Everyone Needs A Tina-Tuner

[W1IA]

https://home.comcast.net/~w1ia/



Strap!!!!!


Brent(Tina) W1IA

[K1JJ]

Way to go, TINA!!

Looks almost like the JJ Super Tuner floating design....      [Great minds think alike]

So, what's the white wires coming off the input link? Is this a method of tapping the input link for more range?  It's hard to see exactly what's going on in that pic.  I once had a Johnson matchbox with an input link tapping switch. It was a beautiful way to double-triple  the matching range of the tuner.   Let me know how that works out for you.

T

[W1IA]

Way to go, TINA!!

Looks almost like the JJ Super Tuner floating design....      [Great minds think alike]

So, what's the white wires coming off the input link? Is this a method of tapping the input link for more range?  It's hard to see exactly what's going on in that pic.  I once had a Johnson matchbox with an input link tapping switch. It was a beautiful way to double-triple  the matching range of the tuner.   Let me know how that works out for you.

T

Just a break out to tap the link....works fb

B

[K1JJ]

Hi Mark,

It sounds like you're just missing a piece - the hub. The hub is what the threaded shaft goes thru, and this shaft has a locked coupling on it. When the rod is threaded in, this coupling pushes on the missing hub [with a bearing to smooth it out] which is how the capacitor plates are moved outwards. [or inwards]

So, I would axe around for a hub like that. There's plenty of broken vac caps out there where you cud get a hub. They are pretty standard in size... only a few basic vac cap sizes, esp if they are the Jennings variety or clones. 

Maybe if you post a pic of yours and post dimensions of the cap and the screw holes on the cap, etc, you will find one here.

T

[WA1GFZ]

Tom Vu,
I need a hub for my 1200 pf unit going into the 4X3. Trade ya fer somtin

[W1RKW]

Not to change the subject but Tina, how do you manage to have your website on a secure server "https" as a opposed to the typical "http" type that all us cheap bastards have?

[W1IA]

Not to change the subject but Tina, how do you manage to have your website on a secure server "https" as a opposed to the typical "http" type that all us cheap bastards have?

Its what comcast gives me for space and I upload using frontpage....still not enough storage though.
I can't link directly to it though.

Brent

[W1UJR]

Brent,

Cool beans there OM, and most manly construction.
Its almost a "Man-Tenna Tuner" .

What 'ya need is some glowage, a couple of neon bulbs placed on each leg of the output.
Serves to give a relative power indication, shows balance, and flash with modulation!
Glowage!





Hope catch you on air.
The holdays are coming, along with surplus radio time.

-Bruce

[K1JJ]

Tina,

I took a closer look at the tuner. If I'm seeing right, I notice that the main coil ends are bolted with metal brackets directly to the wood.  At 1500W there is tremendous RF voltage at these high impedance ends of the coil. And, wood at times absorbs moisture or has it already.  I'll bet in some configs you would see a difference in tuning between the wood and ceramic. I would replace with some ceramic standoff insulators at those two points.   DC can hack it, but RF is squirrelly.

Your 50 ohm, low impedance point has insulators, so might as well do the the high side too.

73,

T

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Nice tuner Tina!

Not to be a turd in the punch bowl, but consider testing those alligator clips too. Make an old buzzard and right after you let up off the maul, check the temperature of those clips, especially right where they make contact with the coil. Everything else in that tuner is very strapping, but it looks like the surface area where the clips contact the coil is small (much smaller than the surface area of the coil). This could cause hot spots.

Soldering (screw and solder or even sweat solder) tabs on the coil at the tap points should help. Also using flat mouthed clips instead of the jagged-edged alligators should also help.

Painting it pink will add 10 dB to your signal.

[K1JJ]

Yeah, good point, Huz.

There's a few options:  The hardware stores sometimes have these giant copper "mini-battery"  alligator clips.  What I did once was to file out the teeth and make it a round grip to match the coil diameter. More contact area, as HUZ says.

Another way is to locate the pre-set taps on the coil and mark.  Then solder on copper flashing tabs. Then you can use flat clips with greater surface area.

I know some guys simply solder a copper tab on ALL coil turns and just mark the specific five band presets with colored paint.  There are FOUR taps per band.

Caw Mawn.

T 

[W1IA]

Nice tuner Tina!

Not to be a turd in the punch bowl, but consider testing those alligator clips too. Make an old buzzard and right after you let up off the maul, check the temperature of those clips, especially right where they make contact with the coil. Everything else in that tuner is very strapping, but it looks like the surface area where the clips contact the coil is small (much smaller than the surface area of the coil). This could cause hot spots.

Soldering (screw and solder or even sweat solder) tabs on the coil at the tap points should help. Also using flat mouthed clips instead of the jagged-edged alligators should also help.

Painting it pink will add 10 dB to your signal.

Ha! Pink...yup I am looking for some copper battery clips to round over for the antenna and link

Tom...the ends are made of a fiberglass angles, I need to find some insulators to do the job, but so far they haven't arced over.....the alligator clips get warm, but not hot.

Brent W1IA

[K1JJ]

Fiberglass is OK, Tina.  I've never had a problem wid it here in HV applicationss.  Plus you have the wood path in series.  Not to worry.

T

[W2VW]

Nice tuner Tina!

Not to be a turd in the punch bowl, but consider testing those alligator clips too. Make an old buzzard and right after you let up off the maul, check the temperature of those clips, especially right where they make contact with the coil. Everything else in that tuner is very strapping, but it looks like the surface area where the clips contact the coil is small (much smaller than the surface area of the coil). This could cause hot spots.

Soldering (screw and solder or even sweat solder) tabs on the coil at the tap points should help. Also using flat mouthed clips instead of the jagged-edged alligators should also help.

Painting it pink will add 10 dB to your signal.

Ha! Pink...yup I am looking for some copper battery clips to round over for the antenna and link

Tom...the ends are made of a fiberglass angles, I need to find some insulators to do the job, but so far they haven't arced over.....the alligator clips get warm, but not hot.

Brent W1IA

Get rid of those js clips before you hook up the class E rig on 160. Plumbing supply copper pipe hangers make good coil taps when you beat them flat with a Ford wrench (also known as a hammer). Wrap them around a turn and solder.

After you guys got off the air last night a guy comes on wanting to know what the heck is class E!!!! I did my best which was to point him to this site. He turned out to be one of the old 10 metre AM regulars form a coupla three cycles ago. N4PR. Hope he made it here.

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Teeena,
          Good Show on the antenna tuna. Balanced line is definitely the way to go!