[600MRG] The small station op and 630m

[John Langridge]

I was speaking with another 630m op yesterday and thinking about what the missing link was for "easy" 630m station implementation.   Thats not to imply any station effectiveness - just that it will take power and not catch fire.  

 I mentioned in my previous email, success is different for everyone and while one  might be happy to just work across town (I have experience with this related to a guy I elmer), another guy might not be satisfied unless he can make it across country and do so persistently.  We know that verticals, whether marconis or vertical loops, and other antennas that have vertical RF component are favored for best ionospheric coupling, etc and we use those..   

The small station guy might not have the luxury or motivation or knowledge to satisfy those conditions and get it done.  But he has a low dipole or maybe an endfed wire (again, we are not making judgements about MF effectiveness here) and an auto tuner for HF and when he operates he hits that autotune button and somehow it all magically works...  

So it seems like if an "auto tuner" solution could be developed and marketed by an MFJ or LDG, that would go a long way to solving some of the challenges that seem to limit a more casual and possibly less technically inclined operator / station builder.  Of course you are talking about big components, both in physical size and voltage/current handling and you are talking about a sizable footprint for the unit (not an AH4 sized box by any strech) for someone that wanted to try the band, had a simple antenna, and lacked the previously mentioned qualities to get it done on his own, wouldn't that be something?
Its not rocket science, but is it practical and realistic?  Look at that awesome MFJ catalog that seems to come out yearly (or used to) with all the doo-dads and stations accessories.  I would say that its just as practical  as a lot of that crap that they peddle.  Yeah, I am just a little biased...

Of course I recognize that you have to prove that a market makes money, etc, but MFJ did finally mod the 269 to cover 472-479 without replacing components so they do listen..
any thoughts?  Again, we are not talking about a perfect solution, only a solution...
73!
John XIQ