MFJ Enterprises Original MFJ-949E 1.8-30 MHz 300 Watt Deluxe Versa Tuner II Antenna Tuner

This tuner will tune almost anything. The basic model has been around a long time and has proven to be a reliable tuner. Its rather compact for a tuner and should fit into most ham stations. Its fairly easy to tune, and once you tune it for a particular antenna, if you keep a chart nearby, you can readily set it to give you a perfect match on a particular portion of any ham band between 160-10 meters, and if you have the latest model, 6 meters also (I havent personally tried it on 6M). Tuneup on a frequency the first time is easy. First, rotate the three tuning knobs for best reception as a starting point. Then, using low power (just enough to get a full scale meter reading at the low power range of the SWR meter), key the transmitter for a few seconds while making adjustments with the three knobs until you see a low SWR or a perfect match. While its unlikely that youll not get close to a perfect match, if you cant, its time to make adjustments to your antenna, or change its length, whatever it takes. There is a better tuner MFJ makes that has a roller inductor instead of a switched/tapped inductor (it handles 300 watts, too), but this one should match almost any antenna you have without adding the expense of the roller inductor (and it takes a little longer to get the more expensive one tuned the first time for a frequency since you have unlimited steps in between what you would have on this tuner). I like the cross-needle SWR meter that doubles as a power meter. It allows you to quickly see your SWR by looking at where the two needles cross. You cant ask for much more than this for a tuner for a typical HF 100-200 watt ham transceiver, unless you move into the automatic tuners, which are great (I have two of the MFJ auto-tuners, too). But for the price, this is a rugged little tuner. If you are tuning a random wire, make sure you have a good ground or counterpoise (not just a pipe driven into the ground). Ive used this successfully with a 135 foot random wire on all HF bands. It will also let you work the portions of the HF bands on trap verticals/dipoles where the SWR goes high outside the bandwidth of the antenna, making it useful outside the band section(s) where it would normally provide a 50 ohm match for your rig.

Worked it on 11 meters, and it cut my modulation down 75%, and when I got to 20% of my radios power, which is 30 watts, it drove my Swr sky high. Could not get it below 2.5 unless I used 20% of my radios power. Had my neighbor that has the same unit come down with his, and his work fine. Im going to apply for a refund.

works good

spend a bit more for a remote tuner from LDG.. the quality and engineering is much better and it will do the job much more effectively.

muy desconforme

Best value for your money. Been using MFJ tunners for decades. The ability to tune several types of antennas on different feedlines (coax and ladder line) makes this a versatile and must have in your shack. Highly recommend it to the beginner or seasoned Ham Operator.

Few thing you have to know… it doesn’t comes with instructions manual. So you have to download it from MFJ webpage. Once downloaded, they doesn’t tell much either. Only basic guidelines. The best way to learn to use it is to lower the transmitter power to a constant 5 watts and start to rotate all three main knobs until you get the right pointing needle (reflected pwr) at it lowest position and the left pointing needle (foward pwr) at 5 watts in the scale and that’s it. No rocket science here. Try in different frequencies and you’ll see it’s magic!

Like quality and looks but most important it tunes almost all antennas Bravo.

Way too touchy when tuning.

I received my tuner promptly, it was well packed and didnt have any shipping damage. Pleased with the overall transaction. My order was fulfilled by GigaParts and they shipped promptly. The actual item, however, is in dire need of improved quality control from the manufacturer. MFJ has a spotty reputation and its pretty clear that they are challenged in striking the balance between quality and low prices. Id rather they spend a little more on the QC process even if it means charging a bit more for the products. As I said, my unit arrived entirely unscathed by any of the shipping it had endured prior to reaching me. When I opened the box containing the tuner, all looked to be in fine condition. That became a different story when I hooked it up to a rig though. I found that the tuner couldnt tune a match (3:1 VSWR was its best) to either its own internal or to an external 50 ohm dummy load. Using the bypass function to the external dummy load, the match was 1:1. Investigating further by looking inside the unit, I found that the variable capacitor for the antenna side of the T had its blades bent, shorting each one to its partner through the entire arc of rotation. There is no way that this unit passed any sort of quality control before it left MFJ, given the fact that there was no physical damage to the shipping box, the unit box or the unit itself. Since Ive opened the unit to investigate this failure, Ive voided the warranty. Ill either repair the capacitor or replace it. Overall, these are not bad units, but, please be sure to give them a good examination before putting them into actual use.