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The Magic Tuning Eye was a popular signal level display of the vacuum tube era. Created in the 1930's, it was famous for its green glow combined with a sharp and fast response that made tuning in signals easy.

Now, years later it has proved to be one of the best displays ever made. Kiwa Electonics is proud to bring it back with state of the art electronics to create a superb analog signal level meter for any type of receiver, tube or solid state. We've also added new features unlike any other type of signal display so you can see signals better than before.

Connection to the receiver allows the Tuning Eye to see. This is accomplished by a pickup device that attaches to a component within the receiver. We have taken special care to provide easy-to-read instructions so the hook-up will be as simple as possible. All that is required for most receivers is attaching a spring-loaded micro-clip to the appropriate location on a printed circuit board. It's that easy!

The Tuning Eye will see two types of signals. Both of these signals provide important information as to the strength and activity of the received signal. The first type is the Intermediate Frequency or IF signal. This signal is inside all radios and it is part of the conversion process from the signal entering the receiver to the audio output. Pickup of the receiver's IF signal allows the operator to see low level signals that the S-meter often fails to display. It's also excellent for viewing signals when operating the receiver with the AGC off. This type of receiver operation often provides the best signal to noise condition for chasing weak signals.

The second type of signal that the Tuning Eye likes to see is the AGC or Automatic Gain Control signal. It sounds technical but it's simply the control signal that turns the gain down when strong signals are received. Without it, the receiver would most likely overload and you would be subjected to a blast of noise. A sample of the AGC voltage is also what drives the S-meter. The Tuning Eye will provide a display similar to the S-meter when looking at the AGC voltage.

The Tuning Eye has several advantages over the typical S-meter.

First, the Tuning Eye magnifies the display to best see weak signals. Any degree of set-up sensitivity is possible. For example, it is possible to magnify the display such that full scale indication of the Tuning Eye is S-4 on the receiver's S-meter.

Another advantage of the Tuning Eye is that it doesn't use any mechanical parts. This means that it is inherently faster than the typical S-meter which suffers from balistic dampening and overshoot. The result is better display accuracy when observing fast signal fluctuations.

In addition, it also has excellent resolution or the ability to see small changes in signal level. This is especially true when comparing the Tuning Eye to LED or LCD bar graph displays. Good display resolution is an important consideration when tuning loop antennas, preselectors or any other device that requires tuning for max imum signal strength.

A unique feature of the Kiwa Tuning Eye is the Snapshot Display Mode. The operation is similar to a camera. The display is frozen the instant the Peak Level Indicator flashes. This provides a snapshot of the signal level for the length of the flash. This also allows the operator to compare the signal level to other devices such as the receiver's S-meter. Either a short or long snapshot time can be selected from the front panel. Snapshot sensitivity is determined by the level of the Peak Indicator Level control. This feature can be used in many ways. For instance, it provides the operator an easy way to compare the sensitivity of two antennas. The antenna with the strongest signal will be the one receiving the most Peak Indicator flashes or snapshots within a given time period.

Other important features include the following:

Hook-up instructions are included in the manual for the following receivers:

Collins 51J-4 & R-388/URR

Drake R8

Drake R8A

Drake SW-4A

Drake SW-8

Hallicrafters SX-28, SX-28A

Hallicrafters SX-42

Hallicrafters SX-62, SX-62A

Hallicrafters SX-71

Hammarlund HQ-129-X

Hammarlund HQ-140-X

Hammarlund HQ-145

Hammarlund HQ-150

Hammarlund HQ-180, 180A

Hammarlund SP-600

Icom R70

Icom R71

Japan Radio NRD-525

Japan Radio NRD-535

Kenwood R-1000

Lowe HF-150

McKay Dymek DR22 / DR33

National HRO-50-1

National HRO-60

National NC-183

R-390A

Sangean 803 / Realistic DX-440

Sony ICF-2010 / 2001D

Yaesu FRG-7

Yaesu FGR-8800

Zenith Trans-Oceanic models 500 and 600

Zenith Trans-Oceanic model 3000

More to come...

The pickup does not load internal receiver circuitry. Pickup response is 20 kHz to 20mHz.

The AGC pickup will accomodate any type of AGC voltage, either positive or negative.

All Tuning Eye tubes meet strict JAN military specifications.

The Tuning Eye is an excellent companion to the Lowe HF-150 receiver.

AC wall adaptor is provided for either 120 or 220 VAC operation. Battery terminals are also provided for 12 VDC operation.

Dimensions: 2.5in (6cm) h x 4.5in (11cm) w x 5.5in (13.7cm) d

Shipping weight: 7 lbs (32 kg)

The Kiwa Tuning Eye is a Limited Edition.

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