Re:Antenna analyzers

[john-477]

" are both junk..."

It's really unfortunate that with the ham marketplace so small, that folks
feel the need to slam the few suppliers we have.

Certainly the Autek  and  MFJ units are not professional lab quality
material.  The good news is, neither are most of us.  I've used both, and
own the Autek, and find it one of the handiest tools I have at my
bench.  Yes, there's some things I would do better with BOTH units, but
BOTH work fine for their intended purpose and both are affordable for the
average ham.

There's things I'd change about both units (particularly the "customer
service" at Autek. I asked if there was a download available for my lost
manual, and they said "no, but we'll sell you a new one for $16..."  For a
5 page manual...? I'll do without, thank you very much!) but they're
indispensible tools at my bench.

Re:  "endless horror stories from many hams..."

For every one of those noisy stories, there's many times more satisfied
customers.  "Noisy" .NE.  "correct" , in many cases.

73
John K5MO



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[Bob Baxter-3]

I also own an RF-1 and have been very pleased with it but found
Autek's "customer service" to be non-responsive and arrogant when they
did respond.
Bob Baxter AA7EQ
Walnut Ridge, Ar.

 
>
> There's things I'd change about both units (particularly the "customer
> service" at Autek. I asked if there was a download available for my lost
> manual, and they said "no, but we'll sell you a new one for $16..."  For a
> 5 page manual...? I'll do without, thank you very much!) but they're
> indispensible tools at my bench.
>
>
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[DYARNES]

 
In a message dated 4/16/2005 5:20:48 AM US Mountain Standard Time,  
[hidden email] writes:

" are  both junk..."

It's really unfortunate that with the ham marketplace so  small, that folks
feel the need to slam the few suppliers we  have.






I don't think you should be so hard on folks, even if they do "get carried  
away" perhaps.  Obviously there is some frustration there, and they need to  
vent.  All too often we get products that have maddening quirks, and  generally
they could have been avoided with just a little more thought,  engineering,
and/or better components.  So, just weed out the excesses in  their comments,
and look for whatever might be valid.  If you find nothing  helpful, just chalk
it up to someone having a bad day and forget it.  More  often than not, well
reasoned responses will temper their frustration and maybe  even help them see
the error in their ways.
 
I have a MFJ 259, and I like it.  As far as I know, the MFJ-269 is  just a
259 with UHF added.  I think these antenna analyzers are just about  the best
products MFJ has ever made.  But there's lots not to like as  well.  It's too
big for one thing.  I think it eats batteries too, but  someone seemed to think
it didn't.  But, without question, this gadget does  a lot of things, and does
them pretty well.  But I've given up changing  batteries in it, since it's so
hard to get at the batteries.  I just use an  outboard 12V pack instead.  I
have a very small 12V pack that I can just  slip on my belt, and use that to
power it.  Besides, leaving out all those  heavy batteries inside the 259 makes
it a lot easier to handle.  Speaking  of "handles", this thing ought to have
one.  But I keep hoping MFJ will  update this thing to a smaller and less power
hungry version.  Maybe  someday.
 
I also have an RF-1.  I like it too.  Now this thing is nice and  small, and
very easy to handle.  It's not easy to tune however.  A  little jiggle of the
knob, and you are several hundred khz away from your  desired frequency.  But
I guess that's the price you pay for something so  compact.  I don't like the
on/off switch either.  It's too easy to  trip if you pack this in a case or
something, and then your battery goes south  on you.  So you need to disconnect
the battery when not in use--probably a  good practice anyway.  The RF-1 goes
with me usually when I go  portable.  It tells me just about everything I need
to know when I set up  my antenna.  When not in use, you can just stick it in
your pocket.  
 
All in all, I would vote for the RF-1.  It's portability is really its  
strong suit as far as I am concerned.  Now, the MFJ 259 displays a lot of  info at
one time, and that is a very helpful thing--you can see frequency, SWR,  and
impedence all at one time.  But 9 times out of 10 I'm just trying to  get my
antenna tuned to a particular frequency, and the RF-1 tells me that just  about
as well as any of the other units would.  A couple of switch flips,  and you
see the other info too.  AND...........(drum roll)--it's  cheaper!  It sure
beats the Kuranishi and the Palstar in that  category.  An MFJ-269 is 100 bucks
more than the MFJ-259, but you get UHF  coverage.  But even the MFJ-259 is more
expensive than the RF-1, so let  your pocket book be your guide.
 
Dave W7AQK
 
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