Many times, even though I could buy a ready made product, I still prefer to "roll my own", even if it end up at a greater cost. There is nothing more satisfying than constructing something with your own hands, where you have sole control on the component and build quality. Thanks for the video, and best wishes for your continued improving health... you're looking good! 73 de KN6VMK
Hello Jim. Its great to see you. I also enjoy building my own equipment and for other people. I have built various types tunners using tapped coils instead of the roller to reduce cost. More time consuming but i use my metal lathe to thread fiberglass mortar tubes and also wind the coils. I also make something similar to a wolf river coil the same way.
nice to see you on here jim great video i have always used a manual antenna tuner im thinking about building my own the information you gave on your home brew antenna tuner inspires me even more to build my own ...73....from thomas
Jim, the roller inductor in your tuner is EXACTLY the same as what I have in my older version of the AT1500BAL from Palstar. Keep an eye on the actuall roller inside the coil. The fingers often break off after years of use. You've got a very stout tuner there! Bravo. 73 OM
Well done Jim, I built a similar T-match about 40 years ago, although mine does not have the same pate spacing in the capacitors. It has done sterling service but it does have the issue of no reduction drives on the capacitors and the roller sometimes needing a nudge one way or the other. I did not build in a bypass path but fitted a number of antenna ports so I have 4 available without the tuner and another 4 via the tuner. More recently I have bought an older commercially made tuner, it uses the SPC configuration but uses a series of relays to change the RF path. It has some merit, if I switch off the power supply for instance the relays can route my radio to a dummy load for example. For a tuner rated at 3kW the relays seem very skimpy but I have not destroyed any of them yet. I completely understand the temptation to use relays, but you will need a pair of the ones pictured if you go that path and also need to supply the relay coil voltage to them. At times it can be a nuisance, most of my radios are mains powered, my amplifiers are and it does seem daft to provide DC just for the relays in a manual tuner. FWIW for HF use with "moderate" mismatches you might find it surprising how much much abuse a standard DPDT open frame relay will take. Many years ago I built a MOSFET mobile amplifier for 2m, I used a 3 pole double throw relay in that to switch both legs of the RF path and the bias supply, while I would never advise anyone to do it like that it worked fine, no instability or issues at all. Great to see you making videos, really enjoy your content, 73
Jim, you look better and hope you're actually feeling better too. I enjoyed your build but think I'll stick with auto tuners, at the feed point, but I have a manual tuner as a spare.
