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Reviews For: Ameritron SDC 102

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

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Review Summary For : Ameritron SDC 102
Reviews: 13MSRP: 129.00
Description:
Screwdriver Controller
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ameritron.com/Product.php?productid=SDC-102
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00132.6
W6IWW Rating: 2012-01-20
Excellent! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a an excellent product, don't let the Ameritron brand scare you off. This is truly plug and play if you have a Tarheel as I do. After spending 3 minutes wiring up the 12vdc, it connected with the motor cables immediately now that Ameritron ships this item with the Molex adapter wired in. It took exactly zero time to calibrate the switch. I was immediately able to tune to any freq I wanted with the up/down buttons and then set the memories as I wanted them. Ive been using this for a couple of months and it has NEVER made a mistake. SWR of course shifts with terrain, weather, slips in the antenna mount. movement of cables etc. So when I hit a memory button it always tunes to an acceptable SWR... somewhere between 1.2 and 2.0. If u are an SWR freak (I am not) you merely tap the up or down button for a 1/4 second and u will get a flat match. This is a far superior product to the more expensive Turbo Tuner owned by friends of mine. With the TT you have NO manual over ride control and if the memory in the unit slips up ur SOL. I highly recommend this unit. Works like a charm.
KQ4KK Rating: 2010-09-05
Spot on. Works as Advertised Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have installed 2. The first one was in our County EOC HAM trailer with a large Tar Heel. The County bought the whole package from the TarHeel Dealer, so the right 4 pin connector was on the end of the controller. Plug and play. Used a MFJ 259 analyzer to get the correct turn readings before keying up the radio. Just make sure you "zeroize" after use. Then the next time the counting is correct. Sometimes you might have to hit the up or down button for a less than one turn correction, while watching the SWR meter on the HF.
Liked the controller so much, I bought one for my own Little Tarheel 2 on my van. Replacing a trouble prown TurboTuner(which I've had for years). I bought the SDC102 from a dealer OTHER than the TarHeel dealer, so I had to add the 4 wire connector to the controller. Not quite plug and play(solder and play). The TarHeel Manual gave the correct Trip Current setting to use for the SDC-102, and the SDC manual gave a warning to make sure you set it correctly. Again, used a MFJ 259 to get the turn counts for the freqs I use. Second one works as well as the first. I like the ability to "fine tune" the screwdriver setting, watching the SWR meter on the HF. With the Turbo Tuner, you you are SOL if it is having issues.
WB9SFM Rating: 2009-10-01
Needs better Manual Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Ameritron SDC 102 is a antenna controller for screwdriver based antenna (s) with some limitations. The manual does not define exactly what Ameritron recommends (voltage settings)for any particular screwdriver antenna. Ameritron does not give you the connector (for example) for molex wire configurations (tarheel antennas). Purchase the controller from WB0W and they will give you the connector. Ameritron needs to give better instructions on Menu configurations (i.e. Trip current, et.al.)/settings. The unit I purchased would send 12v but would not trigger the counter to advance, thus trying to make memory settings of frequency adjustments a no will situation. The unit will raise and lower the antenna but I found the controller with faults. A over-priced switch.