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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
K8WX Rating: 2000-08-16
The last tuner you will need to buy! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Yes it is pricy. But what would I have them reduce the quality of. The very high quality LARGE roller inductor? The mammoth input balun? The killer antenna switch? The pro paint finish that is tough enough to last? The 4KW rating? This thing is tough and built to last.

I have tried it on a 75 meter full wave loop fed with 450 ladder and it tuned 80-10 no problem.

Connected up a 44' verticle dipole fed with 450 ladder line and it tuned 40-10 no problem. Settings are reproduceable over and over for quick band changes.

I will erect a 160 meter inverted L soon and feed it with 213. The AT4K has 750PF extra capacitance that can be switched in via a front panel switch to allow LO-Z matching. This should allow a quick easy match on 160.

I will never run the power this unit is capable of handling but I will never worry about it smoking when I need to go from my usual 500-600 watts to 1500 watts.

I see on the Palstar web site they now have a version of this unit that is just the tuner without some of the things like an antenna switch for $695. Considering that this should be the last tuner I will need to buy I am happy with the loaded model, but if you never get off of one band or antenna but need high power this might work for you.

I do not work for or know anybody at Palstar. Before I bought I sent and email question and got a quick accurate reply. I tried calling and asking for the head guy, and they put him on the phone. I was satisfied that customers were going to be paid attention to and placed my order.

Bob K8WX
K7NA Rating: 2000-04-29
THE High Power Network for Balanced Feeders! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The AT4K is rather unique as American made
impedance matching networks go. The
demise years ago of the Johnson Matchbox
left a real void for a matching network that
would truely provide a balanced output when
using the popular 450 ohm "ladderline" or 600
ohm open wire "Zepp" feeders. This is where
the AT4K enters the picture. The unit is the
only matching network on the American
market (that I am aware of) to utilize a 1:1
balanced-to-unbalanced transformer in the
INPUT of the network where, when the
network is properly tuned, a 50 ohm
impedance will be presented both to the input
and output of the balun, thus allowing it to
properly perform its important transformation
job. This contrasts sharply with the typical
unbalanced tuner with a 4:1 balun at the
OUTPUT, which, when used with most
mutliband doublets, exposes the balun to a
wide variety of impedances and reactance that
it was never designed to handle. Now, I do
not currently own the beautifully built, well
thought out AT4K (I wish I did!) but I personally
beta tested a 300-watt version of this device
for its manufacturer, Palstar, Inc. of Ohio (see
their excellent website at
www.palstarinc.com). I used a 120' horizontal
flatop doublet up 50', center fed with about 75'
of 450 ohm ladderline. Tests conducted with a
popular unbalanced American made
matching network that utilized an internal
so-called 4:1 current balun resulted in
reasonable current balance on the two feeder
wires on 80 and 40 meters but became
progressively more unbalanced as the
frequency was increased until 15 and 10
meters presented a marked unbalanced
situation, resulting in RFI around the house.
For an explanation of why this occurs, see
Rich Measures' excellent website at
www.vcnet.com/measures ("A Balanced
Balanced Antenna Tuner"). Tests run on the
Palstar beta unit resulted in balanced current
on both feeder wires up through 10 meters,
similar to what I experienced on a Johnson
Matchbox. The point is, the AT4K will perform
extremely well whether coax or balanced
feeders are being used and will handle high
power with relative ease. If you can not get
your hands on a Johnson KW Matchbox
(which has a rather limited matching range)
you owe it to yourself and your signal to take a
peek at Palstar's website for photos and info
on this unusual and extremely versitile
matching instrument.