New mAT-705Plus ATU now in stock and shipping

I’ve just learned from Vibroplex that they are now shipping a new, upgraded version of the mAT-Tuner designed specifically to pair with the Icom IC-705 transceiver.

This model is called the mAT-705Plus.

You might recall from previous posts that I found the original mAT-705 to be an excellent ATU for finding matches, but later discovered it had a number of design shortcomings that prevented me from recommending it. The main issues with the original mAT-705 had to do with how quickly it consumed 9V batteries if the power switch was left in the “on” position, and then how complicated it was replacing batteries.

The mAT-705Plus seems to address these concerns by now employing 1000 mAh internal lithium cells that can be charged via a USB power source. It appears they’ve done away with the mechanical power switch altogether and the unit now manages power automatically which, to me, is a much better design approach.

Mat-Tuner reached out last week and are sending me an mAT-705Plus to evaluate. I look forward to putting it through the paces and see if this upgraded ATU is worth considering.

Click here to check out the mAT-705 Plus at Vibroplex.

6 thoughts on “New mAT-705Plus ATU now in stock and shipping”

Nice to see that they took the criticism to heart and acted on it. Thing I am curious about is that since the IC-705 does not pass band information via the antenna jack, how do the memories work? Does it have a built-in frequency counter?

Nice Tom. How does it compare with the T1 and is it available in kit form? I’ve just built my T1, so impressive!

Why did ICOM not integrate such a small tuner board into the 705?! If it is possible to build that tiny external & automatic tuner by a third party, then ICOM must be able to build it even smaller and integrate it. This way there would be no major point of criticism for the 705. There are many comments where OMs describe the absence of the integrated ATU as the reason for not considering the 705. I think there will be a MKII version of the 705 with ATU, separate VHF/UHF-Output and 12V battery. Maybe in 2 years or so.

Thomas, another great review, thanks. I just visited the Vibroplex website (happy to see they are here in TN) and see that they offer a broad line of ATUs. Some specific to the manufacturer and some generic. At a price point of ~$164.00 they now compete with LDG and MFJ. I currently operate with an LDG Z-11Pro II but will be purchasing one of the mAT series ATUs for portable OP.
73 de KZ4TN