There is a lot of comments on the QRP-labs group cautioning against use of auto tuners on simple qrp radios. Simple qrp radios dont have much protection against high swr. As tuners spend a few seconds searching for a match, they can try some lc combinations that present high swr. People advocate for manual tuners like qrp-guys that are bridge circuits that never present higher than 2:1 swr
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From: "Westley Clavey, W5WMC via groups.io" <wesclavey@...>
Date: 2/20/23 3:26 AM (GMT-07:00)
Subject: [ldgelectronics] Using Z-100A tuner "manually" with home-brew rigs
I have come into possession of an LDG Z-100A tuner that I would like to use as part of a portable travel kit with my home-brew CW rigs, running 5-25W.? It's small, light, versatile, and consumes little power and I always end up needing to tune the antenna.? I have the Z-100A power only cable, which I have wired for 12V DC, but before I try it out, I'd like to know what the sequence of tuning should be...? I don't want to destroy the transistor finals in the radios or do any damage to the tuner.
The transceivers are really simple:? press the key and they transmit - - no tuning mode or anything like that.? It seems I have 2 possible sequences:? (1) Press the TUNE button on the tuner then sent a signal from the radio; or (2) transmit from the radio and then press the TUNE button.
I have an SGC Smart Tuner that I use that I use in a "manual" mode for my home station and it automatically tunes or retrieves tuner settings when it senses RF.? But I don't see anything in the Z-100A about how to use it in a "manual" mode, i.e., not connected to a Xcvr that tells it when to tune.
Any suggestions?? Thanks.
