Sunday, June 15, 2014

The LDG Antenna Tuners Seem To Do A Nice Job

AT-600 Pro II
  I have been doing some research on the LDG Antenna Tuners . The AT-600 Pro II automatic antenna tuner gets a 4.4 out of 5 rating on eham.net, which is not a bad rating. Although there were only nine reviews they were all good. I have heard that they can seem a bit noisy when they are going through the automatic tuning process. If you would like to see a video on the AT-600 Pro II Antenna Tuner check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPLxPb-Umxw . I myself run the MFJ 993b auto tuner and when it auto tunes it can make some noise, but it only lasts for a few moments. The LDG AT-600 Pro II seems to be the same way, so it is not a big problem. My advise would be to buy one of the LDG meters they sell depending on what radio you are going to use it with. It is capable of handling 600 watts on ssb, which is not that bad. I have heard some stations running 200 watts to 500 watts and they sound awesome. It all depends on what antenna you are using and how much it multiplies the signal. Below are some of the specifications on the LDG AT-600 Pro II.
  • 600 Watts SSB and CW, 250 watts on 6M. 250 watts PSK and digital. - Easy to read LED bar graph display for RF power, SWR and status
  • 4,000 memories for instantaneous band changing - Two position antenna switch with memories for each position
  • Tuning time: 0.5 to 6 seconds full tune, 0.1 second memory tune - Built in frequency counter for memory operation
  • Frequency coverage: 1.8 to 54.0 MHz. - Tunes 6 to 800 ohm loads (16 to 150 ohms on 6M)
  • Enclosure: 10.5D x 8.5W x 2.5H inches - Weight: 3 pounds - Includes DC power cable.


AT-200 Pro II
 LDG Electronics makes some other Automatic SWR Antenna Tuners that will handle a little lower output wattage. Also as a note there are various LDG Meters  that can be used with the different antenna tuners and there may be a special cable for the tuner and meter.  The next Automatic SWR Antenna Tuner from LDG Electronics I would recommend is the LDG AT-200 Pro II. It will handle 250 Watts SSB and CW, 100 Watts on 6 Meters and  75 Watts with PSK and Also Digital modes. One of the nice options is that the LDG Antenna Tuners carry a 2 year Warranty, which can come in handy in case of problems. As with all Electronics MURPHY S LAW RULES.  If you do not know what murphy s law is I will tell you. What can go wrong will go wrong. That was taught long ago to me in college in Electrical Engineering Hi Hi. I did notice that with this model you get a mixed bag of reviews at eham.net from 5 down to 0. I am sure some could be just a faulty device or due to mother nature. As Forest Gump said it happens. Here are some of the details below on this model.
  • 5 to 250 watts SSB and CW. 100 watts on 6M. 75 watts with PSK or digital modes. - Easy to read LED bargraph display for RF power, SWR and status
  • LEDs for Antenna Position and Bypass - 4,000 memories (2000 for each antenna) for instantaneous band changing - Two position antenna switch with memories for four antennas on each position
  • Tuning time: 0.5 to 6 seconds full tune, < 0.1 second memory tune - Built in frequency counter for memory operation
  • Frequency coverage: 1.8 to 54.0 MHz. - Tunes 6 to 800 ohm loads (16 to 150 ohms on 6M), 6 to 3600 ohms with optional 4:1 Balun (LDG RBA 4-1) - For Dipoles, Verticals, Vees, Beams or and Coax Fed Antenna
  • Includes 6' DC power cable - Enclosure: 9.5D x 7.1W x 2.0H inches - Weight: 2 pounds
AT-100 Pro II
    The Next Automatic SWR Antenna Tuner in this category would be the LDG AT-100 Pro II. It will handle wattage from 1 watt to 125 watts. I probably would suggest to keep it at no more than 100 watts. This would make a nice antenna tuner for a radio that puts out no more than 100 watts. It will operate from 1.8 mhz to 54 mhz, in other words from 160 meters to 6 meters, which is not bad. It does hold a 4.7 out of 5 rating with 12 reviews, which is not bad at all. Here is a link to a review from 2009 http://youtu.be/7G9sPeI80gE . Below are some of the specifications on the LDG AT-100 Pro II auto tuner.
  • 1 to 125 watt power range (SSB and CW, 30W on PSK), 100W on 6M. - Easy to read LED bargraph display for RF power, SWR, status. LED indicator for antenna selection and bypass.
  • 4000 memories for instantaneous band changing. - Two position antenna switch. Separate memories for each antenna.
  • Tuning time: 0.5 to 6 seconds full tune, 0.2 sec memory. - Selectable user parameters: Auto/Semi, 125/12.5 watt scale, autotuning threshold and more.
  • 1.8 to 54.0 MHz coverage. Built-in frequency sensor. - Tunes 6 to 1000 ohm loads (16 to 150 on 6M),. - For Dipoles, Verticals, Vs, Beams or and Coax Fed Antenna.
  • Includes DC power cable. - Power requirements: 11 to 16 volts DC at 500 mA Max. - Small Size Enclosure: 7.5"D x 5.5"W x 2.0"H. Weight: 1.5 pounds.
 Finally LDG does have an automatic swr antenna tuner in this category for someone running High Power. It is the LDG AT-1000 Pro II Automatic SWR Antenna Tuner. It will handle 1500 Watts. A nice option is that it comes with a cross needle meter built in the front of the case. You can also purchase this model for a slightly lower price without the cross needle meter in the case. I would also like to add that LDG does make quite a few other Automatic SWR Antenna Tuners that I did not mention. Some are for mobile use and others will work very well in base station situations. There are many different videos on youtube that you can watch to get a really good feeling on whatever model you prefer.

I would just like to say thank you for reading from Dan KC2YTI 73s.
                                HAPPY FATHERS DAY !!!!! 

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