How To Use A Ham Radio Manual Antenna Tuner 📻

Ғылым және технология

Manual tuners? Why would you want a manual tuner over an automatic tuner?
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Пікірлер: 215

  • @tatarhead
    @tatarhead3 ай бұрын

    I’ve been licensed for years and never used a manual tuner. The main reason had no idea how to use one. Nicely done vid and made it look simple. Thanks

  • @SumOneSomewhere
    @SumOneSomewhere4 ай бұрын

    You probably won’t see this but just wanted to say you’ve been a huge help on my ham radio journey. I joined the local radio club and while they have certainly been helpful, most hams aren’t teachers.

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    4 ай бұрын

    Thank you kindly!

  • @jeff-73
    @jeff-736 ай бұрын

    Just a minor correction. The MFJ "potentiometers" are actually just variable capacitors that has an adjustment knob attached. Not resistors. Thx for the vid.

  • @johng7rwf419
    @johng7rwf4193 жыл бұрын

    Back in the dark ages before I was grey, we referred to these units as 'antenna matching units' which more accurately describes their function.. Nicely explained, particularly do not key whilst setting the inductance. J

  • @rogermabry2816
    @rogermabry28163 ай бұрын

    just bought a manual antenna tuner new by mfj . Now I need to learn to use it . Thank you for video .

  • @Nnip9
    @Nnip9Ай бұрын

    I'm inexperienced and have a lot of questions about my manual tuner. You're the best so far and I gave you a 'Like' but questions still remain. Next time you do this try to walk in the shoes of a newbie that doesn't have a hammie to talk to.

  • @knunne1
    @knunne13 жыл бұрын

    New Ham with aTech license, very valuable video for me Thank You!

  • @jhorton1600
    @jhorton16003 жыл бұрын

    Potentiometer is a variable resister. What you have is a variable capacitor.

  • @andrewperry605
    @andrewperry6053 жыл бұрын

    I have the mfj904 you showed at the end, been using it for sota and in the shack. Very happy with it

  • @hcy0
    @hcy03 жыл бұрын

    I use an MFJ-971, works great. Matches almost everything. 73

  • @walteredwards544
    @walteredwards5443 жыл бұрын

    Thank you. You just saved me a lot of money, because I already have the MFJ QRP tuner and it's working well. I may still buy an autotuner in the future but I can now space it out so it stays within my meager budget profile

  • @tmorg1029
    @tmorg10293 жыл бұрын

    Wanted to check out one as I will be building antennae and need to be able to get a good match. Thanks for the help!

  • @redtide08
    @redtide082 ай бұрын

    I still have an old MFJ-940b as my only tuner. Dead simple, still works great.

  • @newq
    @newq Жыл бұрын

    I've been doing all my ham stuff so far without a tuner. It's not so bad if you have a way to measure SWR. Plus I always enjoyed the art of building my own antennas! But this video finally convinced me to go ahead and get a tuner.

  • @robertjeffery3237
    @robertjeffery32373 жыл бұрын

    Awesome video! I am going to build one. Thanks for the inspiration.

  • @stridermt2k
    @stridermt2k3 жыл бұрын

    I started with a manual MFJ tuner i was given, then got the bug and tried building my own. Building and testing your own tapped inductor is probably the biggest challenge but still a worthy thing to learn about. eBay has super cheap 11-12 dollar kits you can buy and build, but to be honest they can be hit and miss -probably better for learning about tuners. Those cheap kits are best for shortwave listening with a portable radio than they ever will be for transmitting even 5 watts QRP. I now have radio with an automatic tuner and I'm completely spoiled on it. LOL

  • @garyhorn1325
    @garyhorn13253 жыл бұрын

    Great video as usual. I am a new tech and always learn lot. Thanks.

  • @keithfrost1268
    @keithfrost12683 жыл бұрын

    I had bought a manual tuner, but haven't used it just because I didn't know what I was doing. Still green, but this helps. Thanks.

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad it helped!

  • @DavidBarbarine
    @DavidBarbarine3 жыл бұрын

    I've just discovered this awesome thing called "HAM".These types of videos are pulling me in deeper... Thank you!

  • @toddkj7jhh

    @toddkj7jhh

    3 жыл бұрын

    It's just the beginning. These videos and a Baoefeng are gateway drugs.

  • @SumOneSomewhere

    @SumOneSomewhere

    4 ай бұрын

    @@toddkj7jhhthat’s what just happened to me! Bought a booofwang and a month later I have my tech license and my bank account is almost 2 grand lighter 😢

  • @dehenb
    @dehenb3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you, very informative, I am a beginner trying to learn

  • @k2rcb
    @k2rcb3 жыл бұрын

    I kept a page in my notebook with the manual tuner settings for bands/frequencies I used a lot - helped saved time when switching bands (would still fine tune if necessary using the SWR meter on the tuner). If you have different antennas you could have a separate chart for each one. That being said I just got an IC-7300 and that auto-tune button is real nice compared to fiddling with the knobs on the MFJ.

  • @jss672006
    @jss6720063 жыл бұрын

    Manual tuning short, succinct and to the point, good info, tnx Josh!

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad you liked it!

  • @user-mt2qn4yp8w
    @user-mt2qn4yp8w3 жыл бұрын

    Hi Josh. Well I learned something new today. Don't play with the induction knob when keyed. Oh oh, I have done that. DUH. Hopefully I didn't hurt the tuner because I really need it for the antenna I have. Thanks, you just saved me money. Great video at the right time. 73 Clark KG7LOI

  • @Locksnut

    @Locksnut

    3 жыл бұрын

    It may cause an ark on the contacts, but more importantly it could damage your radio because between each click on the inductor you have an open circuit. With the more expensive roller inductor there is constant contact. If your radio still tx you’re probably ok. 73

  • @redstickham6394

    @redstickham6394

    2 жыл бұрын

    We've all made mistakes in this hobby, but we learn from them and do better. I've had a homebrew tuner with sparks arcing across the capacitor plates a few times. I also know a ham who told me he burned a hold in a capacitor once. I've never done that thank goodness.

  • @paulcarcamo6992
    @paulcarcamo6992 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the video I’m getting ready to get a tuner I haven’t decided what to buy it thank you for everything

  • @miken8yo4
    @miken8yo43 жыл бұрын

    Good back to basics vid Josh. I'm actually going back to manual tuning now that I've gone QRO. Fortunately my antennas are resonant on most bands so tuning will be the exception, not the norm. 73!

  • @BadHorsie2
    @BadHorsie23 жыл бұрын

    Awesome info, Thanks!!

  • @Forevertrue
    @Forevertrue Жыл бұрын

    Very helpful. I was overly concerned. I think I already have it. That was a big help.

  • @giffjim55
    @giffjim553 жыл бұрын

    Good information, thanks.

  • @jackK5FIT
    @jackK5FIT3 жыл бұрын

    Finally got my Technician license despite Covid. Remote test was great. Studying for General. Have an ICOM IC-718 and MFJ-941E in transit. I think I am going to like both. Enjoy your videos and get lots of info. 73 KI5MFR

  • @edjansson4021

    @edjansson4021

    Жыл бұрын

    covid is a lie bro!!!!

  • @jeffjohansen4945
    @jeffjohansen49456 ай бұрын

    Thank you for the video ! I was gifted a tuner and wanted to know how to use it.

  • @nathanmoore7142
    @nathanmoore71423 жыл бұрын

    Want to get one. Been on the fence about them but think it might be good for my camping excursions.

  • @pablod6872
    @pablod68722 ай бұрын

    I'm in the market for a tuner for my first 100W HF rig, so I'm watching a bunch of videos on the subject. I have to laugh at the "COVID hair" you (and others) were sporting around 2020. The videos are like a time capsule 😀. Just giving you a hard time, of course - I've been a fan for years. 73.

  • @ChrisKeller
    @ChrisKeller3 жыл бұрын

    Easier than I thought, I'll have to give one a try

  • @gilbreathca
    @gilbreathca3 жыл бұрын

    At 1:27 those aren't potentiometers, those are variable capacitors, right?

  • @johng7rwf419

    @johng7rwf419

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agreed, they're also matching units' not tuning units.

  • @jamestripi8397

    @jamestripi8397

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes, just verified in the manual pdf. Easy find with search engine. I thought the same. Manual is just a couple of pages.

  • @larryak0z672

    @larryak0z672

    3 жыл бұрын

    pots would do no good. variable caps

  • @johng7rwf419

    @johng7rwf419

    3 жыл бұрын

    Learning by rote does not generate understanding, which is a pity as many people are losing out on theenormous scope of our hobby...

  • @ve3zdr
    @ve3zdr3 жыл бұрын

    I have a MFJ-941B that I have been using since I got it second hand 10 years ago. It works without fail. I used to use it with my IC-701, now it faithfully negotiates between my IC-718 and my G5RV. I don't know if I would see the need to go automatic, I am never in that big of a rush to tune things up. I keep a notepad with my settings on my desk so I can quickly set the tuner and then add a little finesse as necessary to hit the magic 1:1 ratio

  • @tav9755
    @tav97552 жыл бұрын

    Great video. Helps me in making the right choices. I am preparing the licence exam and the next thing is buying the first rig. very exciting, I considered to buy an automatic tuner for the Yaesu FT 891 but the manual tuners teach you more about the technology behind. Even the meter is not exactly required since the transceivers have built in SWR Meters.

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    The cross-needle meter gives you a sense of actual transmit power AND the SWR. Radio transmitters tend to have a percentage power output, but it typically isn't actually measured. So 50 percent of what, exactly? Then there's the problem of where exactly in the coax is the meter. The radio might read perfect 1:1 and the tuner meter might show something dramatically different (or vice versa). That will happen when there's standing waves on the coax itself and you just happened (or deliberately) placed the radio or tuner at a "null" in the standing waves. What happens is a quarter wavelength of coax becomes a type of transformer and it inverts the impedance, sort of a fulcrum over 50 ohms. So if the antenna is 25 ohms (typical for a vertical), a quarter wave section of coax will see 1/2 below 50 ohms at one end and transform it to 100 ohms at the other end (1/2 above). But a half-wave simply replicates and keeps the antenna impedance. Values in between produce an impedance in between, but with a reactive component. Tuners exist to nullify this reactive component. If the antenna is "capacitive" in reactance (ie, too short), add inductance. If inductive (too long) add capacitance on the antenna side. The transmitter side has its own matching capacitor and the inductor is shared. It is because of the shared parallel inductance that it is typically set first, and then the capacitors, but doing that sometimes necessitates a small adjustment of the inductor again. Manual operation of the tuner isn't quite a simple as this video suggests.

  • @hazmatca
    @hazmatca Жыл бұрын

    Good video for those who participate in manual tuners.

  • @w.rustylane5650
    @w.rustylane5650 Жыл бұрын

    I have a MFJ 969 Versa Tuner II which I hardly ever use any more since I no longer have my old Kenwood TS-430S. It's a roller inductor tuner which I really like. I now have a Yaesu 991a which has a built in tuner that will handle all my antennae. My antennae are all very close to resonate so the radio tuner will do. I did, however, turn off the radio tuner and chose an external tuner so I could set up my manual tuner for all the bands, just in case I do need the manual tuner. Tuners are not really tuners per se. They're simply an adjustable box which fools your radio into seeing a perfect 50 ohm load. It really helps if you get your antennae close to resonate. Cheers & 73 from W Rusty Lane K9POW in eastern Tennesseed

  • @scottmcmullen6782
    @scottmcmullen67823 жыл бұрын

    One additional comment; you can minimize the tuner losses by using the lowest inductance setting on which you can obtain a match (often on a band, you can get a match on a few different inductance settings). This will usually correspond to a maximum capacitance on the output side. There is a good article about effective use of T network antenna tuners on the ARRL's TIS.

  • @gooberclown

    @gooberclown

    6 ай бұрын

    How much loss is typical? I've never used a manual tuner.

  • @scottmcmullen6782

    @scottmcmullen6782

    6 ай бұрын

    @@gooberclown I understand 1 db might be about typical (roughly 20%).

  • @cube1us
    @cube1us4 ай бұрын

    You are not likely to damage the tuner, by changing the inductor switch while transmitting which probably temporarily opens it, but the high SWR that you may reflect back to the transmitter may damage the transmitter.

  • @OkieProductions
    @OkieProductions3 жыл бұрын

    sure like your videos. And you must be serious about ham radio, looks like that kw amp got a hold of your hair. lol. keep up the good work

  • @31clint
    @31clint3 жыл бұрын

    Nice! I need to get me one of those.

  • @dsmith6
    @dsmith63 жыл бұрын

    Great Video - Good Content 🥓👍

  • @jeffreyparker1939
    @jeffreyparker19392 жыл бұрын

    Yes I use one. It's great.

  • @Blue-Collar-Radio
    @Blue-Collar-Radio3 жыл бұрын

    Great demonstration of the manual tuners. I have yet to play with one, as my used HF radio came with an automatic tuner. I would like to have one in the shack. 73!

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for that!

  • @temporarilyoffline
    @temporarilyoffline3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks... never dawned on me to use the radios SWR meter instead of that cross-needle meter.

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Cheers!

  • @billgrant6175
    @billgrant61753 жыл бұрын

    Great video. I am still learning a lot. Understanding tuners is great. Especially since a manual tuner is much cheaper.

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad it was helpful!

  • @TheHamNinja

    @TheHamNinja

    3 жыл бұрын

    I'd say that's one thing that could have been added to this, how it works. Why we need one, like our resonent antenna is closer to the round, etc.

  • @yobzf.aldeguer8486
    @yobzf.aldeguer84863 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely like ur videos,....im one of ur fan...🤗🤗...and i like ur MFJ ANTENNA TUNER...i hope someday,...i have that One for my ICOM IC-718..Godbless U.

  • @minicowman
    @minicowman3 жыл бұрын

    I use the MFJ-945E with my Alinco DX-70 for POTA. I threw in the towel trying to get the MFJ-939 to work with the DX-70.. although it works fine with my DX-SR8 rig in the camper. Anyway, I've always had good luck with the 945E... just takes a couple of extra steps.. :) 73

  • @JReed305
    @JReed3053 жыл бұрын

    I have been looking at the MFJ 971. Small and a decent price.

  • @davidj.wilcox6053
    @davidj.wilcox60533 жыл бұрын

    Please do another video showing the best settings for passing the most RF through the tuner. An SWR of 1:1 can still mean loss in the tuner with the wrong settings.

  • @keithkb7zpb688
    @keithkb7zpb6883 жыл бұрын

    Good video on tuners. I got the mfj 1644 wipe tuner as I live in an apartment now and I am having problems putting out my long wires and off center dipole. I have never used an antenna tuner before. Thanks for all that you do for amateur radio. De kb7zpb Keith

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @danielolivera2618
    @danielolivera26183 жыл бұрын

    thankkk youuuuuuuuu!!!!

  • @kishor_VU2MZT
    @kishor_VU2MZT2 жыл бұрын

    very nice info buddy,,,for newbies like me great help......bro ,,,,,,,, i have question does antenatunner protect transiver from reple rf ? can we use external antenna tunner for ic7300

  • @edgardoramos5664
    @edgardoramos56642 жыл бұрын

    Omg I watch so many videos and yours is best one simple and understanding very good way to describe 73 my friend KB2 EYD I use because small place MP1antenna with radials any Suggestion thanks

  • @rallypoint1
    @rallypoint12 жыл бұрын

    Very informative!!! Does it go radio, Mfj tuner, amp and antenna? Also the wattage rating is what the radio puts out not the amp?

  • @mikeramsey9747
    @mikeramsey97472 жыл бұрын

    I'm presently using an auto tuner but I like the idea of the manual tuner so that I have more control over what is happening when trying to tune.

  • @120730amm
    @120730amm3 жыл бұрын

    Emtech zm2 user. Love it.

  • @bunston1000
    @bunston10003 жыл бұрын

    Nice video. Also, if the radio you are using has a built in tuner e.g. Yaesu 991(a) or Icom 7300, always ensure you have the automatic tuner deselected / turned off!.

  • @dwayneschank5456
    @dwayneschank54562 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the videos!!! I'm upgrading from my yaesu ft-65 to a ft-891 gotta study I'm in it now lol. I'm making an inverted V linked dipole 10/20/40 meter. Will this tuner work ok I know it'll be more work but I'm trying to go as cheap as I can. THANKS!!!!

  • @teeganmeyers5507
    @teeganmeyers55073 жыл бұрын

    Ha, this video is great. Your helping me learn something new everyday! It would be pretty cool to learn about the science behind yagi antennas and how to build a non tape measure yagi... one thing I don't understand is how the matching stub works

  • @TheHamNinja

    @TheHamNinja

    3 жыл бұрын

    Oh, that would be a good one, and compare to a log periodic

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for watching. Yeah, I can explain how a yagi works. Thanks for the idea.

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    Matching stubs are transformers. A curious phenomenon is the quarter wave matching section. 1/4 wave of coax inverts the impedance; a 25 ohm feed point impedance, one-half the coax impedance, becomes twice the coax impedance at the other end. Yagis work because current lags voltage when inductive (too long) and current leads voltage when too short (capacitive). The parasitic elements are "excited" by the driven element, and because of different lengths, produce a phase shift that augments the signal in the forward direction and partly cancels in the back and side directions.

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    Log periodic is basically the same as yagi but with the important distinction that all elements are driven all the time. One of the elements will be resonant and that will be the principle radiator, others will be too short or too long, becoming directors and reflectors. The relationship of the elements is such that you can tune a band and it maintains a uniform SWR across the band, whereas a Yagi has only one driven element and thus a distinct frequency preference (but also generally more directivity because of that).

  • @giulianoggg2035
    @giulianoggg2035Ай бұрын

    Great explanation very good. Question: I have MFJ 962e and it is explained and I understood that I have to turn anti-clock from full inductance the INDUCTANCE knob obviously while transmitting and after work on the Transmitter and Antenna knobs? You say that we shouldn’t do it? Is it only for your type of ATU? Many Thanks in advance

  • @lucianoiacoletti5725
    @lucianoiacoletti57253 жыл бұрын

    Very nice video Josh, really useful for the majority of New Ham Radio Operators. By the way, it could be very interesting to understand how to use an old rig like a Drake, a Collins or whatever else with no automatic controls and no electronic devices inside. in other words, how to use AFGain, RF Gain, RF Tune, Plate, Load, Mic/Car, Comp Level, etc.

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Great suggestion! I only have a Drake receiver at this time. But I'll keep an eye out for a good boat anchor transmitter :D

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    Definitely an art as much as science back in the day.

  • @chuckchamplin6627
    @chuckchamplin66273 жыл бұрын

    Ham Radio Crash Course.I just payed for a mfj 921 antenna tuner .i hope it's a good one lol.

  • @mikemiller1854
    @mikemiller18543 жыл бұрын

    Awesome and timely video, K7OTX.

  • @aldewitt9
    @aldewitt93 жыл бұрын

    When I was a new ham I had a guy with the radio club explain how to use these. His explanation made the process seem unduly difficult and made my brain hurt. Your description of the process is much better. You are very good at making the complex simple. Great job. If I ever buy a radio to replace my Icom 7200 I will buy an MFJ manual tuner. BTW, don’t you think we should start calling them tuners and start calling them Impedance Matching Devices (IMD)?

  • @MegaJunebug3
    @MegaJunebug33 жыл бұрын

    Thankyou

  • @w.rustylane5650
    @w.rustylane5650 Жыл бұрын

    You tune a roller inductor tuner, first the transmitter, then the antenna and then the roller inductor. You should use the manual to get you close to the settings on each band. Then fine tune adjusting the tuner as described above. 73 from W Rusty Lane K9POW in eastern Tennessee

  • @francismcclaughry3794
    @francismcclaughry37943 жыл бұрын

    I have a big old manual antenna tunner never knew how to use it this is an intersting vido , but I don't feel good enough to use it on my new 7300 I want to get an lgd 100 auomatic tunner for it.

  • @dandypoint
    @dandypoint3 ай бұрын

    I would like to add one word of caution. The T network, as this is, can be tuned for minimum SWR with more than one setting of the one inductor and two capacitors. Only one combination is optimum. I was slightly uncomfortable with that. I always use an L network. There is only one way to tune it to get minimum SWR. The coil is in series with the antenna and the variable capacitor is usually connected from the antenna side to ground. That allows you to match impedances higher than 50 ohms to the 50 ohm coax. If the antenna presents a low impedance then the capacitor needs to be on the other side of the coil. Simply reversing the input and output connections will make that change. L networks are very easy to build and use. Only need a single variable capacitor and a single coil, two coax connectors ( SO-239) and a box or flat surface to mount the components. I have my coil on top of the box and use an alligator clip to adjust how many turns I have in the circuit. Usually a simple coil of #14 wire wound about 5 turns per inch and about 5 inches long works for anywhere from 80 through 10 meters. The variable capacitor can be usually no more than 140 pf max.

  • @williambickham2042
    @williambickham2042 Жыл бұрын

    Nice, kc6ijh. I would be interested in what your swr was in bypass. Would give a little hint on how much correction was necessary. Good Video

  • @oswaldcobblepot4954
    @oswaldcobblepot49543 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for a "quick refresher". I have used a manual tuner, but not in a long while. I didn't need a 20+ minute explanation on the inner-working of an L-C circuit. BTW, (verbal typo) you called the second tuner an "MFJ-940" at 5:24... It's an MFJ-904... No biggie. I'll have to check out your other videos. 73, DE N4QPM

  • @wendelljackson1488
    @wendelljackson14883 жыл бұрын

    I have an old FT 102 Yaesu transceiver. I assume that I would first load up the transmitter to a 50 ohm dummy load, then use my antenna MFJ tuner to match the antenna to the transceiver. After that, would I ever need to readjust the loading of my transceiver drive and grid dip?

  • @twobikesandadrone
    @twobikesandadrone4 ай бұрын

    When would you do anything with the antenna knob? Should you always vary it just to be sure it doesn't make a difference as well?

  • @Josh-of-all-Trades
    @Josh-of-all-Trades3 жыл бұрын

    You mean I don't have to supply 12v to the tuner?? Ugh, I was lied to... I feel dumb. Thanks for the great info! Really cleared some things up!

  • @nicolalamotta9554
    @nicolalamotta95543 жыл бұрын

    What about the atu100 7x7 diy tuner on aliexpress with the oled display for only 28euros?

  • @EdLeonard47
    @EdLeonard473 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for showing tuner techniques! Do you ever use an MFJ-212? "Tunes up your antenna tuner without transmitting a single milliwatt... Precisely tune your antenna tuner for a 1:1 SWR -- no additional "tweaking" needed..." 73 N9EDL

  • @SuAmigoElilegal
    @SuAmigoElilegal3 жыл бұрын

    Question. I have a dual antenna whip nagoya. It has 3.5vhf and 5.5 of gain uhf. If i tune the uhf frequencie tona desire, will the gain dimish or be affected and the vhf .

  • @SuperGsrider
    @SuperGsrider2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the video one question will this work on a regular cb

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    2 жыл бұрын

    You know it might.

  • @denelson83
    @denelson83 Жыл бұрын

    I wonder if this would work well with a SlinkTenna?

  • @n9oqu
    @n9oqu3 жыл бұрын

    A demonstration of using a manual tuner with an included dummy load would be useful to those hams that purchased such MFJ Tuners. Thanks for the contribution 73, Bob McGarry

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    It might be confusing no? Since the dummy load is 50 ohms to begin with.

  • @n9oqu

    @n9oqu

    3 жыл бұрын

    Ham Radio Crash Course not tuning with the dummy load but using the dummy load on the tuner for its intended purpose.

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    @@HamRadioCrashCourse "It might be confusing no? Since the dummy load is 50 ohms to begin with." But the RADIO might not be 50 ohms! That's why there's two variable capacitors; one for the antenna and one for the radio. Anyway, yes, it is trivially easy to match a dummy load 🙂

  • @radio73s
    @radio73s2 жыл бұрын

    Does tuning antenna improve signal reception ?

  • @bakkerac
    @bakkerac8 ай бұрын

    As a beginner I love these kind of videos. The one question I have is about the bypass switch. The MFJ I bought doesn't have one. Does that mean the tuner is in the line between transmitter and antenna all the time? And doesn't that influence the output in any way?

  • @DominicMazoch
    @DominicMazoch Жыл бұрын

    Noticed a green marker on a coax. Came from Houston's ABR?

  • @kevinkeppler7220
    @kevinkeppler72203 жыл бұрын

    The first step, selecting the position for the inductor, is the one time that noise is our friend.

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes!! Extremely quiet environments actually makes it harder!

  • @snoobeagle
    @snoobeagle3 жыл бұрын

    I understand the transmitter will "now" see 50 ohms thanks to the tuning, but is the antenna tuned for resonance at this point? Thanks!

  • @farmerwayne1404
    @farmerwayne14042 ай бұрын

    Josh is the tuner 904?? And what do you think about 945e?

  • @SuperFlatrock
    @SuperFlatrock2 жыл бұрын

    My setup uses PL-259 plugs. I guess there is no harm in using an adapter to connect to the pocket tuner?

  • @pauljameson1
    @pauljameson13 жыл бұрын

    Hey Josh, you might want to lower your input volume so it’s not making out and distorting. I’m not sure what your setup is, but it was distorting a bit in this video.

  • @kelpfl
    @kelpfl3 жыл бұрын

    Another really helpful video. I am a relatively new (and less than fully educated) HAM. I just purchased an MFJ 971 for portable use. As I understand it, a random length wire dipole with balanced feedline and a tuner makes SWR irrelevant (assuming your tuner can match the impedance). My question(s) is: Is that correct? If so, is a longer wire antenna be better than a shorter wire antenna? Could 50 meters of wire antenna actually be better than a resonant 20 meter wire for transmitting on 20 meters? Thanks for any help. KC3ITL

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    Longer wire is almost always better than short. It is the wire that radiates, more is better! But there's some caveats. The 50 meter wire can fit 2.5 wavelengths of 20 meter. That's going to give you 6db or more gain in its preferred direction which won't be completely obvious. 40 meters of wire would be more predictable; two full wavelengths and you'd probably drive it 10 meter from one end for low impedance feed or at the end for a high impedance feed. SWR *by itself* is harmless. Ignore than SWR behind the curtain but with some understanding. You send a radio wave to the antenna. If matched, it flies off into space. If not matched, some of it will bounce and come back to your radio. your radio doesn't want it, so it bounces back again toward the antenna, adding to the next wave your radio is sending to the antenna. So now with double the strength, that reluctant antenna is persuaded to radiate. All of the power leaves the radio! It might take seven trips back and forth through the coax to finally get radiated (each bounce being reduced). the effect of SWR therefore is the signal takes extra trips through the coax, losing a db each trip. Maybe more than 1 db. Thus the transmit power is consumed in the coax and turns into heat (not much heat, but its there) and never radiates. A side effect of SWR is that it increases the voltage on the power transisistors because they see not only the battery voltage, but the reflected voltage from the antenna and this could cause failure. It also increases the voltage on the antenna and if people touch it could get a shock or burn. But the ends of a dipole antenna always have a much higher voltage than the feed point anyway (in a center fed dipole). End-fed antennas require a high voltage push just to get electrons to go in, they don't like end fed antennas. The G5RV antenna uses 600 ohm ladder line, which has very low loss and very high SWR anyway, it is part of the design. Who cares about SWR when you are using ladder line or random wire? Just match it and go!

  • @AliReza-zx8km
    @AliReza-zx8km3 жыл бұрын

    Nice.......

  • @kd5you1
    @kd5you12 жыл бұрын

    This is a really informative video. :) I set up a 40 meter inverted V yesterday, and I used a MFJ-945e to tune the antenna. Everything seemed to work great when I was connecting to Winlink ARDOP gateways, but when I tried to use WSPR, the antenna tuner made a loud squealing noise, and the meter did not indicate that any RF was being transmitted. My antenna analyzer shows that my SWR with the tuner is 1.03 to 1 at 7.140, and the SWR was about 2.75 at both the low end and the high end of 40 meters. Does anyone know what could have caused this issue?

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    The lower the frequency the narrower the bandwidth particularly if you are using a tuner. It is a tuned circuit! So you are going to have to jiggle it if you change frequency very much. If the tuner makes a noise, that typically means it cannot find a match and that in turn means your antenna is too far out from resonance to match with a simple tuner. Manual tuners tend to have a much more tolerant ability to match almost anything. Automated tuners generally expect the antenna to be approximately resonant already. The exception is random wire tuners. They'll match almost anything but watch out for high voltage.

  • @Lux67Devil
    @Lux67Devil Жыл бұрын

    I've changed the inductance a bunch of times while broadcasting before I knew not to do it. How can I tell if I've damaged my tuner or anything else?

  • @chrisnielsen3220
    @chrisnielsen3220 Жыл бұрын

    Josh - I really enjoy you beginner videos! I'm looking at adding an antenna tuner to my shack and was wondering about a few things. While tuning a manual tuner like the MFJ discussed here is very straight forward in a receiving mode, I'm wondering how one might do the same for receiving only with a automatic tuner. Would that involve picking a frequency on ones antenna analyzer, allow the auto-tuner to find the sweet spot and then switch over to receive on that frequency? Is that approach even possible with low power signal coming off the analyzer? Is this even a viable approach? Thanks again for your to the point videos.

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    Жыл бұрын

    Not really. Auto tuners generally require transmitting power through the matching device which would be transmitting out of band for many of SWL frequencies.

  • @BLACKHEAT1028
    @BLACKHEAT10283 жыл бұрын

    Hello, need some help on a tuner LDG AT-200PRO-II or MFJ-969? LDG says will tune 10:1 and the MFJ says 4:1.

  • @The.Doctor.Venkman
    @The.Doctor.Venkman3 жыл бұрын

    Hey, Josh! What would be interesting, would be the difference between a manual antenna tuner vs. automatic vs. antenna matching hardware?

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    Manual tuner uses variable capacitors; automatic tuners use stepped capacitors arranged in a binary progression such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16,32 picofarads (for instance) allowing to choose any value from 1 to 63 pf in 1 pf increments. What the computer does is scroll through the combinations rapidly. Same with inductors. Naturally you want to dial down the power on your transmitter since it will try a possibly large number of wrong combinations reflecting a lot of power back to the radio while it is hunting. Manual tuners only MATCH the antenna, whether you actually radiate energy is another matter entirely. This is true of automatic tuners of course but the programming is aware of that possibility of getting a false match where the tuner itself consumes all or most of the power.

  • @Pioneer936
    @Pioneer9363 жыл бұрын

    If the tuner is only providing a 50ohm match to the transmitter then how is the power transferred to the antenna?

  • @randykitchleburger2780

    @randykitchleburger2780

    10 ай бұрын

    Poorly

  • @Pioneer936

    @Pioneer936

    25 күн бұрын

    ​@@randykitchleburger2780that would depend on the feedline

  • @puglydoodle
    @puglydoodle4 ай бұрын

    I'm a beginner in HF. Will an antenna tuner allow me to use an antenna for a range that is currently giving me high SWR? I could lower the antenna and physically trim it but does an antenna tuner allow me to use this frequency range without the physical interaction with my antenna?

  • @user-vw6en1ne6u
    @user-vw6en1ne6u Жыл бұрын

    Newby Question - Are Manual Antenna Tuners only for HF or can they also be used for VHF & UHF?

  • @guyhornbeck8940
    @guyhornbeck89403 жыл бұрын

    I have a Xiegu G-90 transceiver that has a decent auto tuner built in, but I also use a manual tuner on seriously compromised antennas (such as an end-fed long wire) since the manual tuner is more forgiving. Just another tool in an operator’s toolbox.

  • @HamRadioCrashCourse

    @HamRadioCrashCourse

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes, that is a good way to look at it!

  • @thomasmaughan4798

    @thomasmaughan4798

    Жыл бұрын

    Auto-tuners tend to be limited to matching up to a 3:1 SWR where manual tuners can usually handle 10:1 mismatch. The big roller inductor tuners have nearly infinite matching range but of course if your antenna is that far out of resonance it probably won't go anywhere anyway.

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