ATR-1000 automatic tuner (impedance matching unit)

[ssilicon]

I recently ran across information about this product. It seems like it would be wildly fantastic given the crazy features. What are people having to pay for these and do they actually work well for their main intended purpose? How well does all the fluff features work? I've been having an eye towards the LDG tuners but this is a step up in the interface dept. to say the least. But pretty bows on top don't mean squat if doesn't tune well.

What does the RR community have to say about this beast?

 

[AK9R]

I'm not familiar with the ATR-1000.

I have an LDG AT-1000ProII and two LDG AT-200ProII tuners. They work great with late-model Icom radios. They'll tune just about anything.

 

[ssilicon]

I'm not familiar with the ATR-1000.

I have an LDG AT-1000ProII and two LDG AT-200ProII tuners. They work great with late-model Icom radios. They'll tune just about anything.

Yep, that concurs with what I have observed as the experience for most users of their tuners. That's why I've been aiming towards them for when it comes time to buy. LDG has a reputation for providing solid products. I think their interfaces are a bit too simple; to the point of being more complex than they would if they added an extra button or two. I don't think they are too complex though. Some people like me, sometimes welcome a lot of cool features depending. And this ATR-1000 seems to be the bell and whistle deity at the moment based on what I've been seeing.

Since I don't usually like to be a pioneer (read guinea pig) when it comes to buying expensive gear, I was hoping the RR crowd already had such pioneers who could share their experience. I'll provide a link or two that reference them so you guys can see what you think.

https://hamradiotherapy.com/antenna/antuner-at-1000-review/

 

[EAFrizzle]

I don't have any experience with the ATR-1000, but it looks to be spec'd out nicely. Ive been using a Xiegu XPA-125B amp/tuner for about six months now, and the tuner function itself is similar to the ATR, just lower power rated.

All the connectivity is to allow the transceiver to talk to the tuner and keep itself tuned automatically as you move around the bands. It works fairly well on the 125B, and it's design is several years old. The ATR should have the occasional lagging worked out.

The big thing with these tuners is to tune them at low wattage, 5 - 20 watts or so. Just enough to activate it. Once they tune, they're OK with rated power levels.

I didn't see anything about a duty cycle, so I'd like to see some reviews from users with high wattage setups. Might turn out to be a nice unit.

 

[ssilicon]

I didn't see anything about a duty cycle, so I'd like to see some reviews from users with high wattage setups. Might turn out to be a nice unit.

I really don't plan to ever go past the 100W mark for my ham usage, but there is no harm in having components in your chain that are rated to handle more than you need (so long as they are also rated to handle as low as you need too). In fact, sometimes, using equipment well below it's rated capabilities can provide a longevity benefit. Perhaps. Maybe.

 

[AK9R]

I think their interfaces are a bit too simple; to the point of being more complex than they would if they added an extra button or two.

Depending on the radio and assuming you have the proper interface cable, you never have to touch the tuner's user interface.

 

[ssilicon]

Depending on the radio and assuming you have the proper interface cable, you never have to touch the tuner's user interface.

True true. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing the LDG stuff over it's somewhat crude user interface. In fact, if I was forced to buy something right this very second without knowing more info, it would be an LDG unit easily. I'm just a bit excited by the amount of extra fluff (and remote interfacing) that this ATR-1000 has. But... no matter how cool all that is, it has to perform it's main function well or it's all for naught.

 

[kk9h]

I own a LDG Z100 Plus that I use with an Icom IC-7100 and I am very happy with it. The cable offered by LDG for Icom radios simply plugs into the 7100 and pushing the “Tune” button on the radio initiates antenna tuning. If it has tuned on a frequency before finding the match is almost instantaneous.

 

[ssilicon]

I own a LDG Z100 Plus that I use with an Icom IC-7100 and I am very happy with it. The cable offered by LDG for Icom radios simply plugs into the 7100 and pushing the “Tune” button on the radio initiates antenna tuning. If it has tuned on a frequency before finding the match is almost instantaneous.

That's great, but I'm not looking for testimonials about LDG tuners. This thread is for testimonials about the ATR-1000. LDGs seem to be fine products... but is the ATR-1000? That's THE question (in this thread).

 

[prcguy]

I don't see any spec on the ATR-1000 on what mismatch it will handle. That's a very important spec and if it only works up to 3:1 it would not be very useful. If it works up to a 10:1 VSWR it would be ok. Having only coax connectors it appears to be a "line flattener" and not a random wire or whip tuner like most of the LDG line.

 

[ssilicon]

I don't see any spec on the ATR-1000 on what mismatch it will handle. That's a very important spec and if it only works up to 3:1 it would not be very useful. If it works up to a 10:1 VSWR it would be ok. Having only coax connectors it appears to be a "line flattener" and not a random wire or whip tuner like most of the LDG line.

You're on topic here. How big of a mismatch it will handle is a really important consideration. And as it happens, my personal use case for it would very likely be for a whip or random wire antenna. I would like to see something more along the lines of 10 to 1 (or better) and not something like 3 to 1.

 

[prcguy]

You're on topic here. How big of a mismatch it will handle is a really important consideration. And as it happens, my personal use case for it would very likely be for a whip or random wire antenna. I would like to see something more along the lines of 10 to 1 (or better) and not something like 3 to 1.

For a whip or random wire you might need to match anywhere from 5 to 2500 ohms or even higher. A line flattener with SO-239s will not do that. There could also be really high voltages if you tune a wire or whip that is a 1/2 wave or multiple. A 2500 ohm load would be a 50:1 mismatch and few amateur class auto tuners will do that today. The Icom AH-4 and Yaesu FC-50 wire/whip tuners both state they will not tune 1/2 wavelength or multiple. I would put $$ on the ATR-1000 not being able to tune random wires or whips in most cases.

The best specs I remember seeing on a line flattener type tuner is about 10:1 and some will only do about 3:1. The ability to tune up to a 10:1 mismatch should address most any antenna fed with 50 ohm coax like a G5RV which can approach 10:1 on 80m.

You say I'm on topic here. I'm marking my calendar, this must be a first.

 

[ssilicon]

prcguy, yes discussing a performance requirement for the equipment is not off topic. Discussing the actual performance of the ATR-1000 is more precisely on topic, but anything that is even loosely on point is is probably good enough. Just popping in to talk about your love of a completely different product while offering nothing about the ATR-1000 is adding noise, not signal (in this thread).

Don't get me wrong, I understand that people like to talk about their experiences with whatever equipment that they use. I like to as well. But life is short, time is valuable, the forum is organized for a reason, and I would like see the signal to noise ratio kept reasonable is all.

So, that being said, could you expound a little bit more about why you think the ATR-1000 is a "line flattener", what you mean by that, and why then it MAY not be a good solution for whips or random wire? No need to repeat the parts you already stated (but not unwelcome either) but I thought one uses an UNUN to do the heavy lifting, then the tuner cleans up what's left to do. I probably misunderstood you, but I git the impression you were saying you thought I expect the tuner to do the whole job.

 

[prcguy]

prcguy, yes discussing a performance requirement for the equipment is not off topic. Discussing the actual performance of the ATR-1000 is more precisely on topic, but anything that is even loosely on point is is probably good enough. Just popping in to talk about your love of a completely different product while offering nothing about the ATR-1000 is adding noise, not signal (in this thread).

Don't get me wrong, I understand that people like to talk about their experiences with whatever equipment that they use. I like to as well. But life is short, time is valuable, the forum is organized for a reason, and I would like see the signal to noise ratio kept reasonable is all.

So, that being said, could you expound a little bit more about why you think the ATR-1000 is a "line flattener", what you mean by that, and why then it MAY not be a good solution for whips or random wire? No need to repeat the parts you already stated (but not unwelcome either) but I thought one uses an UNUN to do the heavy lifting, then the tuner cleans up what's left to do. I probably misunderstood you, but I git the impression you were saying you thought I expect the tuner to do the whole job.

A wire/whip auto tuner typically has a single high voltage insulated wire output connection with a nearby ground connection and not an SO-239. A wire/whip tuner also matches a wide range of SWR encountered with random wires or whips. Just based on that I believe the ATR-1000 is designed to tune antennas fed with coax and it tunes over a narrower SWR range of 3:1 to maybe 10:1 worst case, which is not suitable for random wire or short whips.