Hello,
One week ago I posted a request asking for opinions on MFJ-989
antenna tuner. Until now I received 116 answers as follows:
* 92 of the answers were totally unfavorable
* 11 of the answers were quite neutral
* 9 answers compared the MFJ-989 with other similar tuners ,
8 of them clearly preffering the others brands.
* 4 answers were positive with no specific reasons.
The most frequent reasons for lack of satisfaction were:
* roller inductor quality ( 49 reporting melted elements )
* roller inductors turning mechanism failures ( 18 reports )
* roller inductor tuning bad feeling ( 15 reports )
* poor roller turns counter ( 21 reports )
* poor cabinet mechanics, assembly, finish and paint
( 21 reports )
* lack of enough coax positions on antenna switch
( 12 reports )
* bad performance on certain types of antennas ( whips, long
wires and zeppelins ) - 19 reports ; in 12 cases the tuner was
set-up on fire.
* poor operation manual ( 9 reports )
* poor design ( small cabinet size affecting the inductor Q ) -
3 reports
* poor performance on 160m short antennas ( !! ) - 4 reports
The most frequent reported reasons for buying the MFJ-989
were:
* low price ( 7 reports )
* high number of features vs. low price( 7 reports )
* relatively small size ( 5 reports )
* built-in dummy load ( 4 reports )
The other reports reffered to: Vectronics 1500, Nye Viking,
Ameritron 1500, Heathkit SA-2500, B&W, J.W.Millen and
Nevada. The most favorable opinions were on NYE-Viking
( 10 reports ).
I would like to thank to all who find time to answer .
Happy New Year,
Morel, 4X1AD
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