MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

I am considering ordering the MFJ-269 HF/VHF/UHF Antenna/SWR/RF
Analyzer.

It sounds like a Swiss Army knife device and I should be able to send
a lot of old equipment to Ebay. Does anyone have any comments to make
on it? Good or bad?

I have read the review in May 2005 QST and the manual available at
their website.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

"Swiss Army knife" is a good metaphor. In your pocket, it's always
available and handy for that simple job. It's got a saw good for fast,
rough cutting, but no competition for a chain saw for speed or a scroll
saw for precision. The file will cut metal, but it's not a Swiss file
set or a wood rasp either. And so forth. Likewise the MFJ. I use is
frequently for a quick measurement, and that's often good enough. But
when I really need precision, out comes the GR bridge, network analyzer,
and whatever other real tools are required.

Ironically, the thing it does worst, in an urban setting at least, is
actually measure antenna impedance. Like any broadband impedance meter,
it's dismally bad at that particular job because RF from broadcast and
other sources drives it bonkers.

So by all means get one. You'll find you use it a lot. But don't be too
quick to unload your other gear.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

John Ferrell wrote:
I am considering ordering the MFJ-269 HF/VHF/UHF Antenna/SWR/RF
Analyzer.

It sounds like a Swiss Army knife device and I should be able to send
a lot of old equipment to Ebay. Does anyone have any comments to make
on it? Good or bad?

I have read the review in May 2005 QST and the manual available at
their website.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

It's ok, but has one known short coming (other than its known and accepted
general low/ medium accuracy). It appears to do worse at LOW freqs that the
259. Mine shows about 25% X for a purely resistive 4:1 load (either 200 or
12.5) in the 1-4 Mhz range. A post here not to long ago reported that the
QST review showed the same thing.

you can't expect lab accuracy for $300...

73, K9DCI


"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
"Swiss Army knife" is a good metaphor. In your pocket, it's always
available and handy for that simple job. It's got a saw good for fast,
rough cutting, but no competition for a chain saw for speed or a scroll
saw for precision. The file will cut metal, but it's not a Swiss file
set or a wood rasp either. And so forth. Likewise the MFJ. I use is
frequently for a quick measurement, and that's often good enough. But
when I really need precision, out comes the GR bridge, network analyzer,
and whatever other real tools are required.

Ironically, the thing it does worst, in an urban setting at least, is
actually measure antenna impedance. Like any broadband impedance meter,
it's dismally bad at that particular job because RF from broadcast and
other sources drives it bonkers.

So by all means get one. You'll find you use it a lot. But don't be too
quick to unload your other gear.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

John Ferrell wrote:
I am considering ordering the MFJ-269 HF/VHF/UHF Antenna/SWR/RF
Analyzer.

It sounds like a Swiss Army knife device and I should be able to send
a lot of old equipment to Ebay. Does anyone have any comments to make
on it? Good or bad?

I have read the review in May 2005 QST and the manual available at
their website.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Thanks for the quick reply.
The "old equipment" I am referring to is pretty primitive and quite
old.
The only really good pice of equipment I wonder about replacing is an
Heathkit IM-4190 directional coupler for 100-1000 mhz. It was not
available for long and it has served me well on 144 & 440 mhz.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 12:13:06 -0800, Roy Lewallen
wrote:

"Swiss Army knife" is a good metaphor. In your pocket, it's always
available and handy for that simple job. It's got a saw good for fast,
rough cutting, but no competition for a chain saw for speed or a scroll
saw for precision. The file will cut metal, but it's not a Swiss file
set or a wood rasp either. And so forth. Likewise the MFJ. I use is
frequently for a quick measurement, and that's often good enough. But
when I really need precision, out comes the GR bridge, network analyzer,
and whatever other real tools are required.

Ironically, the thing it does worst, in an urban setting at least, is
actually measure antenna impedance. Like any broadband impedance meter,
it's dismally bad at that particular job because RF from broadcast and
other sources drives it bonkers.

So by all means get one. You'll find you use it a lot. But don't be too
quick to unload your other gear.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Yes, it works fine. Not a precision piece of test equipment but also does
not carry the price tag. Like everything else in life it is a trade off,
great price with reasonable response. All in all it is still one of the best
pieces of equipment I have bought for amateur radio work and I would not be
without it.

Sam

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 19:43:07 GMT, John Ferrell
wrote:

I am considering ordering the MFJ-269 HF/VHF/UHF Antenna/SWR/RF
Analyzer.

It sounds like a Swiss Army knife device and I should be able to send
a lot of old equipment to Ebay. Does anyone have any comments to make
on it? Good or bad?

I have read the review in May 2005 QST and the manual available at
their website.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

My main complaint is if you punch buttons in the wrong sequence to
activate its 440 mhz capability, you can blow a diode, or so I've read
in the eHam reports. I haven't done it yet, but the it apparently can
happen. The capabilities on 440 mhz are quite limited, compared to
other frequencies, so you may want to consider the 259, unless you
need to measure swr on 440.

bob
k5qwg

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Interesting....if there is something better out there what is it?......been
using a 259 since "98" and its done the job for me from beams-wires...co-ax
measurement....ans the latest, balancing out the 1/4 wave stubs on a Hygain
HighTower, as I added 17 meters to the array!!
"John Ferrell" wrote in message
...
I am considering ordering the MFJ-269 HF/VHF/UHF Antenna/SWR/RF
Analyzer.

It sounds like a Swiss Army knife device and I should be able to send
a lot of old equipment to Ebay. Does anyone have any comments to make
on it? Good or bad?

I have read the review in May 2005 QST and the manual available at
their website.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

The Palstar ZM30 Digital Antenna Z Bridge - VFO is also an excellent
unit.
http://www.palstar.com/zm30.php
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4782

John, N9JG

"Bill" wrote in message
...
Interesting....if there is something better out there what is
it?......been using a 259 since "98" and its done the job for me
from beams-wires...co-ax measurement....ans the latest, balancing
out the 1/4 wave stubs on a Hygain HighTower, as I added 17 meters
to the array!!
"John Ferrell" wrote in message
...
I am considering ordering the MFJ-269 HF/VHF/UHF Antenna/SWR/RF
Analyzer.

It sounds like a Swiss Army knife device and I should be able to
send
a lot of old equipment to Ebay. Does anyone have any comments to
make
on it? Good or bad?

I have read the review in May 2005 QST and the manual available at
their website.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

After reading the remarks here and researching the past posts to the
newsgroup on the MFJ-269 I feel I have been missing out on a lot. The
best overall description I have found anywhere (including the MFJ web
site) is in the current ad in QST.

I ordered it Saturday morning and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 07:12:20 -0500, "Bill" wrote:

Interesting....if there is something better out there what is it?......been
using a 259 since "98" and its done the job for me from beams-wires...co-ax
measurement....ans the latest, balancing out the 1/4 wave stubs on a Hygain
HighTower, as I added 17 meters to the array!!

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

The only problem with the Palstar is that it only goes to 30 MHz., while the
MFJ goes well into the VHF range past two meters with (I believe) an option
to go to 440.

Jim



"John, N9JG" wrote in message
news:RUIbf.527814$_o.286485@attbi_s71...
The Palstar ZM30 Digital Antenna Z Bridge - VFO is also an excellent unit.

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

"John Ferrell" wrote in message
...
After reading the remarks here and researching the past posts to the
newsgroup on the MFJ-269 I feel I have been missing out on a lot. The
best overall description I have found anywhere (including the MFJ web
site) is in the current ad in QST.

I ordered it Saturday morning and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

John Ferrell, W8CCW

I am happy with mine. Only thing I can add is that it eats batteries, and my
unit does not like to work below 13 Volts. They do sell a tunable bandpass
filter for the lower frequencies. I tried a high pass filter - don't bother,
it messes up the phase.

Tam/WB2TT

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
Only thing I can add is that it eats batteries, ...

I run mine off an external rechargable 12v YUASA battery.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Tam/WB2TT wrote:

I am happy with mine. Only thing I can add is that it eats batteries, and my
unit does not like to work below 13 Volts. They do sell a tunable bandpass
filter for the lower frequencies. I tried a high pass filter - don't bother,
it messes up the phase.

If you do want to measure antenna impedance with something like the MFJ
and have trouble (as I do) with local broadcasting and other RF, I
recommend using a "half wave" filter. This type of filter has reasonable
out-of-band attenuation characteristics and doesn't disturb the
impedance measurement too much. (Over a limited frequency range it
mimics a half wavelength of transmission line.) The impedance
disturbance will be the least when the filter is designed to
approximately match the measured impedance.

It's simply two cascaded pi sections, with each element having the same
value of X. For example, a lowpass looks like this:

---.---L---.---L---.---
| | |
C 2C C
| | |
----.-------.-------.---

For example, a filter with Z0 = 50 ohms (one which mimics a half
wavelength of 50 ohm line) has XL = XC = 50. One designed for 7 MHz
would have L = 1.14 uH, C = 455 pF. You can wind the coils on small type
2 or 6 powdered iron cores, and use the closest standard value (e.g.,
470 pF) for the capacitors. This filter will cause little impedance
disturbance at 7 MHz and, for load impedances near 50 ohms, at lower
frequencies also. A highpass looks like this:

---.---C---.---C---.---
| | |
L L/2 L
| | |
----.-------.-------.---

Again, XL = XC = the filter Z0. Make filters according to your
particular measurement needs. You can check the amount of disturbance
the filter causes by making a known impedance out of a resistor and
capacitor or inductor which is about equal to the measured impedance,
and measuring it with and without the filter.

If you can read German, there's a marvelous book describing how to make
a wide variety of measurements with an antenna analyzer, with tricks,
tips, and details. It's _HF-Messungen mit einem aktiven
Stehwellen-Meßgerät_ by Gerd Janzen, DF6SJ. It's available directly from
him at Hochvogelstraße 29, D-87435 Kempten, Germany.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

"Cecil Moore" wrote in message
. net...
Tam/WB2TT wrote:
Only thing I can add is that it eats batteries, ...

I run mine off an external rechargable 12v YUASA battery.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

Never thought of that. I actually have a 12V, 7 AH Yuasa sitting on the file
cabinet. I would just have to keep it well charged.
Tam

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
Tam/WB2TT wrote:

I am happy with mine. Only thing I can add is that it eats batteries, and
my unit does not like to work below 13 Volts. They do sell a tunable
bandpass filter for the lower frequencies. I tried a high pass filter -
don't bother, it messes up the phase.

If you do want to measure antenna impedance with something like the MFJ
and have trouble (as I do) with local broadcasting and other RF, I
recommend using a "half wave" filter. This type of filter has reasonable
out-of-band attenuation characteristics and doesn't disturb the impedance
measurement too much. (Over a limited frequency range it mimics a half
wavelength of transmission line.) The impedance disturbance will be the
least when the filter is designed to approximately match the measured
impedance.

It's simply two cascaded pi sections, with each element having the same
value of X. For example, a lowpass looks like this:

---.---L---.---L---.---
| | |
C 2C C
| | |
----.-------.-------.---

For example, a filter with Z0 = 50 ohms (one which mimics a half
wavelength of 50 ohm line) has XL = XC = 50. One designed for 7 MHz would
have L = 1.14 uH, C = 455 pF. You can wind the coils on small type 2 or 6
powdered iron cores, and use the closest standard value (e.g., 470 pF) for
the capacitors. This filter will cause little impedance disturbance at 7
MHz and, for load impedances near 50 ohms, at lower frequencies also. A
highpass looks like this:

---.---C---.---C---.---
| | |
L L/2 L
| | |
----.-------.-------.---

Again, XL = XC = the filter Z0. Make filters according to your particular
measurement needs. You can check the amount of disturbance the filter
causes by making a known impedance out of a resistor and capacitor or
inductor which is about equal to the measured impedance, and measuring it
with and without the filter.

If you can read German, there's a marvelous book describing how to make a
wide variety of measurements with an antenna analyzer, with tricks, tips,
and details. It's _HF-Messungen mit einem aktiven Stehwellen-Meßgerät_ by
Gerd Janzen, DF6SJ. It's available directly from him at Hochvogelstraße
29, D-87435 Kempten, Germany.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

I will have to try your configuration. I did C - L - C/2 - L -C, with
C=1000PF, L=2.2uH. According to SWCad, the gain is flat above 2 MHz, but
there is 120 degrees phase shift at 4 MHz, relative to the phase at 100 MHz.

Tam/WB2TT

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Tam/WB2TT wrote:

I will have to try your configuration. I did C - L - C/2 - L -C, with
C=1000PF, L=2.2uH. According to SWCad, the gain is flat above 2 MHz, but
there is 120 degrees phase shift at 4 MHz, relative to the phase at 100 MHz.

The center component should be 2C, or 2000 pF for your experiment, not
C/2. The circuit is simply two pi networks in cascade, each having all
component reactances equal to the "transmission line" Z0. Each pi
section mimics a quarter wave transmission line.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Tam/WB2TT wrote:

"Cecil Moore" wrote:

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
Only thing I can add is that it eats batteries, ...

I run mine off an external rechargable 12v YUASA battery.

Never thought of that. I actually have a 12V, 7 AH Yuasa sitting on the file
cabinet. I would just have to keep it well charged.

I use a 2Ah NP2-12 with a molex connector double-sided taped to
the underside of the MFJ-259 and charge it with an Astron RS-20M.
The battery is smaller than the MFJ and about 3/4" thick.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
Tam/WB2TT wrote:

I will have to try your configuration. I did C - L - C/2 - L -C, with
C=1000PF, L=2.2uH. According to SWCad, the gain is flat above 2 MHz, but
there is 120 degrees phase shift at 4 MHz, relative to the phase at 100
MHz.

The center component should be 2C, or 2000 pF for your experiment, not
C/2. The circuit is simply two pi networks in cascade, each having all
component reactances equal to the "transmission line" Z0. Each pi section
mimics a quarter wave transmission line.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Roy,
I wasn't too clear, but I have 2 T networks back/back. That makes the center
cap C/2. I am going to run SWCad on the Pi configuration later, and see what
that does.

Tam/WB2TT

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

"Tam/WB2TT" wrote in message
...

Meanwhile, I measured the impedance of a Drake 100W dummy load with and
without the HPF. All readings without the HPF are within Drake spec.

FREQ NO HPF With HPF

4 Mhz 47j2 33j13
7MHz 47j2 55j3
14MHz 47j1 50j7
28MHz 48j2 47j3
50MHz 49j2 54j11
144MHz 53j11 74j36

Everything was connected with UHF adapters, and no coax was used. Ignore the
VHF readings,. as the filter was not built that carefully. Capacitors are
mica (actual values 1000, 560, 1000), and inductors appear to be 68-2
(2.2uH).

If I get a chance later today, I will rewire it into the Pi configuration
with the same inductors.

Tam/WB2TT

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Tam/WB2TT wrote:

Roy,
I wasn't too clear, but I have 2 T networks back/back. That makes the center
cap C/2. I am going to run SWCad on the Pi configuration later, and see what
that does.

If you've cascaded two sections, you have two 1000 pF capacitors in
parallel at the center. That makes a total value of 2000 pF at that point.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"Tam/WB2TT" wrote in message
...

Meanwhile, I measured the impedance of a Drake 100W dummy load with and
without the HPF. All readings without the HPF are within Drake spec.

FREQ NO HPF With HPF

4 Mhz 47j2 33j13
7MHz 47j2 55j3
14MHz 47j1 50j7
28MHz 48j2 47j3
50MHz 49j2 54j11
144MHz 53j11 74j36

Everything was connected with UHF adapters, and no coax was used. Ignore the
VHF readings,. as the filter was not built that carefully. Capacitors are
mica (actual values 1000, 560, 1000), and inductors appear to be 68-2
(2.2uH).

If I get a chance later today, I will rewire it into the Pi configuration
with the same inductors.

That's about what I'd expect. The increasing X with frequency is
consistent with a small amount of series stray inductance which is
unavoidable in the physical construction. It can be minimized, of
course, by careful construction.

A typical homebrew HF filter will begin becoming poor at VHF and above
due to series self inductance of the capacitors and shunt self
capacitance of the inductors, plus other effects. Component selection
and layout can help a lot, but it might be necessary to cascade a
VHF/UHF filter with the HF filter if very wideband rejection is
necessary. A network analyzer or spectrum analyzer with tracking
generator or noise generator are invaluable in solving those problems.
Of course, the more stuff you put in the path, the more you're likely to
disturb the measurement.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
Tam/WB2TT wrote:

Roy,
I wasn't too clear, but I have 2 T networks back/back. That makes the
center cap C/2. I am going to run SWCad on the Pi configuration later,
and see what that does.

If you've cascaded two sections, you have two 1000 pF capacitors in
parallel at the center. That makes a total value of 2000 pF at that point.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

It's a high pass filter to reject the AM broadcast band. So, the two 1000 PF
caps are in series. Am I missing something?

Tam

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...

Tam/WB2TT wrote:

Roy,
I wasn't too clear, but I have 2 T networks back/back. That makes the
center cap C/2. I am going to run SWCad on the Pi configuration later,
and see what that does.

If you've cascaded two sections, you have two 1000 pF capacitors in
parallel at the center. That makes a total value of 2000 pF at that point.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL


It's a high pass filter to reject the AM broadcast band. So, the two 1000 PF
caps are in series. Am I missing something?

Sorry, I missed that you had made a T network rather than pi.

In general, a tee network substituted for a pi will have the same
characteristics only at one frequency, but will have different transfer
and/or impedance characteristics at other frequencies. So the
substitution should be done with care if characteristics are important
at more than one frequency.

In this case, though, if you make a tee network which has the same "half
wave" characteristic as the pi at the design frequency, it'll have
identical transfer characteristics (it's got the same filter response)
and complementary impedance characteristics. That is, at frequencies
where one network has an input impedance greater than 50 ohms, the other
will have an impedance that's less, and the phase angles are the
negatives of each other. And, luckily, the transformation is simple for
this particular special case -- the T network reactances are also all
the same and also equal to the Z0 of the "transmission line". So one is
just as good as the other.

The HPF equivalent doesn't of course simulate a transmission line,
although the impedance transformation though the filter is unity at the
design frequency. Otherwise, it works in pretty much an opposite way
from the LPF.

I need to correct and clarify a couple of points I made in my earlier
posting.

The "half wave" lowpass filter simulates a half wavelength transmission
line only at and near the design frequency (where the reactances are all
the same). It doesn't do a very good job either above or below that
frequency. For a better general simulation of a *short* transmission
line, reduce the end pi or T network components to half their values.
This model improves -- in theory at least -- as more sections are added.
In practice, imperfection in the components limits the quality of the
approximation. But I don't think this is of particular interest in
making analyzer measurements. The 7 MHz example terminated with 50 ohms
will show an input impedance within 2 ohms magnitude and 2 degrees phase
of 50 ohms between about 6.2 and 7.4 MHz, so it's good for the entire 40
meter band. But it will disturb measurements on lower bands. You should
construct one for each band and, preferably, one for each general
impedance level you expect to measure. A single one won't do for
multiple bands as I implied.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

Tam/WB2TT wrote:

It's a high pass filter to reject the AM broadcast band. So, the two 1000 PF
caps are in series. Am I missing something?

Sorry, I missed that you had made a T network rather than pi.

In general, a tee network substituted for a pi will have the same
characteristics only at one frequency, but will have different transfer
and/or impedance characteristics at other frequencies. So the
substitution should be done with care if characteristics are important
at more than one frequency.

In this case, though, if you make a tee network which has the same "half
wave" characteristic as the pi at the design frequency, it'll have
identical transfer characteristics (it's got the same filter response)
and complementary impedance characteristics. That is, at frequencies
where one network has an input impedance greater than 50 ohms, the other
will have an impedance that's less, and the phase angles are the
negatives of each other. And, luckily, the transformation is simple for
this particular special case -- the T network reactances are also all
the same and also equal to the Z0 of the "transmission line". So one is
just as good as the other.

The HPF equivalent doesn't of course simulate a transmission line,
although the impedance transformation though the filter is unity at the
design frequency. Otherwise, it works in pretty much an opposite way
from the LPF.

I need to correct and clarify a couple of points I made in my earlier
posting.

The "half wave" lowpass filter simulates a half wavelength transmission
line only at and near the design frequency (where the reactances are all
the same). It doesn't do a very good job either above or below that
frequency(*). The 7 MHz example terminated with 50 ohms will show an
input impedance within 2 ohms magnitude and 2 degrees phase of 50 ohms
between about 6.2 and 7.4 MHz, so it's good for the entire 40 meter
band. But it will disturb measurements on lower bands. You should
construct one for each band and, preferably, one for each general
impedance level you expect to measure. A single one won't do for
multiple bands as I implied.

(*)For a better general simulation of a *short* transmission line, use a
ladder network with all the reactances equal to Z0 except the end
components. For the end components, make the series L or shunt C half
the value of the rest. (For example, the LPF I showed would have input
and output shunt capacitors with reactance = 100 ohms, and remaining
components with reactance = 50 ohms. A five-component tee type network
would have input and output series inductors with reactance = 25 ohms,
and the remaining components with reactance = 50 ohms.) This model
improves -- in theory at least -- as more sections are added, being able
to imitate longer and longer lines. In practice, imperfection in the
components limits the quality of the approximation. But I don't think
this is of particular interest in making analyzer measurements. The
model I proposed is better for simulating a half wavelength line while
providing filtering.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

I received the device and have started to use it. My only criticism so
far is that the soft case is too tight to allow easy operation of the
controls. I hope this will loosen up a bit with time.

It is amazing what you can learn about an antenna in such a short
time!
John Ferrell W8CCW

On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 19:43:07 GMT, John Ferrell
wrote:

I am considering ordering the MFJ-269 HF/VHF/UHF Antenna/SWR/RF
Analyzer.

John Ferrell W8CCW

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

John Ferrell wrote:
It is amazing what you can learn about an antenna in such a short
time!

My MFJ-259B is a really handy little gadget for learning.
So is EZNEC.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

I agree. I took the ARRL course using EZNEC and cannot praise it
enough!
On Thu, 01 Dec 2005 13:41:01 GMT, Cecil Moore wrote:

John Ferrell wrote:
It is amazing what you can learn about an antenna in such a short
time!

My MFJ-259B is a really handy little gadget for learning.
So is EZNEC.
John Ferrell W8CCW

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

I was terribly disappointed in the MFJ case and sold it on Ebay then bought
an aluminum case off Ebay that works perfectly and has room for several
adapters and a cable or two as well as the instruction manual for the 269.
It is a great instrument but I wish they would fix the UHF switching
problem. Looks like a latching relay would solve the problem real easy, go
figure. Anyway here is a URL to one of the auctions:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ALUMINUM-HAR...cm dZViewItem

I also bought a laptop case from the same company and both were outstanding
quality. Good heavy side walls and nice interiors. Take a good look at the
interior dividers on the above auction. The 269 fits exactly.
Good luck and 73,
Ken


"John Ferrell" wrote in message
...
I received the device and have started to use it. My only criticism so
far is that the soft case is too tight to allow easy operation of the
controls. I hope this will loosen up a bit with time.

It is amazing what you can learn about an antenna in such a short
time!
John Ferrell W8CCW

On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 19:43:07 GMT, John Ferrell
wrote:

I am considering ordering the MFJ-269 HF/VHF/UHF Antenna/SWR/RF
Analyzer.

John Ferrell W8CCW

MFJ-269 Antenna/SWR/RF Analyzer
 

KEEP IT! KEEP IT! KEEP IT!
Don't ever, never unload a piece of test equipment. after 40 years in
the field I warn you that you're going to need it BADLY one day after
to sell it.
Saandy 4Z5KS