This is for anyone thinking about an external automatic antenna tuner.
It is not meant as an endorsement or indictment of these devices.
I operate CW, digital, and once in a while SSB. Because of the vastly
different operating frequencies, no one antenna can work perfectly on every
one. My IC-746 (non-Pro) has a very good auto-tuner built in, but it wasn't
quite good enough to cover all the frequencies I use. I decided to get an
external ATU. I decided on the LDG AT-200Pro and have been using it now for
several months.
The tuner works great. It tunes quickly on a new frequency, and has more
than enough memories to remember all the various settings for all the bands
and frequencies I operate on. It also has manual overrides should they be
needed.
However, there is one thing the tuner will NOT do. It will not remember
any band or frequency, until the transmitter is keyed.
For example: I operate CW on 14.035 for a period of time. I then have a
CW sked on 18.075. After the sked I move back to 14.035. The tuner is still
set for the last transmission, which was on 18.075. Until I transmit on
14.035 again, the signals are a bit attenuated, since the tuner is set for a
different frequency.
My IC-746 built-in tuner "remembered" the tuner settings for each band.
In fact, I believe with the triple-stacking band registers that it would
remember three settings per band. I suspect most modern rigs probably have
the same performance.
To be fair, it only takes a very short time to transmit a low-power
"pulse" that will activate the tuner's memory for the frequency, but it IS
an extra step that may not be welcome when working a contest or DX.
In my situation, the ability to quickly tune a wide variety of
frequencies quickly, outweighs the downside stated. I only point this out
for benefit of anyone considering the addition of an outboard tuner.
73
Dave
KB3MOW
