Antenna tuners are devices often misunderstood in the Amateur Radio world. While not every station requires an antenna tuner to transmit radio signals, without one an incompatibility between the transmitter and the antenna system can result in poor performance. The ARRL Guide to Antenna Tuners: A Radio Amateur’s Guide to Antenna Matching by Joel R. Hallas, W1ZR, will help you understand how to select the right tuner for your needs and how to use it in your shack.

The ARRL Guide to Antenna Tuners discusses the details of the different configurations and requirements of antenna tuners. It explores the design, construction and applications of the different types available. You’ll be able to determine if one is necessary in your station, what type of tuner is needed and where to install it for maximum improvement. This book will give you a better understanding of your antenna system and the way it can be improved through the selection and use of the appropriate antenna tuner.

Contents include:

• Why Might I Need an Antenna Tuner
• A Look at a Typical Configuration
• So Just What is an Antenna Tuner?
• Tuning an Antenna Tuner
• The Internal Tuner -- How Does it Help?
• An External Tuner at the Radio
• Transmission Lines and Loss
• Moving the Tuner to the Back 40
• Transmission Line Choices for Low Loss
• Balanced vs Unbalanced Lines
• So What's a Balun, an Unun, a Choke?
• Balanced Antenna Tuners
• Antennas that Work Well with Tuners
• A Survey of Available Tuners
• Making Your Own Tuner

Hallas has been a radar and telecommunications systems engineer, engineering manager, telecommunications executive, college teacher and is now Technical Editor of QST, the monthly journal of ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. He has earned BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering.

The ARRL Guide to Antenna Tuners: A Radio Amateur’s Guide to Antenna Matching is now shipping, just in time for the holidays. Find it at your ARRL dealer or the ARRL Store; ARRL Order No 0984, ISBN 978-0-87259-098-4, retail $22.95 plus shipping; telephone 860-594-0355, or toll-free in the US 888-277-5289; www.arrl.org/shop; pubsales@arrl.org.