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Reviews For: LDG IT-100

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : LDG IT-100
Reviews: 68MSRP: 180
Description:
The LDG IT-100 is the new tuner for your IC-7000. It replaces the venerable AT-7000, adding push button control, LED status indicators and faster, quieter tuning.
Specifications:
* 1 to 125 watt power range (SSB and CW), 100W on 6M
* 2000 memories for instantaneous band changing.
* Power rating 6M (50 to 54 MHz): 100 watts
* Controlled from Icom Tuner button on radio.
* Compatible with any Icom radio that is AH-4 or AH-3 compatible.
* Compatible with: 7000, 706 (all), 703, 718, 746 and 756 (all).
* Tuning time: 0.1 to 6 seconds full tune, 0.1 seconds memory tune.
* 1.8 to 54.0 MHz coverage. Built-in frequency sensor.
* Tunes 4-800 ohm loads (16-150 on 6M), 4-3200 ohms with optional 4:1 Balun.
* For Dipoles, Verticals, Vs, Beams or any Coax Fed Antenna.
* Ready to use with included 1 foot radio interface cable and 1 foot coax jumper.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ldgelectronics.com/products.php?cID=1
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00684.6
K6PBL Rating: 2018-04-14
Works well Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have a 20M dipole in my attic that I tune with the IT-100. It allows me to work SSB and CW on 10, 20, & 40, and WSPR on about everything else
KG3V Rating: 2017-09-30
Very Good Mobile Tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had an IT-100 tuner for 6 or 7 years now, and it just keep ticking without an issue. I use it with an ICOM IC-7000. Used it as a base Radio for awhile but then mounted it in my Ford F-150 pickup. It has been there for over 5 years now. Mobile environment is tough - high/low temps, vibration, etc. But this thing just keeps working. Would certainly recommend it to anyone building a Mobile station with an ICOM rig.
KB4OIF Rating: 2017-06-20
very good tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have a windom 6-80 meter up about 38 feet. It's a bit of a compromise on 80 meters. The IT-100 tunes it right way with no problems.
N7WLF Rating: 2017-05-15
Works Great.. No Problems Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The auto-tuner in my IC-746 decided it was time to quit. Repair estimates were upwards of $300.00 for parts and labor. I found the IT-100 works on my Icom and tunes better than the internal tuner did when it was new. And was less than half of the price of repairing the internal unit. This is definitely the way to go.
N0YXE Rating: 2017-02-22
WORKS PERFECTLY Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just attached this new unit to a new ICOM 7200. It is being used with two 53' end fed antennas on the roof. It tunes quickly and the SWR appears to be below 1.5:1. The speed matches any built-in tuner I have ever had.

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Earlier 2-star review posted by N0YXE on 2009-02-13

I just purchased a new Icom 706 to go along with my 756 Pro III. I want to use it for Ten meter FM repeaters and then scan them during openings. I thought that the LDG would be very capable due to the wide tuning range, large memory capacity and a nice price tag. LDG has fooled me again! (It's another story about another LDG that got sent back, too.) When I got to the FM portion of the Ten meter band the LDG would just tune it under 2:1! Most everything else appeared to be about 1:1. The antenna used for Ten meters is around 2:7 at 29.600. Yes, it's noisy and NO LIGHTS ON THE FRONT PANEL of the tuner ever light up. Every time you change bands the tuner doesn't appear to have retained any memory. Is all this due to the fact that the IT100 only loves the IC7000? The unit is going back tomorrow and I have already ordered the AH180, an old friend that I had years ago that was flawless with my first 706. Don't believe everything you read and then think about what might not work so well with an LDG. Good luck and remember, you get what you pay for. There is more than a difference than just the price.
K2JF Rating: 2016-09-29
Works well for me Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have a 10-20 OCF dipole on my roof. I also have the Icom 7300 with it's internal tuner. The internal tuner does well with 20 and 17, but miserable with 15, struggles a bit with 10 and cannot even get near on 40. I cannot get up the roof again to do any serious antenna trimming so have to rely on the tuner. When I had my Pro III that internal tuner allowed me to operate all bands 10-40 - quite remarkable. So I thought I would give the IT-100 a try but didn't really expect much. Well, it is tuning all bands 10-40. Yes, even 40 meters on an antenna cut for 10-20. It doesn't require a power supply as it gets power from the radio.
N1OIE Rating: 2016-08-27
Junk and terrible customer service Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Mine went belly up after 4 months of very limited use. You call the 800 number for customer support, and it tells you to send an email. That goes into the ether, and maybe they'll get back to you. They don't. Finally I got a snarky message back (after having to contact HRO to light a fire under them). So I sent back the piece of junk, they got it back to me after a month, and it still doesn't tune my 40m antenna. Elmer loaned me a manual Kenwood, and am able to tune everything with that. I understand equipment breaks ... It happens. The kicker here is the terrible customer service. LDG is all good if you don't have a problem. I won't be buying another of their products, ever.
N9VMO Rating: 2016-07-15
Great performer, AWesome Customer Service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought my IT-100 four years ago for my IC-706 to replace an ancient Dentron Jr. Monitor.

Out of the box it worked flawlessly in tuning up a homebrewed AS-2259 and a Cushcraft R-7 on both ham bands and on MARS frequencies. Replaced the AS-2259 with a G5RV and it still worked as advertised except on 15m and 17m. For some reason, when the antenna was wet 17m wouldn't tune. When the antenna was dry, 15m didn't want to tune. No great loss as the bands were dead due to really poor propagation. Replaced the R7 with a TD-90 and again, flawless performance. Was even able to get on 160m.

Two years later I bought an IC-7200 to replace the tired 706. Again got flawless performance...that is until a couple of days ago.

Was working 20m and it tuned just fine, tried 10m and again tuned up as usual. Went back to 20m and it wouldn't tune. Tried all of the other bands and got the same results, just chattering relays and high SWR. Seeing that it was two years out of warranty I decided to open the case and found a badly scorched ferrite so I thought I was in the market for a new tuner.

On a whim, I decided to email LDG (Dwayne) to see how much it would cost me to have it repaired. Much to my shock, he notified me that the only thing I would have to pay for is shipping the unit back to the factory, even with it being out of warranty. You don't find that kind of customer service anymore ANYWHERE!

They have a life long customer in me and I will recommend them to anyone that is looking for an auto-tuner.

The ONLY reason that I am giving this a 4 is that you can only run 30 - 35 watts on digital.
KK5R Rating: 2016-03-26
Does what it is supposed to do Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I just reread the LDG Manufacturer's page on the LDG-100 tuner and discovered something I'd missed before. Tapping the Tune button will take the tuner out of the circuit and allows the transmitted signal to bypass the tuner. Also, another tap and it's back in circuit once more. I had not seen this before. Seems that I missed this nicety. Sure saves moving the coax jumpers around if I want to bypass the tuner.

I got my LDG-100 as a gift with option to buy. I offered the friend the money he mentioned before but was told to go ahead and use it to see if it works. It does. I'll not be paying the full price of a new one and this makes it an even greater bargain.

So far, it does everything I've asked it to do with my IC-718 — and then some. It takes a few seconds longer when using an antenna not designed for a particular band I'm on but it will tune to it. This is a better guarantee that the 718 is putting out the power it's supposed to on that band and not shutting itself down to only a few watts to keep the finals intact. Ham Radio peace of mind is the result.
KB5IJ Rating: 2016-03-11
Pretty good tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am using this tuner between my Icom IC-9100 and a 70' off center fed dipole. I wanted an external tuner that would tune up a few bands that the IC-9100's internal tuner couldn't quite handle (80m, 17m, 12m), and the IT-100 easily tunes those bands to 1:1. However, on a couple of bands which the IC-9100's internal tuner easily tuned to 1:1 (40m and 15m), the IT-100 can barely get below 2:1! In fact, the SWR on those bands is only slightly higher when using NO tuner. That is a mystery to me. Add to this the fact that I cannot bypass the IT-100 to use the internal tuner of the IC-9100, unless I disconnect the interface between the tuner and the radio every time I want to work 40m/15m. All in all, this tuner gets the job done, but has me already thinking about upgrading