In article , NM5K wrote:

On 9/9/2012 7:36 PM, Channel Jumper wrote:

I could have bought a good antenna analyzer last year for $85.00 and did
not because a friend of mine wanted it and bought it for $65.00

I think they are overrated.. I've never needed or owned one so far..

I had a plain Two Meter Ringo back in the 70s, before they came out with
the "Ranger" versions. It worked well, but gain claimed was probably
DBi rather than DBd.

I also have three generations of MFJ antenna analyzers. I don't know if
they are overrated, but they are very handy. They save a lot of time
compared to using a transmitter and SWR bridge to set up an antenna.

As I understand it, they work just like the typical "reflectometer" SWR
bridge where you set forward power to full scale and read reflected
power on an SWR scale. Their VFO has its output held constant over the
frequency range, calibrated for the equivalent of the SWR bridge's full
scale setting.

The early version Channel Jumper mentioned, probably had a frequency
scale printed on the face. For critical settings, either a counter or a
calibrated receiver would be needed. Later versions have a counter
built-in, and the latest also displays antenna data on the LCD display.

Fred
K4DII