I am using both the LDG "AT-897" and my FC-40 with three antennas and
a control switch. Is anyone else doing the same?
The control cable for the AT-897 is connected to the back of my FT-
897D in the usual manner at the radio's Antenna Tuner port and the
control cable for the FC-40 is connected to the AT-897's auxilary
Antenna Tuner port at the lower backside.
I also have the auto-tune cable connecting my AT-897 to the ACC port
on the back of the FT-897D. This makes tuning the AT-897 really
simple: just push the button on the AT-897 for a few seconds, the red
light on the turner turns on, and the radio goes into a transmit stage
automatically while the AT-897 seeks a match. This is a great solution
for 60 meters.
The coax cables for my three antennas are connected to a three
position switch, 1 is my "Cobra Junior", 2 is my FC-40 random wire,
and 3 is a resonate 75 meter dipole.
To use the antennas:
Antenna 1: (a "Cobra Junior") - I switch the cable switch to the first
position and depress the AT-897's tune button.
Antenna 2: (a 93 foot wire connected to the FC-40) - I switch the
antenna selector to the second position; Tap the button on the AT-897
once quickly, which shuts off the AT-897 and passes everything through
like it's not there; then I touch the TUNE button on the FT-897D (menu
k or the F1 programmable key on my MH-59).
Antenna 3: (75 meter dipole) - I simply switch the antenna selector to
the third position and depress the tune button on the AT-897 once
quickly. No tuning is required.
The only quirky thing that seems to happen is with the AT-897...
evidently touching the tune button is a toggle and it's sometimes hard
to know what position it's in. If I get a HSWR when tuning my FC-40,
I have to flip over to my first antenna, tune it first with the AT-897
and then flip back to the FC-40 and shut off the AT-897 as I described
earlier.
There doesn't appear to be any loop issues and signal reports are
excellent for all antennas although comparisons between my "Cobra
Junior" and my FC-40 on 40 meters always favor my FC-40 by about 2 "S"
units.
Regards,
Paul
KA6GEM
