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Are there losses as a result of using a tuner? Yes, but not as much inherently in the tuner as you might think. Most of the loss occur in the feedline between the tuner and the feed point of the antenna; Maxwell's Reflections discusses this in length.

If you require a tuner, which is usually the case as you move down lower in the bands, you can minimize the losses significantly if you are able to move the tuner right adjacent to the feed point of the antenna. For example, a remote ATU used in conjunction with a 160m vertical can be a quite effective arrangement. Another example is when using highly portable radios like the Elecraft KX3 or KX2: attaching a BNC pos/neg binding post adapter directly to the radio with a random length radiating wire and a ground radial with the built in ATU will perform better than a length of coax ran to some type of Unun and wire. Of course, other considerations such as mechanical connections may out weight the best antenna configuration for performance.

Another option for minimizing losses when using a tuner is to change the feedline to balanced ladder line (or similar).

<blockquote data-quote="Moleculo" data-source="post: 779560" data-attributes="member: 1">Are there losses as a result of using a tuner?&nbsp; Yes, but not as much inherently in the tuner as you might think.&nbsp; Most of the loss occur in the feedline between the tuner and the feed point of the antenna; Maxwell&#039;s Reflections discusses this in length.&nbsp; If you require a tuner, which is usually the case as you move down lower in the bands, you can minimize the losses significantly if you are able to move the tuner right adjacent to the feed point of the antenna.&nbsp; For example, a remote ATU used in conjunction with a 160m vertical can be a quite effective arrangement.&nbsp; Another example is when using highly portable radios like the Elecraft KX3 or KX2:&nbsp; attaching a BNC pos/neg binding post adapter directly to the radio with a random length radiating wire and a ground radial with the built in ATU will perform better than a length of coax ran to some type of Unun and wire.&nbsp; Of course, other considerations such as mechanical connections may out weight the best antenna configuration for performance.Another option for minimizing losses when using a tuner is to change the feedline to balanced ladder line (or similar).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Moleculo, post: 779560, member: 1"] Are there losses as a result of using a tuner? Yes, but not as much inherently in the tuner as you might think. Most of the loss occur in the feedline between the tuner and the feed point of the antenna; Maxwell's Reflections discusses this in length. If you require a tuner, which is usually the case as you move down lower in the bands, you can minimize the losses significantly if you are able to move the tuner right adjacent to the feed point of the antenna. For example, a remote ATU used in conjunction with a 160m vertical can be a quite effective arrangement. Another example is when using highly portable radios like the Elecraft KX3 or KX2: attaching a BNC pos/neg binding post adapter directly to the radio with a random length radiating wire and a ground radial with the built in ATU will perform better than a length of coax ran to some type of Unun and wire. Of course, other considerations such as mechanical connections may out weight the best antenna configuration for performance. Another option for minimizing losses when using a tuner is to change the feedline to balanced ladder line (or similar). [/QUOTE]

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