The ILERTENNA End-Fed Tuner.

Started by gil, May 11, 2015, 12:54:51 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

gil

Hello gang,

Thanks to Chris who posted the link to this kit initially and made me spend a sushi lunch worth of money ;), here is the ILERTENNA end-fed tuner I finally decided to assemble...

The tuner is basically the same as the now retired betterqrp.com EFHW model. It has an SWR bridge with an LED and a polyvaricon capacitor for tuning from 15m to 40m half-wave wires. The kit comes with a plastic box and a PCB used as the box cover; very clever. It is slightly bigger than the betterqrp EFHW model (see photos attached). You also get a connector for a counterpoise, though using one isn't mandatory. The manual is very clear and easy to follow.

I almost gave up tonight because I couldn't find my snipping tool, but after about fifteen minutes of frantic search I finally found it. Not all time lost since I also found a dollar in quarters ;D

Construction didn't take much time; "you don't have to pause to go to the bathroom" kind of quick ::) - I started with the bridge resistors, then the polyvaricon, switch, BNC, resistor, small capacitor and LED, then finished with the two transformers. That's all there is to it. Winding the toroids for me is a Zen-like experience which I always enjoy :o

One thing you need for any kit besides good magnification is good light... BTW holding a flashlight in your mouth doesn't count as "good light" unless you're too old to drool anymore, but I'm not there yet.

I will be able to test the tuner this Saturday. I did plug in my K1 and set the switch to tune, then sent a dash, the LED came on, good sign. I won't really know if it work until I try in the field though.

It is hard to find a HFHW tuner these days. SOTABEAMS sells one: http://www.sotabeams.co.uk/mountain-endfed-halfwave-tuner-40-17m-kit-or-built/ but without an LED. I do like the way it is designed though, and it is pretty small. The ILERTENNA is located here: http://ea3gcy.blogspot.com.es/2014/04/ilertenna-end-fed-qrp-antenna-tuner.html. I checked betterqrp.com and qrpkits.com, but no cigar.

There is the Earchi end-fed multi-band transformer (6-40m) but you need a tuner to use it: http://earchi.org/92011endfedfiles/Endfed6_40.pdf.

The three tuners on the photo, left to right are:

  • ILERTENNA
  • EARCHI
  • BetterQRP EFHW

Gil.

gil

Hello,

I am happy to report that I took my K1 and the ILLERTENNA tuner to a prepper meeting at a local park and tried it out. It worked flawlessly.

Gil.

compostellas

Thanks for the review! Have you compared this Ilertenna with the SOTABEAMS Mountain Tuner? I'm trying to decide between the two. The LED indicator on the Ilertenna looks helpful. Appreciate any feedback you can provide.

gil

Hello, I did have the SOTABEAMS 80m end-fed tuner but never had the opportunity to test it before I lost it. It did seem well built. If your radio has a SWR meter then the SOTABEAMS being smaller,  would be my choice. Otherwise I'd get the ILERTENNA. The LED brings peace of mind. Both are very similar otherwise. The ILLERTENNA has a 50 Ohm bridge. I don't remember if the SOTABEAMS does.. For me, the LED made the difference.

Gil.

cockpitbob

A bridge SWR indicator is required equipment for me.  It protects your rig while tuning, because when in tune mode the bridge makes it so your rig will never see an SWR worse than 2:1.