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.

Im satisfied with this tuner because it does what I need to do, so I gave it five stars. As a manual tuner, it is a little awkward to use compared to an automatic tuner, so I dropped a star for ease of use. The box has a power connector in the back to put in 12V to power the light. I dont have easy access to a 12V connector so I have not connected, and the tuner works just fine without any power, since the 12V is only for the lamp.

Tuve otro igual hace 20 años y volví al mismo ahora, es de lo mejor .

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.

MFJ has no pre-shipment testing and poor QA inspection. Mine had capacitor plates rubbing together making it not usable. After opening the unit, doing a visual inspection, correcting the problem, it worked fine. No one should have to repair a product at this price point! If you choose to purchase this device, please inspect it before putting your expensive transmitter in jeoparty!

Switch or wiring error prevented the built-in 50 ohm dummy load from operating. Other than that, it appeared to be a well-built manual tuner. I eventually decided to go with a automatic tuner, the FT-989Y. The 989Y works seamlessly with my FT-891.

Using this on a multiband EFHW antenna and it works great. I tweaked the antenna to get the SWR between 1.5 to 1.7 and the manual tuning was a breeze. Yes, this MFJ tuner can tune SWR well out of the FT-991A 3.0 range, but investing the time to get your antenna SWR as low as possible makes your entire configuration much more efficient. The Yaesu FT-991A has an internal tuner but I wanted to perform the tuning without going off frequency and engaging the internal tuner and potentially broadcasting on top of someone else. This is especially true for busy days on the bands. I initially tuned on the center of the band and recorded the Transmitter Matching, Inductor Selector, and Antenna Matching values for each band. As you move off center of the band you will find that you almost always only have to adjust the transmitter matching value and I do that while calling. Some people have complained that the edges of the unit shows cracked paint. This is only because of the manufacturing process where the metal is bent to form the case after it is painted. It is easy to clean up if you get one that shows this and it really bothers you. The only other thing I would advise for any new HAM radio operators is to invest in the best coax! I use LMR 400 for my permanent installation and even use an LMR 400 jumper between the radio and the tuner. MPD Digital coax is good quality if you want to purchase it here on Amazon. 73! KD2ZTA

Good quality workmanship. Worked just as expected.

Excellent tuner N7BSH