[Elecraft] Suggestions needed - antenna to tuner

[Bob McGraw K4TAX]

Why not ground the antenna and feed it as a Unipole?  Most AM BC 
stations are doing that these days.  They also use a remote tuner, 
although it is usually a fixed network as they only use one frequency.  
That way the reflected power on the line is nil.

73

Bob, K4TAX


On 2/13/2018 12:29 PM, Chris Hallinan wrote:
> I have been using MFJ tuners outside (MFJ-927) on a 43' vertical in
> southwest Florida for many years.  The only complaint I have is that they
> don't get along with thunderstorms.  I've probably gone through half dozen
> of these over the years.  However, it's worth it to me because when they
> work, they work well.  Outside in Florida sun and summer rains and salt air
> is probably one of the most hostile environments for any electronics.  And
> I don't protect them in any way so I'm amazed they work as long as they
> do.  The only mod I make is to replace the ground lug with stainless steel
> hardware.
>
> When there is a threat of lightning, I ground the antenna (I have a large
> wing nut for that) and disconnect the tuner.  If I forget, I might have to
> buy a new one ;)
>
> I love the idea of remote tuners - avoids the losses associated with coax
> and high SWR.
>
> 73,
>
> Chris
>
> On Tue, Feb 13, 2018 at 10:55 AM, Frank Stein <fstein at ieee.org> wrote:
>
>> I was thinking of a similar remote setup, wondering which remote autotuner
>> is recommended?
>> Thanks,
>> Frank w4tg
>>
>> On Feb 13, 2018 8:56 AM, "Chris Hallinan" <challinan at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I have a very similar setup.  K3 -> KPA500 -> MFJ 994BRT 600W autotuner
>>> mounted remote -> Balun Designs 4:1 -> 600 Ohm open wire line to 80 m
>>> doublet.
>>>
>>> It works fantastic on 80-20, but will not tune better than about 2:1 on
>>> 17.  I cannot use the KPA500 on 17 because the SWR is too high.  Nothing
>>> I've tried works.  I'm wondering if it is simply the tuning
>>> range/resolution of the MFJ-994BRT?  I like the idea of remote mounting,
>>> as
>>> I have only a couple feet of coax between the tuner and the balun, thus
>>> minimizing SWR-related feedline loss.
>>>
>>> Any suggestions for how to get it to tune on 17?
>>>
>>> 73
>>> Chris - K1AY
>>> Punta Gorda, FL
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Feb 12, 2018 at 12:16 PM, John W2XS <jm416 at optonline.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I replaced my Johnson Matchbox with a Balun Designs tuner balun. The
>>>> biggest
>>>> benefit is that the K3 ATU remembers the settings from band to band so
>>> the
>>>> QSY is very rapid. I love watching the DX spots come rolling through on
>>> my
>>>> N3FJP logging program and clicking on them to QSY to that frequency and
>>> not
>>>> have to tune up again. I use it on 80 through 6 meters with an 80m
>>> doublet
>>>> fed with KW ladder line (300 ohm).
>>>>
>>>> My recommendation is to keep the piece of coax from the balun to the
>>> rig as
>>>> short as possible.  This is to minimize loss since that line will most
>>>> likely be highly mis-matched on most bands. There was a QST article not
>>>> that
>>>> long ago which detailed the losses in that situation and I was
>>> surprised at
>>>> how high they were.
>>>>
>>>> I once had an MFJ balanced RF Ammeter and made measurements of the JMB
>>> vs.
>>>> the balun and they compared favorably.  DJ0IP (referenced earlier) has
>>>> kindly put those measurements on his website. (This is in the FWIW
>>>> category!)
>>>>
>>>> I have not tried to substitute the tuner balun with another type but
>>> that
>>>> might be a future experiment.
>>>>
>>>> 73, John W2XS
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Sent from: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Life is like Linux - it never stands still.
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>