You're right about the 440 tuner, Butch.  I was somewhat leery of the tuner 
in the K3 which, of course is a relay tuner, but it turns out to be much 
better than the one in the 440.  it even matches the G5RV on 30 meters which 
none of my other tuners, including the Dentron super tuner would do.  lou 
WA3MIX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Butch Bussen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 12:39 PM
Subject: Re: auto antenna tuner


> How much did these Palstars go for?  I remember my tuner in my 440, it
> was actually motor driven, not like all the relay driven stuff you see
> these days.  I think my 690 was the same, not so with the 2000.
> 73
> Butch Bussen
> wa0vjr
> open Node 3148
> Las Vegas
>
>
> On Fri, 17
> Sep 2010, Steve Dresser wrote:
>
>> Steve,
>>
>> Interesting.  You've given me more info than I had, and maybe even a 
>> third
>> option:  Somebody somewhere may be looking to get rid of the Palstar for
>> less than the original price.  I like the idea of the motor-driven roller
>> inductors.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Steve Forst" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 11:10
>> Subject: Re: auto antenna tuner
>>
>>
>>> Steve,
>>>
>>> Well I did take a deep breath before ordering.   While I have never had
>>> a lot of MFJ stuff, the stuff I've had over the years has all worked
>>> fine.   I know others haven't been so lucky, but I've had this one over
>>> 2 years with  no problems.
>>>
>>> I can't compare to the LDG since I've never owned one.   At the time of
>>> purchase I did compare the specs for both.   The LDG had 6 meter
>>> coverage, but I work very little 6M and no amp, so no big deal.   The
>>> MFJ offered higher power (1.5K vs. 1K)  as well as the ability to
>>> automatically lower rf drive and change to cw for tuning, while the LDG
>>> required you to do all that manually.   The MFJ also had the amp relay
>>> connections.   Of course LDG may have  something out today with more
>>> features.
>>>
>>> Truth is, I've switched the MFJ and the Palstar manual tuner in  and out
>>> of the system a number of times over the past 2 years.   Each has it's
>>> benefits.   I would have loved a Palstar auto tuner, but too rich for
>>> me.    The Palstar auto had a motor driven roller inductor and either 1
>>> or 2 moter driven caps.    It just went out of production, but a new one
>>> is coming soon, although I've not seen any specs on it.
>>>
>>> 73, Steve KW3A
>>>
>>> On 9/17/2010 10:25 AM, Steve Dresser wrote:
>>>> Steve,
>>>>
>>>> How do you think your MFJ auto-tuner stacks up against LDG's AT-1000?
>>>> I'm
>>>> sure the MFJ is cheaper, but based on things I've heard about other MFJ
>>>> tuners, I wonder how reliable the internal components are.
>>>>
>>>> Steve
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Steve Forst"<[log in to unmask]>
>>>> To:<[log in to unmask]>
>>>> Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 10:05
>>>> Subject: Re: auto antenna tuner
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Butch,
>>>>>
>>>>> I have a MFJ-998 in the shack.  I'd give it a 4 out of 5 rating.   It
>>>>> will handle 1500 watts, which is more then  my AL-80B or THP solid 
>>>>> state
>>>>> amp will put out.  The problem I think you will find with  auto tuners
>>>>> including the ones built into the radio is limited matching range due 
>>>>> to
>>>>> the fixed values of L and C. You won't be able to load your
>>>>> grandmother's walker on 40 meters.
>>>>> It has a ton of memories and up and down L and C buttons so you can 
>>>>> find
>>>>> a match manually if the auto function can't.   An optional 20$ cable
>>>>> will interface to many rigs, and when connected this way hitting the
>>>>> auto tune button on the rig bypasses the internal tuner, puts the rig
>>>>> into cw mode at low power for the tune  process, then returns to
>>>>> original mode and   power when tuning is complete.  If the amp relay
>>>>> jacks on the tuner are connected between the amp and radio,  the amp
>>>>> will be bypassed during tune up.   This relay is also supposed to
>>>>> prevent the amp from keying in the event of a high swr, but I can't 
>>>>> say
>>>>> that I've really  tested this function fully.
>>>>>
>>>>> There are some menus for which sighted help would be needed, but they
>>>>> are the set it and forget it type of stuff.   Things like swr point at
>>>>> which it should  start looking for a better match, and swr point for 
>>>>> the
>>>>> amp relay to bypass the amp.
>>>>>
>>>>> 73, Steve KW3A
>>>>>
>>>
>>
>>