Guten morgen.
I was just wondering if anyone has previous with a QMX and an auto tuner, in this case the MAT 705+ tuner.
Just wondering would it work safely, or for the QMX are you better off with a Z Match manual tuner or similar for an EFRW?
I would love a ZM-2 but can’t find one in the EU presently. Any other options suggested if an auto tuner is off the menu?
Thanks!
Hi Iain,
I use a QMX and ZM-2 combo as it was grief with my mAT10 autotuner as the protection would always kick in preventing the tuning cycle to complete (also having a tuner that was twice as big and 3 times as heavy as the rig felt wrong.
Best way I have found using the ZM-2 is to briefly switch in to Hardware/SWR test (where I have the power set to 30%) tune the atu and then back to operate mode. Only takes a minute. If you can find a ZM-2 I can’t rate it highly enough.
73
Declan EI6FR
You can always build the G-QRP club’s Limerick Sudden ATU.
However, as Brexit is the gift that keeps on giving, G-QRP are not shipping to EU or NI at present. You would need someone to order one for a non-NI UK address and then ship it to you as a “gift”.
Cheers Declan. Yup, heard very good things about the ZM-2. I can’t find one at the minute in the EU.
Kanga make a similar product but it is a kit. Given it is a tuner to be built, and I can’t be trusted even with a box of crayons, I’ll have to give it a pass as I’d just bodge it and end up destroying my QMX and having to rejoin the 327,942 year long wait list for another one (well worth every single one of those years by the way).
Apparently you can use the MAT-705+ with an SWR meter in-line but that’s just adding more kit to the chain. There is a MAT-10, but that’s another £170-ish when I’ve a MAT-705+ (and a MAT-100 for my 891) already.
Guess I could just go with a resonant wire, but then that isn’t an EFRW which I’ve recently become addicted to!
72 senor. 
EDIT:
Andy. You look fantastic today. Is that a new shirt? Remember that time we went for a hike and I put my coat over a puddle for you so your new Scarpa’s wouldn’t get wet? Etc… 
Hi Ian,
I’m very happy with the Chinese manual Z-Match that I bought about a year ago because I could not resist the price it was offered for! I “dug it out” of the cupboard when I wanted an antenna matching unit for my Xiegu G106 radio. The fact that it has switching for high and low impedance, should mean it will work fine with your EFRW (but I would still use it with its 9:1 UNUN in-line). It’s small, light and sturdily built. It will certainly be lighter than your MAT-705+.
73 Ed.
Ah! I have seen this on Alistair of the Express variety, previously. Is it this?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008351468614.html
The MAT-705+ is about the size of a family size bar of Fruit & Nut and not too bad a tuner (for the 705). If this thing is smaller that would be great for packing in a bag.
EDIT: Just found it on Amazon, same tuner. €3.xx more but will arrive tomorrow, and if it’s a load of old pony I can send it back free.
Will report back on it (if it can help others looking for a QMX or EFRW manual tuner) once I take it for a test drive.
Ignore all the comments above and buy this.
The QRP ATU KT-005
Interesting, but how can I order one and where? Products are not listed at the usual suspects (dealers), no online shop, no email address at the website, nor a (legally required) impressum. Only a link to Ebay.pl , while I can’t find the products on Ebay.de at all.
Suspicious.
I can not find it on ebay uk either
73, Rod
https://www.ebay.pl/itm/377036020814
About €220 from the eBay store. I like the look of that CW Paddle with the Recording feature they are proposing for Q1 2027. I’ll keep an eye on how that progresses.
Let’s see how the Alistair Express tuner fares first. With any luck I can take it for a test drive tomorrow night.
From the Krait web site. You can order direct:
KT-005 prices*:
fully assembled, enclosed and ready to use: $219 / €****199
kit for THT self assembly (SMT components populated) + enclosure: $175 / €****157
kit for THT self assembly (SMT components populated) without enclosure: $150 / €****134
enclosure: $25 / € 20
*) The listed prices apply to direct sales. When purchasing through Allegro
or eBay, the prices are adjusted to include the respective platform’s commission fees.
Shipping cost: (please contact directly for a detailed quote; the cost
depends on the destination country; use the email provided below)
- Poland: 5 EUR
- Belgium, France, Spain, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal and Italy: 7 EUR only!
other European Union countries : up to 28 EUR
Outside Europe/Non-EU: up to $55 / € 50
Information on additional fees (taxes and duties):
UK: Radio communication equipment (HS code: 85437090) is not subject to customs duties
— only a 20% tax is applied. The delivery may take up to 3-4 weeks!
USA: HTS 8517.70.00.00 (“parts of telecommunication apparatus”) — no customs,
only some fees 43-48 USD; FedEx International Economy, about 62 USD
Switzerland: TBD
Australia: about 83 AUD (HS code: 854370), FedEx International Economy
Couple of good videos on YouTube about the Alistair tuner:
Good that you found one on Amazon, as the link you posted gives me the error:
There seem to be different opinions about what it should cost on AliExporess - €230?? I paid about €28 if I remember correctly.
The one you have on Amazon is the same device - I find €40 expensive compared to the cheapest Ali prices (even when they will now have €3 added to them). Unless the Irish seller is sourcing rejects (which I doubt), the quality is good, and for up to 10w PEP it does a fine job. It’s not automatic, but that is normally not an issue - by the way, the built-in SWR LED works well, - you use it to match the antenna. Operation instructions/ circuit diagram are on the web; all I got was the unit itself. (That may have changed in the interim, from what your video shows).
73 Ed.
Update: that high-priced seller, seems to be on Amazon as well.
Seems to be a geofenced URL. Odd!
The tuner is the same as the one you added a screenshot of anyway so all good. Price on Ali was €40 for a fully assembled one. The €28 to €35 price is for a kit version.
I went for the built version. €43 from Amazon, free returns, arrives tomorrow. If it’s a load of pony it can be returned with no hassle. Going the Ali route will take a couple weeks, plus the additional ‘fees’ from An Post when it arrives in Ireland.
The Kanga one looks brilliant and a possible rival to the ZM-2, but alas only available as a kit. No use for someone who’s building skills are the equivalent of a Homer Simpson spice rack.
Hi Ian,
No, this product is not sold as a kit, only fully assembled. In any case, €43 with next-day delivery is still a good deal for this item.
By the way, I presume your feed line will be coax from your 9:1 UNUN, not that you want to connect the EFRW wire straight to the unit - if you do, I’d recommend using one of those BNC to terminal connector adapters rather than making the modifications shown in the video (he had to do that as he needed a floating earth).
73 Ed.
Alistair has arrived on time. He is actually a fairly well-matched size for the QMX.
He sits really nicely under the QMX as well. Also, due to the case having grooves in it, the QMX won’t budge sideways if you lay it sideways across the top of the tuner.
I like.
I will try and bring Alistair (his new name now 
) out for a test drive tonight or at the weekend and see if the QMX warms to him.
More to follow…
I was out with my G106 and Z-Match this morning - all worked fine but the bands were hardd work today!
73 Ed.
Miniaturization for its own sake can be a lot of fun for the designer, no question.
In the field of portable radio operation, there is, for my personal needs, a limit to miniaturization from a purely practical point of view.
Therefore, for over 20 years I have been taking advantage of the Elecraft T1 semi-automatic antenna tuner (my first one was a kit). For practical reasons, my T1 ATUs are usually deployed remotely (e.g., when an antenna has guyed radials or when it’s not enjoyable to sit on the radials at the feed point, hi).
So i took Alistair out for a spin tonight. No time for an activation even though I called CQ POTA.
Literally had time to throw a wossname up in the doodah, then I popped over for a quick fiddle with the QMX and Alistair. He works. Great. Then i went home.
He performed amicably. Tuned an EFRW to 20m in about minus 9 seconds. Called CQ POTA about 97 times and got some reasonable results for 5 Watts and pants band conditions.
My QMX settings were all over the place and I hadn’t time to set them all up. This was a case of call CQ and if someone replies, great.
Alistair doesn’t like to extinguish his bulb fully, but he does try his best. I like him. He’s a cheeky, affordable chap that tunes antennas like the promiscuous young scamp he is!
I will take him out for a proper activation soon. Good job Alistair. 
Unfortunately, this photo is too blurry to see if there are any radials lying around, or if this function is taken over by the outer surface of the coaxial cable’s shielding braid, and whether there’s a current balun looped inside the coaxial cable somewhere to limit the length of this (also radiating) radial … sorry for this somewhat dramatic wording; it was written with a lot of effort especially for you. So, I hope you enjoy it. 
Haha! Appreciated!
So the EFRW is by Radio Stuff and does have a counterpoise. I had that laid out and also put a choke in line and without, just to see what difference it may make.
The antenna slipped a bit and hit the ground which wasn’t ideal but you may see from RBN today I had very little time to do extensive testing. It was just a case of get the antenna in the tree, fire up the QMX, tune and go.
