LDG YT-100
$$···
| Frequency | 1.8-54 MHz (160-6 m, continuous) |
| Bands | 160m, 80m, 60m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, 6m |
| Power | An automatic antenna tuner, not a transmitter. Handles 1 to 100 watts (SSB, CW and digital), matching 4 to 800 ohms (16 to 150 ohms on 6 m) - a 100-watt-class tuner. |
| Modes | automatic L-network antenna tuner (interfaced to Yaesu transceivers) |
| Weight | 567 g (20 oz) |
| rf input | SO-239 'Tx' input from the radio (a coax jumper to the radio is needed, not included) |
| antenna | SO-239 'Ant' output to the antenna, plus a ground screw terminal |
| control | CAT/tuner interface cable to the Yaesu radio (mini-DIN; included) that powers and controls the tuner; also a 3.5 mm Remote jack |
| power req | Powered entirely from the Yaesu radio over the supplied CAT/tuner-interface cable; no separate power supply or batteries are needed. |
A neat, fully integrated automatic tuner for the popular Yaesu FT-857/897/100 series: it draws power and commands from the radio's own tuner port over the included cable, so there are no extra power or control wires and tuning is genuinely one-button. It covers 160-6 m at 100 watts, matches a wide 4-800 ohm range, stores 2000 memories for instant retuning, and is small and light enough to sit beside or travel with the radio.
It is radio-specific: it is built to interface with Yaesu FT-100/857/897 models, and those transceivers are themselves discontinued, so its usefulness is tied to that aging family (LDG's IT-100 and KT-100 serve Icom and Kenwood). It is a 100-watt tuner only, the matching range narrows on 6 m, and a coax jumper to the radio is not included.
The LDG YT-100 is the radio-specific automatic tuner for Yaesu's FT-100/857/897 transceivers, powered and controlled over the radio's tuner port for true one-button tuning of coax-fed antennas at 100 watts. It is the obvious tuner for an owner of one of those Yaesu radios; owners of other brands use LDG's matching IT-100 (Icom) or KT-100 (Kenwood), or a universal tuner.
The LDG YT-100 is an automatic antenna tuner made specifically to work with a family of Yaesu transceivers: the FT-100 and FT-100D, the FT-857 and FT-857D, and the FT-897 and FT-897D. Its appeal is integration. An included interface cable connects to the radio's own tuner/CAT port, which both powers the tuner and controls it, so there are no separate power or control wires to run. Pressing the tune button sets everything in motion: the radio switches to a carrier mode at reduced power, the tuner finds a match, and then the radio is returned to your original settings, all automatically.
Electrically it is a standard LDG L-network autotuner. It covers 160 through 6 meters (1.8 to 54 MHz) at 1 to 100 watts, matches a wide 4 to 800 ohm range (narrowing to 16-150 ohms on 6 meters), and stores 2000 tuning solutions in frequency-sorted memory so that returning to a frequency tunes almost instantly. It tunes coax-fed antennas such as dipoles, verticals, beams, G5RVs and off-center-fed wires. The rear panel has SO-239 antenna and transmitter jacks, a ground terminal, the radio interface and a remote jack, and the unit is tiny, about 7 by 7 by 1.5 inches and 20 ounces.
It is made in the USA and sells for around $190. The one caveat is that it is tied to that Yaesu family, and those radios are now discontinued, so it is best thought of as the matching tuner for an existing FT-857, FT-897 or FT-100 station.
It is part of LDG's radio-specific 100-watt tuner line; the IT-100 is the Icom version and the KT-100 the Kenwood version. Owners of other radios, or who want a brand-independent tuner, can use Yaesu's own FC-40 or a universal autotuner.