The trick is to forget about the rating and read the actual reviews.
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Thoughts on these tuners
- Thread starter Heavy Metal
- Start date
Yup
Some love this and that other well and then theirs the negative and some are that just cause they donor like the manufacturer. Like one person said here, if it is not for MFJ ect buying this and that and all who will be manufacturing things for this?
Sometimes I choose against reviews and comes out great, sometime not so and sometimes awful but that's life.
A lot of reviews are written by people that have technical knowledge whatsoever and have no basis whatsoever on reality. As someone has already said, a G5RV at 30 feet is a fantastic all band antenna when you have not compared it to a REAL antenna and an FT-857 is a fantastic HF radio if it is your first such radio. Those with some real world experience with each of these examples know the difference. I count myself among those folks.
Absolutely! I always take online reviews with a grain of salt, whether it's amateur radio equipment or a restaurant.
I also take into consideration that some of the yahoos that poof their tuner and complain about it on Eham do it at legal limit power with a bad mismatch from the get go. Hey, what's that funny smell? I don't know what you're planning for an antenna, but would highly recommend that you borrow an analyzer to check it out and take notes for tuning points. It's very helpful and a real time saver. You can do it without running power through the antenna, too. Good luck and enjoy your new toys.
73,
Brett
I have several Tuners and will tell you now that I have 2 of the 962D models and can tell you they are rated at 800 Watts Output. You have to remember that the front saying 1.5 Kilowatt input does NOT mean it will take 1,500 Watt!! People are confused by this and that input rating is NOT the input that most people think as these Tuners were rated on a different input scale. Maybe C.K. or someone can explain this in a way you can understand it as I have tried explaining it but just don't know the proper way to do just that.
Just always remember with the writing on the front take half of the rated "Input Power" and that's what it will tak as far as power from an amplifier for example the 962D again says "1.5 Kilowatt so actually you can safely put 800 watts from an amplifier through the 962D. The owners manual tells you its rated at 800 watts and the advertisements say the 962D is a great match for the Ameritron AL811 (600 Watt) and 811H (800 Watt) amplifiers
Just always remember with the writing on the front take half of the rated "Input Power" and that's what it will tak as far as power from an amplifier for example the 962D again says "1.5 Kilowatt so actually you can safely put 800 watts from an amplifier through the 962D. The owners manual tells you its rated at 800 watts and the advertisements say the 962D is a great match for the Ameritron AL811 (600 Watt) and 811H (800 Watt) amplifiers
Again there seems to be a bit of confusion over average power and pep power ratings. About the only thing I can think of off hand that is rated in average power is coaxial cable. Everything else seems to be rated in pep.In reality a manufacturer can rate something for almost whatever he wants within reason. Where the idea of average ratings were one half that of pep however is beyond me. MFJ rates their stuff in pep so you have to remember that the true pep power is only rarely ever hit if things are adjusted properly. there is no way i would run 1500 watts into a tuner rated for 1500 watts as there are far too many variables that can derate that.Weird impedance's, especially really low impedance's with lots of reactance can REALLY derate the power rating of a tuner. Above I mentioned about literally burning up a Ten-Tec 200 watt tuner while running only 100 watts pep. the type of switch used on the inductor plays a big role in rating as well. A nice ceramic switch with large contacts and wide spacing is great. Avoid switches with plastic parts. Bread slicer type capacitors MUST have a strap across the rotor bearing as the bearing will severely limit the current capability of the capacitor. Vacuum variables are vastly superior for this application however they are vastly more expensive.
Can you replace the switches the three I was asking about to kinda need it up?
Spell check my good man.....spell check. I assume it was to be "Can you replace the switches? The three I was asking about, to kinda need (beef?) it up?
Not likely but you may. You would need a heavy decent switch with the same switch configuration and still small enough to fit but then again WHY would you buy something and then try and beef it up? Other parts may fail. Why not buy the proper thing in the first place?
Spell check my good man.....spell check. I assume it was to be "Can you replace the switches? The three I was asking about, to kinda need (beef?) it up?
Not likely but you may. You would need a heavy decent switch with the same switch configuration and still small enough to fit but then again WHY would you buy something and then try and beef it up? Other parts may fail. Why not buy the proper thing in the first place?
No was talking in if switch went bad need to replace beefing it up would be an idea with talking about a bigger/ I guess better type switch.
I think it is pretty much the same scale as antennas used to be rated by,.......... input power to the exciter/amp, not the antenna.
1500 watts @ 50% efficiency = 750.
So with these tuners like what I am wanting to get and the aka 986 989D half it to be safe which brings them to 1500 vs the 962 which would be 750
You can always replace the switch eith an original from the manufacturer but it would be better to try and find a heavier switch that would work.
Antenns have never been rated as power input to the exciter or amp. That would be pointless. What if the exciter was class ab versus a class C CW transmitter? Two different power oitpits for the same power input. Also what about feedline losses? I think some of you are confusing the old way trsnsmitters and amps wete rated in DC input powet versus RF output power. This was never applied to things like antennas or tuners etc. The big thing to remember is that today things are rated in pep power not average power.Cut that rating in half to be safe.
MFJ originally listed the 989C as a 3000 watt tuner. They took a little heat over that. I have a friend that poofed his 962D with an 811H. Turned out to be bad SWR due to a coax jumper. Gotta watch those meters... I had an issue with my coax recently, but thankfully caught it before anything popped. SWR was jumping all over the place.
Follow the tuning instructions (low power to find your match, then tune the amp, then increase your output), and I don't think anyone has mentioned... don't switch your antenna/dummy load switch while transmitting. Unkey, move the switch, then key again. I have heard many stories of guys that say they blew a wafer switch by goofing up this way.
73,
Brett
I have a friend that poofed his 962D with an 811H. Turned out to be bad SWR due to a coax jumper. Gotta watch those meters... I had an issue with my coax recently, but thankfully caught it before anything popped. SWR was jumping all over the place.Follow the tuning instructions (low power to find your match, then tune the amp, then increase your output), and I don't think anyone has mentioned... don't switch your antenna/dummy load switch while transmitting. Unkey, move the switch, then key again. I have heard many stories of guys that say they blew a wafer switch by goofing up this way.
73,
Brett
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