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Reviews For: Palstar AT4K

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Palstar AT4K
Reviews: 62MSRP: 895.00
Description:
The AT4K is a premium quality American-made matching network
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
11624.6
N6KYS Rating: 2007-08-28
Very nice tuner! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just recently (Aug 2007) purchased this tuner, and the first thing I did was open it and look to see if the quality is there, given its price. It definitely is. This thing is built very well, including the roller inductor. The metering is top shelf, and the circuit design itself is very unique.....allowing for balanced or unbalanced line matching by grounding or lifting from ground the bottom end of the inductor through the clever use of a relay. The T network design matches just about anything. I have not had the problems described in other reviews in matching antennas on 10 meters...it works well there, too.

Nice, BIG, quality unit...make sure you have the room at your operating position.

K7BIR Rating: 2007-06-28
TOIP NOTCH UNIT Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my AT4K for over a year now. I find the controls smooth to operate. Both the transmitter and antenna capacitors. The roller inductor is also smooth to operate. The cross-needle SWR meter is easy to read and use in tune up. The AT4K also has a peak reading meter. This is usefull in reading SSB peak output. I had a Nye Viking MB-VA tuner prior to my AT4K. I could not tune across 160 meters on my inverted "L" antenna. I also had trouble tuning all of 40 meters on the same band. The AT4K is built like a tank. It weighs about 27 pounds and is larger than a DRAKE L7 AMPLIFIER. You will need to allow some space in your operating area for this tuner. If I were to trade mine off, it would be for the AT5K unit.
A71EM Rating: 2007-01-20
The best tuner in market Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using this Big Tuner for almost one and half year now and I foud it just like what they said about it in Palstar web page and here in eham.

Thank you Palstar for giving us such a great products
KB1GHH Rating: 2006-08-04
TRUE to their MOTTO ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
"Built like a tank;for this "Yank"!! I should got this one a long time ago.Always tried to get "just"enough tuner to get by.I bought 7 tuners in 5yrs!Now..this one does great things.I called them with ?'s,and they helped completely.
3yr guaranty on this model.great tuning range.I love playing with different ant's;this tuner makes"it" fun! I will "grow old" with this tuner,
no doubt.Glad I finally "did it". Now,to try some
"bed-springs" or "gutters",or just plain antenna wire !!
(U.S.A.-made,too!) 73'sRayN/kb1-ghh
W4WFB Rating: 2006-05-29
A Top-Flite Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This tuner started out with an edge-wound roller inductor that was held together with three tie-wraps. It evolved into an edge-wound inductor that did not require tie-wraps. I found the late model edgewound roller inductor to be a quality unit, but it did not turn as smoothly as I would have liked. I now have the latest model with the ceramic roller inductor that turns very smoothly. I am presently using the AT4K with a Carolina Windom 80 antenna. I was able to get a 50 ohm match on all bands 80 through 12 meters with an antenna analyzer. I could not get a match using this tuner with the Carolina Windom 80 on 10 meters. There was too much inductance still left at the end of the roller inductor. I do not know how this tuner will work on 160 meters, but it appears to have plenty of inductance for 160.
The tuner comes with a wall wart to energize the meter backlight, meter movement, and the balance-unbalance relay. If the tuner is fed with an unbalanced (coax) line, it can be used without the wall wart, but the meter movement and backlight will not work. The AT4K relay is grounded (unbalanced) in the unenergized position.
This is not the case with the AT5K which is balanced with the relay in the unenergized position. So if the AT5K is to feed an unbalanced (coax) line, it must have the wall wart voltage applied (and the red tuned output button in the out position which energizes the relay).
The ceramic roller inductor in this latest model of the AT4K is large and turns smoothly. Resettability is reliable and accurate. The wattmeter is accurate and the peak hold feature works well. The ceramic antenna switch is large and is of quality construction, and the input and output capacitors are large and well made. The input and output knobs are new with a gray numbered graticule instead of the gold colored graticule of earlier units. This unit easily accepts 1500 watts with no strain. I highly recommend this latest version of the AT4K. I have an AT5K, and this latest AT4K works just as well for me at 1500 watts. You won't go wrong with the latest model of the AT4K. Roy Morris W4WFB
WR1H Rating: 2006-05-17
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This tunner seems to have undergone several revisions.

I believe that some folks in the 2004 ~ 2005 era had a version of this tunner that had a less than stellar inductive coil that was supported with a series of tie wraps (???).

That is no longer the case. I feel bad for those that purchased this product from Palstar because it appears that they have reverted back to old style "heavy duty" coil.

The tunner is built like a tank. It is big, heavy and could be used as a weapon if one could lift it high enough to throw.

The dials are smooth and concentric. The coil and coil turn meter are of excellent quality and work great.

The meter is one of the best in the market.

I love this unit. I use it with my Ameritron AL-82 and it handles 1300 Watts with no issues on all bands.

No arcs, sparks or other sounds.

I recomend it to all, as long as you make sure that it is the NEW version.

VE6XL Rating: 2006-04-15
Well Built Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This tuner is very well built!

Having used a couple of MFJ tuners, this tuner is a clear step above. The quality of the components is obvious in both the old and new model.

It tunes very well and previous settings are easily reapeated. It will tune almost anything within reason.

The unit itself is huge and a fair amount of space is required.

I would recommend this unit (new or old) to anyone who is looking for an high power capable alternative to the MFJ and Ameritron line up.

VE6XL
www.ve6xl.ca
N1URE Rating: 2006-01-03
Tune a wet noodle Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My first impression on opening the box was “Wow this thing is big”. It took some rearranging of my shack to fit the tuner. Operation is very smooth. The input and output controls turn like a VFO on my radio. Tunes as smooth as silk. It’s very easy to return to the settings. The inductor is a little stiff but I’m told that this is just the nature of the beast and it will loosen up a bit with use. Nothing bad and certainly nothing like the clunky MFJ “Roller inductor”. So far I can get a 1:1 on everything I have, including a random wire. I hit it with full legal and no arcs. Did I mention that the Palstar looks really nice too? Yes it’s a lot of money but this is the Godzilla of antenna tuners. Let’s hope the company does not cheapen its product. I would rather pay the extra. Besides for the cost of the three MFJ’s I have nuked over the years, I could have had a real tuner.
WB9JOX Rating: 2005-12-05
money wellspent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I think its a very good tuner for me anyway. Use 75 meter inverted v with ladder line and also full wave loop for 160 meters also using ladder line.Plus use Al 1500 amp and Alpha 99 as well.Still have no problems So its money well spent I think.Quality ,yes there could be more improvements to this tuner.If enough folks dropped Paul a e-mail about their ideas maybe things can be even better.But there is a price to pay.You get what you pay for.Havent found anything better yet. Take care. Ted
W2MSK Rating: 2005-04-04
Early unit only Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a follow up to an earlier review. My experience is similar to the last two reviews, the early units are the good ones. The unit I purchased was based upon the description and picture from an earlier website. Roller inductor was massive according to the picture and the LED bar graph was still pictured as was a fan. The unit turned out to be much less well built than pictured. It arched on occasion and I was bit more than once by RF (unit installed and grounded properly). After using it for many months and experiencing quality issues (stiff roller inductor held in place by tie wraps) I got rid of it. If they ever produce a model built as the originals I would give it another chance. Current production is overrated and expensive.