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N2VZ Enterprises Turbo Tuner out of Biz

Discussion in 'General Announcements' started by N5VAE, Jan 17, 2013.

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  1. N5VAE

    N5VAE Guest

    Not sure what to say really?

    I had a Turbo Tuner ordered since October 2012. Sadly, It never arrived...

    I left numerous emails and finally called their number. They are out of Business, which is sad. Looked like a good product!

    HRO has officially dropped their line as well.
     
  2. AD0AR

    AD0AR Ham Member QRZ Page

    I emailed them about a month ago about that "turbo loop" they were advertising and I never got a reply back. Now I know why.
     
  3. KC0W

    KC0W Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    I use my Turbo Tuner literally daily from my mobile & have been now for the past 2+ years. Had zero issues with it. It controls my Scorpion screwdriver antenna from the Kenwood TS-480. At the time of purchase Turbo Tuner was (still is?) the only brand of automatic screwdriver antenna controllers which works with the Kenwood 480. I have no interest in controlling my antenna manually with a rocker switch. This was my main reason for purchasing the automatic Turbo Tuner controller.

    My biggest complaint regarding the Turbo Tuner is in it's inability to tune the screwdriver for the next higher band. It's simply not "smart" enough. If one is operating on 20 meters & you want to QSY to 17 meters, the Turbo Tuner cycles thru 30, 40, 75, 80, 75, 40, 30, 20 and then finally finds 17 meters. Long story short, the antenna must fully reach the end of the line (80 meters) before contraction begins and 17 meters is achieved. Whole process can take a long time especially when the outside temperature is 20F or less. This is more of a screwdriver issue, but nonetheless. Last winter while it was -42 outside & it took over 10 minutes to QSY from 20 to 17 meters.

    If you live in a cold climate you will want to adjust the supply voltage from the Turbo Tuner to the screwdriver accordingly. The colder it is the more milliamp's from the Turbo Tuner are needed to operate the antenna. Your mileage may vary but this is the only way I can get it to play with my screwdriver in the winter months.

    The owner of Turbo Tuner always treated me right during my handful of calls to him over the past few years regarding installation & operating questions...............Another one bites the dust I guess.



    Operating CW mobile from ND,





    Tom KCØW
     
  4. N4UFO

    N4UFO Ham Member QRZ Page

    I have never heard of him/them... a QRZ lookup says N2VZ is located on the NJ coast; right ON the water. Most likely affected by Sandy.

    I'm sorry for he and his family's situation, no doubt... but after a google search, you might be ultimately glad that they closed before you could do any business with them.

    http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?207554-N2VZ-Enterprises-Avoid-like-the-plague!!!

    http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,78382.0.html

    http://www.bbb.org/south-east-flori...t-retail/n2vz-enterprises-in-wall-nj-90040083
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2013
  5. W4PG

    W4PG QRZ Lifetime Member #279 Platinum Subscriber Life Member QRZ Page

    My turbo tuner does not do that. I goes directly to the band I want in seconds with my Tarheel screwdriver. I've been using it on an IC-706 Mark II G for years with no problems.

    .............Bob
     
  6. KC0W

    KC0W Premium Subscriber QRZ Page


    Interesting.

    One of my calls to the owner of Turbo Tuner a few years ago was directly related to this issue. He basically stated this was the Achilles heal of the product when used with a TS-480................Surely there must be an owner of a 480 who is also using a Turbo Tuner who would like to pipe up?




    Tom KCØW
     
  7. W4PG

    W4PG QRZ Lifetime Member #279 Platinum Subscriber Life Member QRZ Page

    I can't believe there is something about the brain-dead Icom CI-V fiasco that actually works better than the Kenwood protocol! It must be something else!!
     
  8. AC2FO

    AC2FO Ham Member QRZ Page

    My turbo tuner does exactly what he says if you are moving up in band it is ok but to go down it must cycle to the end. Yes I am using a ts -480
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2013
  9. N5VAE

    N5VAE Guest

    I originally purchased a Turbo Tuner in 2009 but never had a chance to use it. I never got it to work from day one with my IC-7000 and Tarheel antenna.

    When I sent it in for them to look at they claimed I fried the main board. Funny, as it never worked from day one. I was told I was out of luck, so I purchased the programmable controller instead.

    When Bill, the owner heard this from a representative of HRO in October of 2012, he took it upon himself to contact the owner of the Turbo Tuner. They of course, went back through the emails and I received a personal phone call from Bill himself, explaining he would be shipping me a brand new Turbo Turner free of charge!

    So of course, I was pretty excited after a couple of years, a chance to redeem the "Turbo Tuner" name in my opinion. Then early December arrives, and I had still not received the Turbo Tuner. After speaking with a representative at HRO they explained they were affected by Hurricane Sandy.

    I understood the situation however, we are almost at the end of January and I still had not heard from anyone. After several emails I again contacted HRO who were kind enough to work this deal on my behalf, they explained that Bill had apparently shut his doors down without letting anyone know. His phone number has been disconnected. This obviously left HRO no choice but to discontinue their product.

    I even went ahead and sold my programmable controller on QRZ in November in anticipation for the arrival of the Turbo Tuner, been using the rocker switch (Big pain)!

    To this day, I have been unable to use a Turbo Tuner...

    So there's my story. I am sure there are others...



     
  10. KE5EUA

    KE5EUA Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Same here, now I know why I never got a email.

    It does suck about them going out of business. I had bought a Turbo Tuner back in 2008 for my IC-7000 and loved it, I was planning on getting a couple more for a new project. Now I have to look for an alternative.
     
  11. WA6MHZ

    WA6MHZ Ham Member QRZ Page

    If they are outta business, maybe they will sell the design so someone else can make it (and improve the design fixing the issues). I am sure MFJ would be interested. Wish I could too, but I can't convince the boss to make ham radio products. he thinks the place should make all this stuff we do now, yet we have a hard time selling it. Bet we could sell LOTSA Turbo Tuners!
     
  12. KC0W

    KC0W Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Reverse engineer it.

    I really don't know what kind of a market it might command though. The direct competition would be the Better RF screwdriver controller which is the de facto controller for the IC-7000. MFJ has also got into the screwdriver controller game as well with their MFJ-1924.




    Tom KCØW
     
  13. W4PG

    W4PG QRZ Lifetime Member #279 Platinum Subscriber Life Member QRZ Page

    I'm not familiar with that controller for the '7000. I bought a Turbo Tuner for the 7000 a couple of years ago when I thought I was going to replace my 706 MK II, but I never did get the 7000. The Turbo Tuner is still in the box it was mailed to me in . . . . guess I'll take it to Dayton and sell it maybe. You need it??

    ...............Bob
     
  14. N5MOA

    N5MOA Subscriber QRZ Page

    Mine works just fine with my 480, going up or down a band. Or 2.
     
  15. KE5EUA

    KE5EUA Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    The only competition I have come across is the Better RF unit that is mainly for the 7000. The Antenna Boss & Antenna Boss II by W4RT are "Temporarily discontinued".

    I liked the idea behind the Turbo Tuner. Hook it up, press tune and its does its own thing. I know MFJ makes a programable tuner, but if I take the whip off and attached a wire to it the programs are no longer valid and I have to manually tune. The Turbo Tuner didn't care, it looked for the lowest SWR and tuned to that.
     
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