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On Tuesday, February 11, 2014 2:12:14 PM UTC-6, gareth wrote:
With the onset of automatic ATUs, is the the final technical

skill that disambiguates the radio amateur from the CBer

being lost?

I've never seen a case where the use of an automatic antenna tuner
drained antenna related knowledge from the operators brain pan.

I use a tuner with my 40m dipole to operate on two additional bands, 75 and
160. On a suburban lot, I have no practical way to install full-size
antennas for those bands, so I "make do."

My three tuners are all tools, of a sort.

I have a Black and Decker adjustable wrench which can be opened and closed
electrically, in addition to having the usual thumbwheel. I don't believe
motor operation necessarily diminishes the wrench or the user.

"Sal"