qrp: low-power communications

Four State QRP Group’s 4S-Tuner

Earlier this year, I reviewed the Icom IC-705, which is being touted by some as the holy grail of QRP transceivers. Although I believe this term may be a bit pretentious to describe the IC-705, it does have an excellent receiver and meets the needs of those QRPers who desire a highly portable compact transceiver. One complaint that some hams have about the IC-705, though, is the lack of a built-in internal antenna tuner (ATU). I do not view the absence of an ATU as a downfall since I often use tuned antennas. However, for those who want to use a random length of wire as an antenna or turn a dipole into a multiband antenna, then an external ATU is necessary. Of course, a tuner is one more piece of equipment that needs to be packed and hauled into the field if you are working portable. The Four State QRP Group’s 4S-Tuner is one tuner — I promise — that due to its size and weight, you will not know is along for the ride.

There are several commercial compact ATUs available for the ham