Nice review. This assembled tuner costs less than the kits I've been looking at and appears to be surprisingly well made. The beauty of the SWR bridge is the radio never sees higher than a 2:1. A very important feature for radios like my QDX and truSDX that have no high standing wave protection. 73 de NM9X

It's super cheap and looks well made. It takes longer to tune than an auto tuner, but it's perfectly practical for a pota or sota trip.👍🤠

@LB0FI

4 ай бұрын

I am certain that I can tune faster with a bit of practice.

I exchanged the 1K resistor and diode positions on the circuit board and added a .1 ufd capacitor from the diode's cathode to the bottom of the sense toroid and mine works a lot better now. Without the cap, the LED is seeing RF. With the cap, the LED is seeing DC, much better.

First, your English is really great. Thank you for the video. Second, I’m really impressed with the design.

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the compliment on my English, having lived in the US absolutely helps. Also, it really is a great design.

Hi Morten I bought on, it works great. I have made an upgrade. I put a 9:1 inside and add a wire terminal and a switch on the back. Now I just need to field test it. 73 - Jimmi oz4hj

@LB0FI

18 күн бұрын

What a great idea!

Nice video, thanks !

Looks good! Can't wait to see how it does on a POTA.

@LB0FI

4 ай бұрын

I’m hoping to take it out in the next couple of days.

Nice review, the only extra advice I can give, I have made one myself a couple of years ago, is: first listen to the radio and in the "work" position turn the dials for maximum noise, than switch to "tune" and you will not be far off :-)

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the advice, I will certainly be trying this.

@petemillis4666

2 ай бұрын

Exactly what I do with my Z match. Best way to do it!

I paid more for Emtech's ZM-2, which is a similar z-match tuner. But there are differences. I like the fact that that the ZM-2 can feed balanced line (i.e. dipoles), meaning no need for a balun. It also has all the controls on one side rather than front and back. It comes in BNC and SO-239 versions. It's also rated for 15 watts, while this one is only rated for 5. That said, if your budget is tight, you'll probably be happy with this one.

@forgetyourlife

3 ай бұрын

The one here is rated for 10w and you can use balanced line with a red/black binding post on the BNC port no problem.

Nice addition to the qrp go bag. Nice video. 73

@LB0FI

4 ай бұрын

Absolutely, and it was also really inexpensive

If the limiting components are the dummy load resistors, just increasing their wattage should increase power capacity, but the caps they use are also low voltage which can be subject to very high voltage depending on the antenna load. An interesting alternative would be to use a nanoVNA instead of the “Tune” switch so you could know why the antenna is out of tune and tune it using very low power.

My 1st ATU was a 2 coil Z Match in 1985. I still use it. My experiment with a single coil air wound Z Match was 100% successful. I made a qrp version with a toroid but it was only good for 50 watts due to the toroid mix I used. They are a bit fiddly to adjust at first but if you turn both knobs at once in conjunction with each other it is much easier to get a quick match. Cheers VK5LB

@LB0FI

Ай бұрын

I really like this little thing, most of all because of it's size.

Hi looks like you got a great little work horse there. Good job 73

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

Can’t wait to take it out portable.

Guessing in TUNE mode, those resistors form a resistive bridge. This is fairly common for QRP antenna matchers and VSWR indicators. One very good thing about these resistive bridges is that VSWR should never be higher than 2:1 when in TUNE. So, you can safely "tune" your antenna without damaging your QRP transmitter. Very effective way of quickly and safely getting a good match.

@warplanner8852

2 ай бұрын

You are absolutely correct. The better SWR bridge is on the 4SQRP antenna tuner - which is a kit - that has two LEDs. One is green and one is red and as the VSWR is minimized, the red fades and the green grows brighter.

@la7yka

Ай бұрын

Yes. A very clever design.

*THANK YOU*

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

You're welcome!

Thanks Morton looks similar design to the famous ZM-2 but in a much better tin box which can sit flatter along side the radio when portable. vk5cz ..

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

The design is probably similar, I have a hard time thinking that anything coming from AliExpress at that price point is an original design. It does work very well though.

I have this tuner, awesome product will tune almost anything. Use LOW for 50 ohm coax like when using a unun or high for a long wire right to the tuner without a unun. Also works awesome with CB. I ordered it for the exact uSDR radio that you have but still waiting on the radio. Wish it had PL259 instead of BNC...

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

I need to use it more, but first I need something other than hamsticks on my car weather.

This is likely a knock off of the original Emtech ZM - 2 QRP Tuners ! Which work flawlessly ! First tune for maximum receiver noise, then switch to Tune, key the transmitter, and I've found if it is possible, to use both hands simultaneously, then adjust the variable Caps, while watching the L.E.D. ! Once it goes dark, you're good to go ! As stated in the video, if the L.E.D. refuses to dim, then switch the fixed capacitance into the circuit, and tune as before ! Tuning for maximum noise will actually get you very close to the lowest SWR ! EASY PEASY ! Caveat Emptor ! Obviously, if these are knock offs, it's hard to tell what you'll get ! 👍😉

@la7yka

10 күн бұрын

The Z-Match antenna tuner was invented by Lew McCoy, W1ICP, and Ed Wetherhold, W3NQN. I don't know if they are associated with Emtech.

When you said it was inexpensive, you weren't kidding... $35 Canadian is a pretty darn good price. I will picking up an inexpensive SDR radio to get started after I pass the exam and that tuner will save me some money for sure.

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

I think it’s the cheapest good tuner you can buy, but I might be wrong on that.

I have one of these. It's ok. The problem I'm encountering is that the SWR bridge isn't properly calibrated. If I tune for minimum SWR, then flip back to "WORK", the SWR on my radio is pretty high. And the inverse case: I can tune for minimum SWR using the radio (with the tuner in WORK) and get 1:1, then switch the tuner back to TUNE, and the LED lights up brightly as if the SWR is high. I'm going to open it up and see if moving the windings on L1 helps. update: No luck. I'll have to look at the schematic a bit more.

Very Affordable Hf Match tuner.....Industry standard 50 ohm TX, Tranceiver, Coax & Antennas are usually considered as Low Z operation & using a Matcher Between all 50 ohm equipment is Rare....You should have Demoed the Performance into a typical Reactive & Higher Z termination Load to Evaluate it's Most useful application....Nice Description & "Open Cover" review.....

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for commenting

Thanks for the video. I've often wondered about these low cost tuners. How did it work out in the field? Were you happy with the contacts/signal reports you received using this tuner?

@LB0FI

Ай бұрын

It does it's thing and it is well built. It also tunes about everything.

Can I connect a two-wire cable directly to the BNC socket?

@LB0FI

15 күн бұрын

I would think so. I can't see why you couldn't

I have had 3 of them and all worked fine, Amazon has them for $43 in US , if you have Prime you get free shipping if you use a 9 to 1 UNUN don't assume you need to use the high impedance switch on the back, try the low position to, I could tune my antenna on high but checking the low position it actually tuned better, it is a good value and well built , happy with mine for sure 73 J

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

Amazing quality for the money. I really like this little thing.

@tomtwist1081

3 ай бұрын

The switch on the back is not for High/Low impedance, it for High Bands/Low Bands. This is a QRP version of the E-Zee match. The original had 80 - 40 m low bands, and 20 - 10 m for high bands. But it will work with the WARC bands as well. The Chinese manual got it wrong.

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

@@tomtwist1081 Thanks for the input, I will look further in to this.

@jamescrofutt8767

3 ай бұрын

In my case my tuners operates in l and h position has high and low impedance I don't know why it just does I only operate 40 and 80

@Inkling777

3 ай бұрын

I imagine that switch on the back adds capacitance to one of the capacitors. That is what it does on my ZM-2. Center adds nothing. Low adds 250 pfd and high adds 500 pfd. That extends the matching range. Whether that is needed depends on the antenna not the high versus low ham bands. If I cannot match well with none, I try the others.

Thanks for the demo. I just purchased one, waiting for the rain to stop. 73 K7WHN

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

I hope you like it!

Looks nice, what’s the range on it ? 3:1 or 10:1….

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

I haven’t tested it in that matter yet, so I wouldn’t know more than what’s on the sticker

@Kinetic79

Ай бұрын

It’s closer to 10:1 mark, than 3:1. It’s not possible for even the designer to provider a range definitively due to the unlimited combinations of complex impedances one might find at those ranges.

A 'tuner' does not 'tune' your antenna. It will simply match the cable-end+antenna (whatever impedance this may be) to 50 ohms for your rig. You will see a good SWR on the rig. Depending on your setup, heavy losses may occure due to mismatch in the feeder cable between tuner and antenna - so only a fraction of your power will go to the feed-point of your antenna.

@LB0FI

10 күн бұрын

Thank you for stating the obvious. How many tuner videos have you used this phrase on?

@WolfgangKMeister

10 күн бұрын

@@LB0FI relax, the link of this video was posted on Facebook, therefore the same comment.

Does this works on the 11 meter band as well?

@LB0FI

2 ай бұрын

I have no idea, but I would assume so.

@Iheartmyson

2 ай бұрын

@@LB0FI ok. I will try then. I have good swr on my Cb radio's ,Band " D " which covers 26.965mhz till 27.405mhz. Band E however has the swr on the world wide calling channel / frequency : 27.555mhz a bit too high . Swr: 1.7. And I want it lower. To get my antenna down and up over and over to adjust the top for swr is obviously a lot of work. On KZread there are only Ham radio video's with these chinese antenne tuners / autotuners etc. I am quite new to all this,and learning as I go. Lately I look a lot at these antenna tuners . Anyway, Thank you for the reply.

@LB0FI

2 ай бұрын

An SWR of 1.7 is actually good. Don't worry about it.

Can you run your liner with that

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

Liner?

@forgetyourlife

3 ай бұрын

Doesn’t know how to spell linear. Also a dumb joke. 😊

When you tunning,your qrp send 6-7 watts. The tuner says 5 w máximum for tunning. No problem with that? 73

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

Those are Chinese watts, so no, not too worried.

@forgetyourlife

3 ай бұрын

Mine says 10w right on it.

@Kinetic79

Ай бұрын

You should keep your tuning cycles very short (transmit and tune, wait, transmit and tune further) if you’re exceeding 5watts. While you could melt the polyvaricon capacitor, and it does happen, it’s also based on the fact that the resistors in the tuning indicator bridge will heat up very quickly in tune mode.

Thanks for the video. I use exactly the same setup for qrp, a usdx just like yours and the same z-match tuner. They work very well together. 73 de ZS6AKW

@LB0FI

3 ай бұрын

They absolutely work well together.

Looks like a PIA. There are certainly MFJ manual tuners that are easier to use.

@LB0FI

2 ай бұрын

Wow, you're as positive as always.

@vladtepes481

2 ай бұрын

@@LB0FI Have fun with your tuner. I am just stating my opinion.

@ruffdog272

2 ай бұрын

8:53 ​@@vladtepes481 are you thinking 8010 lw atu

It is nothing but a variable-capacitor, Inductor and variable-resistor. Of course it's cheap.. .it should be about $1 from china.... Radio Shack used to sell these for $5

@LB0FI

20 күн бұрын

Okay.

I just bought this tuner. When my swr’s are almost 1:1 and I switch it to “work,” my swr’s go to 3:1. Can someone help me figure out what’s wrong? Thanks in advance.

@LB0FI

2 ай бұрын

You gotta tune the light to go as dim as possible. Just as I do in the video.

@georgelasko8346

2 ай бұрын

@@LB0FI That’s not the problem. I’m using an swr meter after this tuner. The swr’s go to 1:1 and the light dims. Then I switch to ‘work,” the light is very bright again, and my swr’s Jump back to 3:1 again.

@LB0FI

2 ай бұрын

An SWR meter after the tuner will not measure correctly. In order for it to give a correct measurement you need to put it between the radio and the tuner. If so, you could keep the tuner in work mode and tune for the reading of the meter.

@georgelasko8346

2 ай бұрын

Yes sir. I don’t think we were ever on the same page. Of course I put antenna, tuner, swr meter, then radio. When I switched to “work,” the swr meter went back to 3:1 and the antenna warning light came on the radio. What I’ve done, was opened up the unit, voiding the warranty, and re soldered everything that I could get to. The unit works properly now. I’m saying this for the people who bought this and have problems. Maybe you got a good one, or I got a bad one returned from Amazon. Regardless, this is what I’ve done, and it works now.

@georgelasko8346

2 ай бұрын

Also, after re soldering, I did put the unit into the “work”mode, and fine tuned it further.

My Chinese QRP Z_Match Tuner has just arrived and works well, except ... The left-hand capacitor has a break in the track between numbers 7 & 8. They have used the cheap variable capacitor that used to be used in transistor radios, so I suspect I got a faulty one. I have sent the seller a message and we'll see what he says, otherwise, I'll be testing out the Ali Express complaint process. 73 Ed DD5LP.

impressive - vy 73 de DL8CY