MFJ-989 antenna tuner comments review

[Morel Grunberg]

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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