Mat-Tuner mAT-125E User manual

MAT-TUNER® Instruction Manual
mAT-125E
HF-SSB General Automatic Antenna Tuner
Instruction Manual Version V3.0
INTRODUCTION
The mAT-125E is a universal automatic antenna tuner that can be used with most HF
transceivers. Working requency range o 1.8-54MHz, 120 watts maximum RF power. Built-in
rechargeable lithium batteries eliminates the need or external 12 vDC power supply.,
The tuner does not need a control cable to connect the transceiver. It only requires
connection to the transceiver via coaxial cable. Tunes dipoles, verticals, Yagis, or virtually any
coax- ed antenna. Matching range o 5-1500 ohms, ar in excess o the capability o typical
internal automatic antenna tuners or other external units.
The mAT-125E has 16,000 requency memories. When tuning on or near a previously tuned
requency, the mAT-125E uses “Memory Tune” to recall the previous tuning parameters in a
raction o a second. I no memorized settings are available, the tuner runs a ull tuning cycle,
storing the parameters or memory recall on subsequent tuning cycles on that requency. In this
manner, the mAT-125E “learns” as it is used, adapting to the bands and requencies as it goes.
You can also start a tuning cycle manually whenever necessary.
The tuner has our ine-tuning buttons. A ter automatic tuning, you can make more ine
adjustments manually to adjust or lower SWR i desired.
Two 18650 lithium batteries are installed in the interior o the mAT-125E, which provides
power or the tuner. Because o the use o advanced magnetic retaining relays, the power
consumption o mAT-125E is very small, and lithium battery can power the unit or long periods
o time a ter it is ully charged. Special chargers are provided with tuners. Use the included
charger only or charging internal batteries.
S ECIFICATIONS
-0.1 to 120 watts SSB and CW peak power, 30 watts on PSK and digital modes, and 100 watts
on 6 meters.
-Latching relays or ultra-low power operation.
-16,000 memories or instantaneous requency and band changing.
-Tuning time: 0.1 to 5 seconds ull tune, 0.1 seconds memory tune.
-1.6 to 54.0 MHz coverage. Built-in requency sensor.
-Tunes 5 to 1500 ohm loads.
-Includes a lithium battery charger and rechargeable batteries
-For dipoles, verticals, Vees, beams, whip, wire or any coax- ed antenna.
-Dimensions: 20cm x 13cm x 4cm (L x W x H).
-Weight: 0.8 kg.
AN IM ORTANT WORD ABOUT OWER LEVELS
The mAT-125E is rated at 120 watts maximum power input at most. Many ham transmitters
and transceivers, and virtually all amplifiers, output well over 120 watts. ower levels that
significantly exceed specifications will definitely damage or destroy your mAT-125E. If your
tuner fails during overload, it could also damage your transmitter or transceiver. Be sure to
observe the specified power limitations.
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MAT-TUNER® Instruction Manual
FRONT ANEL
On the ront panel there are six pushbuttons and our LED indicator lights.
[TUNE]: Initiates a tuning cycle, Online/Bypass state switching, Multi unctional buttons.
[CUP] / [CDN]: Manually increase/decrease capacitance.
[LUP] / [LDN]: Manually increase/decrease inductance.
[POWER]: Power button.
1.5, 2.0, and >3.0 LEDs: Indicate SWR.
PWR: Power light.
.
REAR ANEL
The rear panel o the mAT-125E eatures our connectors.
ANTENNA: SO-239 connector or coax cable rom antenna.
RF IN: Connect a 50 ohm coax jumper cable rom this standard SO-239 connector to the ANT
jack on the back o the transceiver.
Charger: Charging socket.
GND: Connect to antenna system ground.
This picture is for reference only and may chan e later.
INSTALLATION
The mAT-125E tuner is designed or indoor operation only. I you use it outdoors (Field Day,
or example), you must protect it rom rain or moisture. Always turn your radio o be ore
plugging or unplugging anything. The radio may be damaged i cables are connected or
disconnected while the power is on.
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USABLE TRANSCEIVERS
Most HF transceivers can use mAT-125E. They only need to satis y two conditions: the RF
power level can be adjusted below 20 W, and they have at least one o AM, FM, CW, FSK, RTTY
modes to output constant carrier.
It should be noted that in the tuning process, a larger VSWR can be detected by the
transceiver. Because the output power o the transceiver is very low, this high VSWR should not
damage the transceiver. Some transceivers are very sensitive to this high VSWR even at low
power levels and they may turn o the transmitting carrier, which will cause the tuning to stop.
Yaesu transceivers are particularly susceptible to this issue. For Yaesu, the mAT-30 tuner will not
cause the radio to stop transmitting in the presence o higher VSWR while tuning, even at low
power output.
INSTALLATION
1. Connect the HF/50 MHz antenna jack on the transceiver to the “RF IN” jack on the back o
the mAT-125E, using a 50 ohm coax cable rated 120 watts or greater.
2. Connect the antenna eedline coax to the “ANTENNA” jack on the rear o the mAT-125E.
3. Grounding the mAT-125E tuner will enhance its per ormance and sa ety. We recommend
that you connect your tuner to a suitable ground; a common ground rod connected to buried
radials is pre erred, but a single ground rod or a cold water pipe can also be used. We strongly
recommend the use o a properly installed, high quality lightning arrestor on all antenna cables
O ERATION
As with other general tuners, a constant RF signal o 1-20 watts power level is needed to be
present at the tuner input during the tuning cycle. This signal should be CW, FM, FSK, or RTTY.
The power level o the input RF signal must not be greater than 20 watts, otherwise it will shorten
the li e o the tuning cycle, and the tuner can be damaged.
The mAT-125E ha two modes o operation: automatic and semi-automatic. Users can easily
switch between the two modes o work by using multi- unction combination buttons.
Automatic Mode: When the RF signal is input into the mAT-125E, the tuner veri ies that the
power at its input (FORWARD) is within the prede ined range (1-20W). Power above this range
can damage the relays due to hot switching, while power below the prede ined range can cause
inaccurate tuning. I the tune power is within the speci ied range, the tuner captures a 20ms
sample o the signal. The sample signal requency is divided by 128 and measured by a counter.
The tuner reads the tuning data corresponding to the measured requency rom its internal memory
(such data exists i tuning was previously per ormed or this requency). The tuner sets the tuning
network according to that data and measures the resulting VSWR, and displays the current VSWR
by the LED o the ront panel. Even i SWR is higher than 2:1 the tuning cycle will not be
activated unless the TUNE key is pressed and released.
Semi-automatic: When the RF signal is input into the mAT-125E, the tuner only measures the
current VSWR and displays the results through the LED on the ront panel. A tuning cycle is not
initiated until the [TUNE] key is pressed. When the [TUNE] key is pressed and released, similar
to the automatic mode, the tuner measures the requency o the input signal, reads the
con iguration data rom the corresponding memory, and con igures the LC tuning network. A ter
completing the above operation, the tuner will measure the current VSWR. I VSWR<1.5,the
tuning is completed. I it is higher, a new tuning cycle is started. When the tuner completes the
tuning process it stores the tuning network data in memory in a location corresponding to the
current requency.
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Manual: Regardless o whether the tuner is in automatic or semi-automatic mode, you can ine
tune the current LC tuning network by pressing the [CUP], [CDN], [LUP], and [LDN] key. A ter
the manual seat adjustment is completed, you can save the current con iguration data in the
corresponding memory by pressing the [TUNE]+[LUP] combination key.
TUNING
The steps to start tuning are as ollows:
-Set the radio to the FM, FSK or RTTY mode, to give the transceiver output a stable carrier
signal
-Reduce output power to 20 watts or less.
-Press and hold the transceiver’s [PTT] button, then press the [TUNE] button once on the ront
panel o mAT-125E to start the automatic tuning.
-Return to the previous mode and power level a ter tuning, the tuning process completion.
-A ter tuning, the ront panel's three lights are used to display the current VSWR.
ONLINE / BY ASS SWITCHING
There are two ways to switch the state o the tuner. Shortly press the [TUNE] button and the
[TUNE] +[CDN] combination button. I the 1.5 indicator lashes once, it means that the current
state is online, and i the 3.0 indicator lashes once, it means that the current state is o line.
COMBINATION BUTTON
A combination button is ormed by [TUNE] and other buttons ([CDN], [LUP], [LDN]) to
per orm part o the unction operation. The combination button means that the [TUNE] button is
irst pressed and held, the other button is pressed, and then they are released together.
[TUNE]+[CDN]: Online/Bypass switching. When the 1.5 light lashes, it indicates that the
current status is online. When the 3.0 light is lashing, it indicates that it is bypass.
[TUNE]+[LDN]: Automatic/semi-automatic mode switching. When the 1.5 light lashes, it
indicates that the current mode is automatic. When the 3.0 light is lashing, it indicates that it
is semi-automatic.
[TUNE]+[LU ]: The matching data o the tuning network is saved to the corresponding
memory.
AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN
The tuner has automatic shutdown unction or saving battery power. When the unction is
activated, the tuner will turn o automatically i no button is pressed in about 3 minutes. Because
the tuner uses magnetic latching relays, the current tuning state will not be a ected a ter the tuner
is turned o .
In shutdown state, press the [TUNE] button and then press [POWER] button to boot, you can
open or close the automatic shutdown unction. When the 1.5 light blinks once, it indicates that
this unction is activated. When the 3.0 light blinks once, this unction is turned o .
FLASHING OF THE INDICATOR LIGHT WHEN STARTING U
When the mAT-125E is powered on, the LED on the ront panel lashes to indicate the
settings or current tuning
1.5: I lashing once, it indicates semi-automatic mode. I lashing twice, automatic.
2.0: I lashing once, it indicates automatic shutdown unction is o . I not lashing,
indicating automatic shutdown unction in on.
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BATTERY RE LACEMENT
The tuner uses two 18650 lithium batteries with a recommended capacity o 2000-2500 mAh.
The tuner contains a battery protection circuit. When the tuner is irst used or the battery is
replaced, it must be charged to activate the internal protection circuit be ore it can work properly.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Never operate the tuner with its cover removed. Contact with the components inside the tuner
whi e transmitting wi resu t in painfu RF burns.
Locate the tuner so that the rear termina s are not accessib e during operation. The sing e wire
connection may have high vo tage whi e transmitting.
Disconnect a antennas from the tuner during ightning storms.
TRANS ORT
Because there are two lithium batteries installed inside the tuner, please comply with local laws
when transporting.
TECHNICAL SU ORT
Visit the Support Center at: http://www.mat-tuner.com/en/
RODUCT FEEDBACK
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In an email tell us how you used the product and how well it worked in your application. We like
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website.
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MAT-TUNER
BG3MZU 2019.07.15
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