An antenna tuner, or antenna tuning unit, is
used to match the impedance of an antenna to the
characteristic impedance of the antenna feeder and the output impedance
of a transmitter or input impedance of a receiver. Without
the use of an antenna tuner, large standing
waves can develop, which leads to
very inefficient power transfer, and
the
possibility of the output stage of a transmitter being destroyed
by the reflected power.
An antenna tuner is commonly
built into modern radios.