ordered from HRO. It arrived a few days later with free shipping. I have never looked back. THIS baby looks great, has the same first class parts & the same great layout of components as its beeg brother. I especially like the triple threat ‘meter’ they are now putting in them… the Same as their stand-alone ones. The AT2K will tune anything I plug into it from 80m thru 10m.
For quality of components, cosmetic design, wide range matching, super triple mode meter, competitive pricing & reliability, this Improved AT2K has to earn the WV4R “FIVE” star rating.
73 es God bless, murf/WV4R.
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| K1EY |
Rating: |
2008-10-03 | |
| Top notch equipment! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I must say - this is a top shelf tuner! The build quality is just amazing. High quality components, materials and work - I inspected every single detail and solder joint in the tuner and I have to say - everything is done with perfection. The design of the tuner is a classic T-network and it is executed very well - both mechanically and electrically! It is using custom (Palstar made) high-volatge variable capacitors, roller inductor, toroid inductors, built-in 4:1 balun - all very high quality! The built-in meter is accurate - it has active peak metering and hold function and two power ranges (300/3000W)!
This tuner works excellent and it can match every reasonable antenna - It actually "almost" matched my standard G5RV on 160 meters. I love the precision and smooth movement of the Vernier dials! I am really happy with AT2K and I'll buy it again! It is worth every penny IMHO!
Not many possible improvements I can think of - maybe a LED indicating when 160-meter mode is activated (actually, a pretty easy mod). The isolation between both antenna inputs is not that great too but it is not terrible! Another problem is the silk-screening of the front panel - some of the lettering rubbed off around the rotary switch. It is actually a common issue with the Palstar tuners - one can put transparent tape to protect it (the tape WILL take off the lettering if you try to remove it though) or use label maker with white-on-black tape and make custom labels for each position (antenna) on the switch. Not really a big deal!
I did a lot of research and comparison of different commercial tuners before I bought it and I would go with Palstar every time! This is NOT your average M*J junk with no quality control - it is a lab-grade equipment and really built like a tank! |
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