RadioBanter - any opinions on Timewave TZ-900 AntennaSmith?

This item is available for quite some time now but I failed to find any
comments, reviews etc.:
http://www.timewave.com/TZ-900.html
It is for sure an interesting piece of equipment, but maybe it's the price
tag which is the problem.

I agree, on both counts. The developer of it did a demo at a local
ham-club meeting a few months ago. The commonest reaction among the
audience members seemed to be drooling (over the features and
capabilities) and winces of pain (at the cost).

Its price seems to be in the same ballpark as the couple of HF-band
vector network analyzers that have become available in the past few
years (the N2PK and TAPR/Ten-Tec versions) and unlike those VNAs the
Timewave is self-contained and does not require a PC for control and
display.

On the down side, none of these VNAs is able to operate on the 2-meter
or higher frequencies (although I understand that the N2PK has some
VHF narrow-band extension add-ons). Since the Timewave is roughly
twice the cost of the MFJ antenna analyzers, and won't operate above
the 6-meter band, its appeal to most amateurs is probably somewhat
limited.

It's a nice piece of kit. I'd enjoy having one myself, but wouldn't
use it enough to justify the cost.

It might be the sort of thing which would end up as club gear, for a
club of well-heeled HF/DX enthusiasts.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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