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AmateurLogic Shorts 4: Unboxing the Icom AH-705 Compact Auto Tuner, one screw at a time.

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by W5JDX, Apr 23, 2021.

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  1. W5JDX

    W5JDX Ham Member QRZ Page


    AmateurLogic Shorts 4: A Peek Inside The New Icom AH-705 Tuner
    Unboxing the Icom AH-705 Compact Auto Tuner, one screw at a time.
     
    ZS1SBW, W3OT, VA3ZYZ and 7 others like this.
  2. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Now its clear why the auto tuner for the IC -705 is not cheap: its complex, and works great. The price represents the value.

    Some may be willing to deal with a manual tuner at a fraction of the price. Since I try to optimize by volume (not convenience) this made sense for me.

    If you need the convenience the AH-705 is for you.

    73
    Chip W1YW
     
    TF3JA and VE3MIC like this.
  3. KK4YDR

    KK4YDR Ham Member QRZ Page

    For being such a portable tuner that thing is HUGE in my opinion. But seems well built to Japanese hi quality specs. Will probably outlive all of us reading about it.

    I do love the MAT705 Plus though, very small and can tune anything I toss at it (almost) within a large margin of reason.

    I bet the ICOM is a good performer though.
     
    W1YW likes this.
  4. N6NLX

    N6NLX Ham Member QRZ Page

    And people say that Elecraft is an elitist radio.
     
    KN4DQE, N1RBD, AJ6KZ and 1 other person like this.
  5. KJ7MJR

    KJ7MJR Ham Member QRZ Page

    Yeah the AH-705 looks like a nice tuner. I ordered and just received the Eleceraft T1 and it works good. Will be nice when they have the cable so its more auto like. But I imagine I will probably be getting the Icom tuner at some point. The IC-705 is here to stay a while so why not.
     
    TF3JA likes this.
  6. M7BLC

    M7BLC Ham Member QRZ Page

    Nice but at a big price which is on top of the already expensive 705 - should have been built into the 705 from the outset. Big fail in my book all round and makes the 705 ridiculously expensive for what it offers. Better value to be found elsewhere .
     
    NU4R, N1RBD and US7IGN like this.
  7. US7IGN

    US7IGN Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    It doesn't even have automatic frequency detection for tuning...
     
    W5CJA, AJ6KZ and WN1MB like this.
  8. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Nor needs it.

    Weight and volume are the issues.

    With the generally poor and high Q antennas used in portable operations, it is more important to worry about tuning as you change frequency within a band, not bands themselves. Otherwise you have to re-tune manually as you go up the band. Bands are just a switch position on the tuner, as they should be.
     
  9. KM1NDY

    KM1NDY Ham Member QRZ Page

    My biggest issue with the 705 too. I am really growing to like it a lot, but more as a receiver. I haven't made a single hf contact yet because I don't have a tuner for it yet and have not wanted to deal with operating portable with a perfectly resonant antenna.

    Regardless of price, I am not happy to need an extra external device for this radio. It defeats the purpose! I will be even less happy when Icom includes one in their next version of it.

    Mindy
     
    SQ6WE, N1RBD and AJ6KZ like this.
  10. M7BLC

    M7BLC Ham Member QRZ Page

    My sentiments exactly although if you look at my profile page Mindy you will see a photo of a 'cheap' Chinese made ATU based on a Ukranian's design which works brilliantly. It's possible to buy with an internal battery as well so Icom have really missed a trick by not building it in. 73
     
    AA5BK, N1RBD and KM1NDY like this.
  11. US7IGN

    US7IGN Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Maybe we mean different things. I mean the next use case - the tuner is always connected directly to the antenna and not to the cable that comes from a bad antenna. A small and light tuner like this one can easily be lifted up with the antenna wires. The tuner would be a kind of super-balun. So, only an antenna cable without a control wire should go to it. Instead, an existing processor plus a couple of penny parts could easily understand what frequency the radio switched to during transmission and automatically tune the antenna. Then the tuner would be perfect for the money.
     
    K0WJ likes this.
  12. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Frankly, you don't need a tuner. It's a choice made based on the antenna used.

    A tuner is just a fix for a component (antenna) that was not designed (usually by the ham ) to be compatible to match the system. A tuner is a band aid.

    You need a better antenna. If you don't want a tuner.

    You certainly can get portable antennas that have a good SWR match-- without a tuner.

    73
    Chip W1YW
     
    2E0HVK and N1RBD like this.
  13. KM1NDY

    KM1NDY Ham Member QRZ Page

    Hi Chip:

    No argument here. My preference is some type of multiband wire, a tuner and a 100W radio to make up for a poor antenna.

    That said it's not always easy to get a decent resonant antenna out of 2-3 range swr range when portable. It requires analyzers, adjustments, and monobands (or futzing around), which I do not always prefer or have time/energy for. I think it's the reason why so many of wish the 705 had an internal tuner.

    I'd rather try to make contacts on a bad antenna through a matching unit (even with a qrp rig) than worry I am going to ruin my radio pressing the ptt.

    Mindy
     
    VE3TSV, K0YO, K6QAZ and 1 other person like this.
  14. M7BLC

    M7BLC Ham Member QRZ Page

    As a newbie (but 67 !) I am still at the initial learning and experimenting stage and being short of cash have a budget that forces compromise. My (budget) X80 vertical multiband demands an external tuner (the internal on my FT450D is not powerful enough) and my (very budget) 1/2 wave horizontal wire dipole also needs help on several bands. I also have a single loop magnetic loop antenna 20-10 meters that with it's air-space capacitor set right mid band can be tuned across 20 meters by the atu saving huge amounts of time and fiddly adjustment. This makes it a great candidate for QRP field operations when I finally get my second jab :). All I need is a transceiver with built in battery and atu that can give 10-20 watts for say 4 hours at a time and life is good. I expect the Chinese will get there first Icom !
     
    W1YW likes this.
  15. N1IPU

    N1IPU Ham Member QRZ Page

    I considered the 705 and tried one out. I wasn't impressed. The tuner seals the deal. I don't back pack so I don't see the need. I am hoping Yaesu gets with the program soon in this area as they really made it all happen to start with. Just hoping someone considerers a simple rugged radio instead of feature packed ones for bragging rights.
    Another thought would be someone to make a digital only rig incorporating all you would need for that. Just plug a keyboard and monitor in and your good to go. Having to switch back and forth to do phone is still a pain so having a separate digital rig would be cool for me. Right now I am doing it with two 891s. Its perfect for Phone but al lot of cables and gear for js8. A digital only rig would be great.
     

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