No tuner is a must for my go bag. A resonant antenna and a couple of mags of ammo is. Using a tuner is fine if your into it but not something you should learn to rely on.
For the price of that tuner you can buy the multi band PAR endfedz , and a jackite pole to run them up. And still have money left over. That thing is pretty costly.
Geeze, you guys kill me. Yeah, OK, resonant antennas are the way to go for a QRP rig. But hey, this is the real world. A lot of folks (like me) operate across wide swaths of frequencies and don't have the time or space to hang a 100' folded dipole while working POTA activations, to get that magic 'wide-band resonance'. Tuners like the T1 actually allow us to enjoy operating our radios without having to worry about not damaging our rigs. I'm just waiting for Elecraft to release their IC-705 interface cable for the T1.
I have a T1 and its a very good tuner...However! I rarely use it as I use resonant antennas and reserve it for difficult cases. FYI the PAR EF 40/20/10 has been a goto antenna for over 15 years. When power out is low [QRP] adding a tuner is just adding some amount of loss you really don't need. the one thing the T1 will do is allow you to match your radios 50 ohm output to most anything however poor the radiator may actually be. Allison
I am having pretty good luck with my Antennas4Less SignaLoop HF-319 loop. It's not too expensive, only has one loop so there is less to carry and set up than the double loop ones or the outer/inner loop ones, covers 80 to 15 meters, comes apart small enough to fit in a laptop computer bag, sits on a simple (read cheap) camera tripod, and can be out of the bag assembled and on the air in about 2 or 3 minutes. The bar SWR graph on the IC-705 reads well enough and fast enough to make tuning the loop easy. No cross needle SWR/PWR meter needed. A 6' pigtail from the rig (BNC) to the loop tuner box (PL-259) and it's hooked up. With the loop next to the desk in my shack -- ground level -- inside the house under BIG trees -- and the 705 at 5 or 6 watts on FT8 I'm working everything in the east half of North America from north central Florida easily on 40 - 30 - 20. Even checked into a few SSB nets on 75 and 40! I also have and frequently use hamstick dipoles, a balun end fed wire with a tuner, and a fancy (read expensive) loop. About the same performance but a LOT less set up than hamsticks and WAY easier to change bands. Little less performance but easier/much quicker to set up than the wire. MUCH quicker to set up than the fancy loop.
There's nothing wrong with using tuners on any antenna. Resonant antennas do not generally radiate "better" than non resonant antennas. One suggestion though for the OP. It might be a little more effective checking if the frequency is in use if you tune the antenna system first! Asking if the frequency is in use (prior to tuning) while transmitting into an infinite VSWR might not be much better than asking if it's in use connected to a dummy load! And as far as low power goes, this video confirms that life is WAY too short for QRP!! Cheers, Rick
Elecraft KX2 with built in battery (enables full 10w output), mic and ATU for HF, attach paddles for CW if you wish... Smaller, lighter go bag. Done.
Got the IC-705 (which I love!) and the LDG Z-100 tuner which is lite weight and durable for the field. Lots of fun!
I am 100% QRP at this point working SSB mainly. I operated just as wide an area as anyone else. I looked long and hard at that tuner. With my par endfed the tri-band I can work the three bands it is setup for stock, or I can take the stock wire off, and hook up any halfwave wire and work anything from 60-10. It is not even close to 100ft long. It sets up in no time at all. I dont ever worry about damaging my radio. I find the price point for that tuner to be to high when I can do same work for way less. (My par cost $90) I am not trying to take your tuner away. Use what you enjoy...
While I'm sure the the T1 is a great tuner, it unfortunately is not a great value. I considered it a couple years ago but I couldn't justify the price. The tuner is about $100 more than the LDG I'm currently using. If you want the interface cable for a Yaesu 817/818 its another $90! Just for the cable! Of course the cable is not needed (but it's convenient), and the LDG included a cable so I factored it in. I suspect the T1 has a better tuning range than my LDG but I've been able to tune everything I wanted it to tune and even tuned some things I didn't think it would. With the money saved I can buy a lot of wire for building antennas and that's what I did. I usually build my antennas to be resonant on bands I frequently use but a tuner is great for getting contacts on the odd band without changing the antenna, disconnecting links etc..
I was about to watch the video, but stopped when I saw this: It may be a must for your go bag, but it isn't a must for many of us. An enthusiastic endorsement is one thing; a dictate, jocular or not, is quite another thing. Yeesh! I shouldn't be surprised, though. I once priced out an Elecraft transceiver that "started" at around a kilobuck. As I added various options, the price was rapidly closing in on two kilobucks, so I ditched that pipe dream.
Okay. I watched the video. Some observations and thoughts: The ladder line laying on the grass was troubling at best. Considering the tuner and antenna system used, the feed line will be doing some of the radiating - and shouldn't be on the grass unless you're willing to sacrifice some of your power for dew abatement or warming worms and insects. There were many tune up carriers thrown out there without ID. It was 12 minutes (3/4 through the video) before the antenna was defined as a 100 meter doublet, though its configuration wasn't mentioned. I can only assume that with the ladder line "coming down the silo," it was an inverted vee. Terminology to add to your technical vocabulary: latching relays. You said "I don't even know if this tuner is good for 50 (MHz)." Sigh and ahem. On the front panel of the very product you're promoting as a "must have," it clearly says "HF-6m". Hello? However, I did get a chuckle hearing the POTA YL telling you "you're really soft" ...
I agree the T1 tuner is pricey, but I had bought it years ago for use with the 817, so it was on-hand. You are correct that the LDG Z100 tuner works great (I've also got one of those), but it's a bit bulky for portable use. The absolute winner in my experience is the Icom AH-705 tuner. Yes it's big (but not really THAT big), but it tunes fast and is incredibly versatile - it'll tune balanced antennas (dipoles, EFHWs, etc., plus it'll tune random wires. All with equal ease. It's also lightweight and highly water resistant. Icom got it really right with this piece of kit.
Great video. The game is to go as simple as possible and if a tuner and balanced line means max power output and not carrying (or setting up multiple antenna's) I'm a fan of what you are trying to do. My only issue is the 300 meter antenna. That seems like a lot to pack, setup, and breakdown. I have a KX2 (with internal tuner) and have been looking for the right doublet length (realizing many will be better at different objectives) to be effective 40 -10, and short so that I can use thinner wire (which makes it easier to carry and set up). Any suggestions?
