The question of 'tuner' and 'coupler' and the distinction
between them is a point on which you will find quite a bit of confusion and
contention. The words are often used interchangeably, so many people
conclude they are the same thing.
A TUNER is something which TUNES just after the output of your
transceiver. It's purpose is to match the feedline to the
transceiver. It matches the transceiver to provide a 50 Ohm
connection to the feedline (or whatever impedance is needed for the
match).
A COUPLER on the other hand is put at the feed point of the
antenna. It's purpose is to match the antenna to the 50 ohm
feedline (or whatever other impedance is needed, but usually it's 50
ohms). A coupler keeps the SWR down along the whole feedline
and antenna, while a tuner does not.
So which do you want?
A tuner built into your rig is
there to protect the transceiver, not to give you the best signal. It's convenient, simple, and on most HF frequencies, losses
will be fairly minimal on a practical level.
A coupler at the antenna feed point will
maximize your energy flow into the antenna, giving you the best signal possible
with the physical antenna. A coupler automates the tuning by selecting
the best match at the feed point to maximize energy flow. This minimizes SWR
across the whole of the feed line which also minimizes energy loss. Since
the coupler is completely independent with its own internal intelligence,
it operates completely without attention once it's properly
installed.
The cost of both can be almost the same, in my opinion, I
would always choose the "coupler" over a antenna "tuner" for the
reasons pointed out above. A antenna coupler is a remote device that is
installed at the antenna feedpoint, it doesn't sit on your desk inside
the ham shack. Antenna couplers will require that you install the
coupler outside of the ham shack.
The manuals that come with coupers are very thorough and will
suggest various antennas and installtion techniques.
Whose antenna coupler shoud I
purchase?
The top of the line are the SGC couplers, they are military
spec and are used in aircraft, marine, and military applications, and YES,
amateur radio applications. MFJ offers a line of remote antenna couplers,
they're more than suitable for amateur radio application and will save
you $100 - $200 and more depending the wattage handling capability of
the coupler you choose to purchase.
Reliability:
I have owned both, my first antenna couplers were the SGC-230,
SGC-231, & the SGC-237, they're all extremely reliable and I have never had
a failure with any of them over the 30 years they've been in
service.
MFJ provides several versions of their remote antenna couplers,
the MFJ-926B 200 watt model, the MFJ-993BRT 300 watt model, & the MFJ-994BRT
600 watt model, and the MFJ-998RT 1500 watt model. The one I own is a MFJ-993BRT
300 watt model. My operating has been limited to barefoot operation
with standard 100 watt transveivers.
I have never found the need to power my way on the frequencies
with 1500 watts, splattering the bandwidth with 75 KHZ wide buck shot. I
have worked the world with 100 watts and with attention paid to erecting
effective coupled antennas with good filtering. All my HF antennas have been
homebrew, including 160 meters. As with the SGC couplers, my
MFJ-993BRT has performed admirably without any failures.
Read my section on the "The Forgotten
Band" on how to get on 160 meters with a small but effective antenna
utilizing a antenna coupler.
Bob Krueger,
AB7CQ
Web
Administrator
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