[Elecraft] Autotuners and transmitter longevity

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Most well-designed rigs are protected against sporadic high SWR's. I'd be
much more concerned with arcing in the relays inside the tuner. Nothing
destroys relay contacts like switching them "hot". Elecraft's tuners reduce
output power during tune to minimize that danger. Like you said, that isn't
always the case with external or remote tuners. 

Ron AC7AC