External auto tuner that will work away from QTH

Larry Deyoe

Have Flex 6300 with no internal ATU. Which external ATU would work well for remote use? I’m disabled and would like to use the rig from my iPad in my zero gravity chair downstairs from my shack. Will my LDG Z-100 Auto Tuner work fine off of memories and tune that way or should I look to buy a different tuner? Thanks from a new Flex Radio user! Larry K7HN

John - AI4FR

I don't know about the LDG but the Palstar HF-AUTO will work. I use the Palstar in conjunction with the W1TR software which allows me to control the tuner from the PC.

David

I have the LDG AT100Pro and it works fine. Actually better than the built-in tuner in the 6500.

Larry Deyoe

Thank you very much. I have an LDG Z 100. I don’t know if I should move up to the 100 pro or not.

Dave - W6OVP

Hello Larry - I use an LDG Z-11 Pro unattended with my 6300 and an iPad and it works very good. They make an excellent match.

Also owned an LDG Z 100 with an earlier rig and think it should work fine with your 6300. You have nothing to lose by giving yours a try before buying something else. Let us know how it works out.  73 Dave.

Larry Deyoe

Thank you very much Dave for your reply! This is great news for me because I could sure use to save a little more cash right now LOL thank you again for letting me know my friend.

Tom W3FRG

I also use the HF Auto with and w/o the W1TR SW.
I usually just rely on the RF Sense function of the tuner when operating remote.
Just hit tune and it does the job.

Tom W3FRG

Brian Morgan VK7RR

Larry,
I have used the LDG Z 100 and other LDG tuners for a variety of purposes over many years. Like the earlier commentators I see no reason why it won't perform as you want, with your Flex. I would suggest that you run thru each band or segment of band that you would normally use and memorise them, removing any old memories. That will save time when you use the external tuner again. Good luck.

David - KO1C

I was fortunate enough to get a good MFJ-998 autotuner. All I have to do from remote is hit the tune button and watch the SWR drop to an acceptable level, then work the DX.

David AB1XG

Larry Deyoe

Brian, it is already becoming a pleasure to be a part of the Flex Radio community. As a relatively new ham, this was my hope initially when I was licensed… To find good kind of people who would help me. All of your help here has meant the world to me and has also saved me a great deal of money. I have one final question… Do you think having an external wattmeter (power meter) is of great importance or is it simply “eye candy.“

Larry Deyoe

David, thank you so much! I appreciate your kindness and your help very much!

Larry Deyoe

Thank you SO MUCH Bob!

Brian Morgan VK7RR

Hello Larry,
Pleased to be able to offer some overview. If you are running a simple station, then an inline wattmeter is not necessary, in my view. If you are running legal limit with a linear, then I would strongly recommend one. However, there are wattmeters and wattmeters. The only two that I would consider are a Bird, or an LP wattmeter by N8LP. I use a Bird in my system because I am changing antennas, bands, linear amplifiers and transverters but all these changes occur via the Band switch on my Flex using BCD commands so the wattmeter is just a final check that everything is okay. I have bee talking about buying one of Larry's devices for too many years. Check out his website if you decide to use a wattmeter.

James Charlton

Hi,
I also use a remote FT998 tuner and it works fine with my 6600m.  But, there is a problem if you also want to use and external linear.  In my setup, the 6600m (with its internal tuner in bypass) drives an Ameritron ALS1306 the output of which goes to the FT998 tuner and then to the antenna.  The USB output of the 6600m selects the operating band on the amp.    The "Tune" power in the 6600m is set to 1-2 watts.  But there is a problem.

Pressing the "Tune" button on the 6600m causes the amp to come on with enough output power to actuate the tuner, but not enough to burn it out.  This all works great unless I forget to press the "tune" button when changing bands.
If I switch bands on the 6600m and operate without pressing the "Tune" button, the amp follows the radio, but the tuner does not because it hasn't seen any RF, yet.  As soon as I press the key (I'm a CW operator) the amp sees about 40 watts from the radio which drives it to about 1000 watts output.
The tuner, which is still set to the previous band, usually goes into bypass due to too much power.

The amp, for that brief instant, saw a high SWR on its antenna and put itself into protect bypass.  Nothing was damaged, but the amp can not be reset remotely.  Which means if I am operating remotely, I am now operating the 6600m barefoot.


I try to remember to always press the "Tune" button on the 6600m after every band change to avoid the problem.  Bu the Flex makes it so easy to jump between bands that I sometimes forget.

My current solution to the problem is an antenna with a low enough SWR at the CW end of most bands so I don't need the tuner.  

Regards,
Jim  AD0AB