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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
SM4MI Rating: 2003-02-09
GOOD QUALITY Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my first tuner who can handel 1KW without any problem. Many other tuners I have used with
specifications 1KW have not been able to handel this without problems.But AT4K does !
Hans
SM4MI
K9UVK Rating: 2002-07-22
Solid! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've had an MFJ969C (junk-now sitting on the shelf), top-of-the line Vectronics (higher end junk-gave it away); bought the Palstar AT4K last year and have been totally satisfied. I have not had one incident of sparking, as with the other tuners. It does cost more than the others, but it will last a lifetime. In total, I spent less on the Palstar than on buying and repairing the MFJ and Vectronics units. You do get what you pay for. Also, great people to do business with.
N4SL Rating: 2002-04-12
Review of PARTS inside Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I always homebrew everything associated with my antennas, feedlines, tuners, baluns, etc so I purchased the two caps and roller inductor from PalStar that come in this tuner and made my own 'T' type transmatch. I also use a 1:1 50Ohm choke balun on the INPUT side, this works great at QRO.

Well, golly, the roller inductor is a fabulous buy at $160 - this is much better than ones I've seen for $240! The caps are 17-500pF, 6KV jobbers that are really super. The extra tuning range you get, especially on 160m, with 500pF is really worth the extra cost. Efficiency drops hard on 160m w/ low-Z loads and insufficient output C, the 500pF seems to fix all that.

Like others have said, Palstar's quality is MUCH higher than MFJ yet they aren't very much more money - some of their stuff is cheaper! The folks at Palstar need to get their products in every ham's face like MFJ does. I realize the market for high quality goods is smaller, but I sure do appreciate them being there, thanks Paul.

73, Steve N4SL Machias,WA CN88xa
VE7PLA Rating: 2002-01-12
Good Quality,Looks Good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Good solid tuner, tunes anything and is very user friendly.
Well worth the money.
WA4FOM Rating: 2002-01-08
Buy this tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Several hams have expressed a desire to have the
tuner's SWR bridge be more effective on low power
(i.e., < 3000W) ranges; all you have to do is ask
them and, as they say, ye shall receive. They
will modify the unit for you at no extra cost.
This is a BIG HONKING tuner, and will outlive
you, your kids, your transmitter, your amplifier,
and the absolute worst of loads you choose to
call antennas. This tuner is the living example
of the adage "you pays your money and you gets what
you pays for". No arcing, no sparking as with
other (MFJ, et al) tuners. As the boys at the
NRA say, the only way anyone will get it away
from you is to pry it from your cold, dead
fingers.
WL7M Rating: 2002-01-04
Excellent Quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
You get what you pay for. Having a need to better match some low frequency antennas to my Alpha 87a, I finally made the leap and bought the Palstar AT4K. Looks like this will be my last tuner! Excellent build quality, and it tunes just about anything to match! My Alpha seems very content now, running full power into antennas which were "not quite" right from a bandwidth perspective. Picky point: A bound manual would have been nice, rather than the collection of 15 inkjet printed pages, considering the price of the product. 73, Joe, WL7M
K0LU Rating: 2001-06-05
Looks Good Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Greetings. A short note on the tuner. WOW Replaced my 989c with this at4k. Took both covers off and could not believe the difference. I was nuts to run 1500 watts with the 989. I only wish that the at4k had a meter scale for lower power. Im sure this will be the last tuner I will buy.
KK7TT Rating: 2001-04-07
Quality,Quality,Quality Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
If you want the best, buy this tuner. Nothing equals this first class tuner. Tunes anything I run into it.
Thanks Palstar.

KD7GKO Rating: 2001-03-25
THE BEST TODAY Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I will keep it short an simple. Excellent componets and put together like they want to be in business a few years. The best part is they follow up their first rate product with even better customer service. Very rare combination these days. This replaces my Nye Viking.
K1XV Rating: 2000-08-16
King Kong of tuners Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This tuner caught my eye at Dayton in 1998 when I saw it as a prototype. It was the biggest roller inductor tuner built for amateur radio use I had ever seen. Had to have one.

I would like to echo the other reviews of this unit here on eHam, except that I do run 1200 watts plus through this unit, the most challenging match being a 2.5 to 1 unbalanced load on 160. This tuner handles it like it was nothing, and I havn't even switched in the padding capacitors. It has a small cooling fan for the inductor, and visitors to the shack mistake it for a desk top linear.

Recently I had need to obtain a small replacement part from Palstar (a pin that connects the band switch to the rod that turns it), and it was in my mailbox within 48 hours of my sending an e-mail, no charge.

The only place where Palstar falls short is in its lack of own self-promotion. This is an A1 Amateur radio equipment supplier in my book. This is the last tuner you will own, so why not buy it first?