I very much enjoyed W8JI's and K0HA's comments on the MFJ and other noise
cancelling units. I have a JPS ANC-4 and am happy with it. It does what
I thought it would do, no more, no less. It seems that our pre-conceived
notions often determine whether or not we are pleased with a product.
All of these units are tools and how well any tool works depends on the
skill of the operator using that tool and how well he understands its
limitations. Bashing MFJ equipment seems to be a popular passtime.
That's too bad because they make many useful things at affordable prices.
I have an MFJ antenna analyzer. It is VERY useful. It doesn't work as
well as my Delta OIB-1 operating bridge (kilobucks), but then I never
expected it to. If MFJ did not exist, there would much complaining from
the amateur community that "we need an economical alternative!" I
believe all the commercially made noise cancelling units are useful
devices if you understand how to use them, know their limitations AND
understand the nature of your noise problem.
If you plan to build or are using beverage antennas, I strongly recommend
purchasing a copy of the Beverage Antenna Handbook AND ON4UN's low band
bible. I have built and used several beverages over very good soil
conductivity. They worked very well. According to the Beverage
Handbook, the arriving angle of the desired signal is tilted by
propagation effects and poor soil conductivity is not required for the
induction of a voltage into the antenna wire. That's not to say that
poor soil conductivity does not also cause signal "tilt." If you have a
beverage that does not play well, it may be coupling with your nearby
resonant transmit antenna. Your beverage feedlind may also be acting as
a "snake" antenna, compromising your directivity. Also, try different
termination resistors. A properly operating beverage is well worth the
effort.
Sorry for taking up so much bandwidth. See you on the band!
Don, K9NR
P.S. de W4ZV...I agree completely with the comments on "MFJ bashing" and
would like to remind everyone that this reflector is not the place to air
your complaints and criticisms. FWIW, I am a very happy user of both the
MFJ 1025 Noise Canceller and 259B SWR Analyzer and would not want to part
with either. Let's all keep our comments on a professional level and not
stoop to bashing.
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