Not to long ago I had the opportunity to pick up a new Palstar AT2K antenna tuner. Now I already have a Ten Tec Model 229B which is a 2K antenna tuner. I picked up the Ten Tec Model 229B from the sister of a silent key back in ’92 and it has never given me any trouble but it had seemed to be a little limited on some bands in its operation on my Alpha Delta Twin Sloper antenna. It always made my transceiver happy but it seemed to have to really work at getting a good low match towards the ends of the 160 and 80 meter bands. When I swapped it out with the newer Palstar AT2K I was very impressed at how much easier and how quickly I could drop the SWR down to 1:1 at almost every place I tried to match. The Alpha Delta Twin Sloper antenna is designed to operate on 160, 80, 40 and 30 meters however with the Palstar AT2K I could load it up on 160 through 10 meters with no problems. This is not to say the AT2K would make the antenna radiate better but the transceiver was happy wherever I wanted to transmit. I could never do that with the Ten Tec Model 229B.

Keep in mind that if you attempt using an antenna matching device “Antenna Tuner” on an antenna that isn’t cut or designed to operate off band or frequency it’s not designed to operate on, the mismatch can seriously damage the antenna tuner if you don’t keep the power down to respectable limits.

          73, Steve N2WLH

 

 

Below is some features taken form the manufacturer’s website.

 

 

 

FEATURES in the AT2K Antenna Tuner

A newly-designed, smaller roller inductor allows the AT2K to tune 6 Meters, while a relay-switched toroid adds the extra inductance needed for 160 Meter coverage. Newly designed capacitors feature lower minimum capacitance for improved high band performance, while maximum capacitance has been increased to 400pF for better low band performance. In addition, the Peak/Peak Hold metering from the PM2000 has been incorporated into the AT2K.

The AT2K matches dipoles, center fed doublets, G5RV's balanced feeders, Verticals, single wire, delta loops, beams, Windoms, Inverted V's and includes a built-in 4:1 balun for balanced wire feeders. Also featured on the AT2K is a bypass position for quick straight-through antenna connections with SWR/POWER monitoring.

The AT2K features a 6 position ceramic wafer antenna selector switch. Forward power metering is in two ranges, 300 and 3000 watts. A Peak/Peak Hold metering function is also provided. Standing Wave Ratio measurements are displayed with an illuminated cross-needle meter. SWR is read directly from the meter face where the Forward and Reverse needles cross.

The AT2K comes with our classic Vernier dial plates for more accurate settings. As on all Palstar tuners, the front panel and top cover have powder-coat paint.


Specifications