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| Reviews Summary for MFJ-259B |
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You can
write your own review of the MFJ-259B.
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W8NSI
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Rating: 5/5
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May 28, 2008 20:01
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259B works great for my needs
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned my 259B for several years and love it. I use it all the time when experimenting with antennas. It was just what I needed when I set up my 4square phased array for 20 meter to assure that each vertical was set the same. I have used it for other antennas to find where they are resonant. Takes all the guess work out of it. Would I like an Anritsu or one of the other pricey boxes? Yup but I live on a budget and the 259b allows me to do it.
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KG4ORX
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2008 22:14
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No problem here either
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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i had mine since first came out i never had any problem what so ever ! i had mine sent off with problem but it fixed.
i never complain i 'm not like other complaining,maybe you are not reading it right ,i got my money worth !!!
73
Jackie
KG4ORX
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KG6WLS
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2008 20:31
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No Problems Here
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Why is there the MFJ bashing? Well, hams need something to complain about. ;-)
I've had this analyzer for three years now, homebrewed many antennas with it, and it has been beaten around at Field Day. No problems or hick-ups. Best investment for the home brewer (or tuning those AWFUL MFJ antennas, HI), and the price is right.
Good for the money IMHO.
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KC0SDV
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2008 16:26
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Great tool
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My second review and an update. I originally used it just to make j poles and beams, but now that I am into HF, I have it connected to an antenna tuner, which is not automatic, and it makes "tuning" the antenna a snap, without turning on the radio. Before I even turn the radio on, I know the antenna is ready to go.
73
kc0sdv
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N3OX
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2008 14:02
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Invaluable tool; Just learn its limits.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my MFJ-259B for many, many years, probably around eight years at this point.
I've measured hundreds and hundreds of capacitors and inductors and adjusted several dozen antennas over the years with this thing. I've used it as a dip meter to check traps and a signal generator to measure beam patterns.
Only once did I have trouble with my unit, and it was more or less my fault. I walked across the carpet and shot a spark to the antenna I was testing. Turns out the front end diodes don't like that. A few $0.40 parts and some careful soldering and a calibration run later, I was back in business.
MFJ's signature mechanical construction might be cheap by commercial test equipment standards, but I've never found that to be an operational limitation. I've heard all about MFJ's poor quality control on solder joints, etc, but it's never shown up in my shack, and if it did, I'd solder it.
It won't measure extremely high or low impedances, but one can generally work around that. It suffers if you have strong RF fields near the frequency of interest but any reasonably priced broadband vector voltmeter would have that problem. It's not particularly accurate at the limits of the impedances it will measure, but it will tell you within a few ohms if your antenna is 50+j0 or 14-j36 (yes, you have to sweep frequency manually to infer the sign of reactance), and that's an invaluable thing for an antenna experimenter.
As far as I can tell, most of the comparable instruments out there are double the price or more. Would I buy another MFJ-259B today? Maybe, but my eight-odd year old one is still chugging along measuring complex impedances to enough accuracy for me.
Maybe it's off by 15%; I have absolutely no idea of the absolute accuracy of this instrument and I have no doubt it would fail a head-to-head accuracy test against any Agilent network analyzer at ten times the price or a piece of ham gear at twice the price.
But it's not twice or ten times the price. It costs what it costs. And my unit has certainly proven its worth to me over the years.
Does MFJ make "Mighty Fine Junk?" Perhaps, but I really have to think, given my experience with their stuff, that you should put an emphasis on the "mighty fine." It's not perfect, bulletproof, commercial quality gear but a lot of us can't afford that, or at least don't want to drag it outside in the rain to figure out why our $%(# 30m matching network isn't working anymore ;-)
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PE1NPG
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2008 13:51
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Great tool!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Why always the MFJ bashing?
They make affordable equipment at amateur prices.
My 259B works great. The are better tools on the market, but not at this price. You get what you pay for, and I'm happy with it. Never had a quality problem this unit, neither with my 949E and 929 autotuner (super unit!)
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KB2NAT
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2008 12:57
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Mine (perhaps not all) works pretty well
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Although it's true that many MFJ products tend to come in kit form when they're not kits, my analyzer seems to function well. Although basically credential-less, I noticed that the analyzer did seem to match swr readings with the other meters I have (MFJ's...they all may have the same errors, of course). It accurately found a cable discontinuity problem (I thought it was an antenna issue) and it has been a huge help in setting up portable dipoles, mobiles, and long wires. I am pleased with mine, even though it may be unique in that it does work well. For the money, it is well worth a look, at least.
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K1FPV
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2008 12:40
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For the price, you can't beat it!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Why do so many people here compare apples to oranges? I've had my MFJ-259B for at least 5 years now and it has served it's purpose well. It works, maybe not quite as accurate as more expensive equipment, but for the average ham, it is fine!
I find it disturbing that some folks on here buy the inexpensive items, then complain that it doesn't have the bells and whistles the more expensive items have. If you want and instrument to do what an AIM 4170 does, then spend the money and buy one!
Even with transceivers, people buy the low end rig, then complain it doesn't do this or that. Come on guys, be fair with equipment reviews. For what you pay for the MFJ-259B, you get a good piece of equipment!
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AE5EH
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Rating: 2/5
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May 16, 2008 22:22
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Cheap Junk!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I kindly ask the moderator to allow me to revise my original review.
Sans trite phrases, expressions, and other superfluous, and banal word tools, I'll try to be clearer about what I think of the MFJ-259B.
It is a cheap piece of junk. As far as I'm concerned, you get what you pay for, and maybe a little less. Against my better judgment, an acquaintance convinced me to try one of these. It was a mistake.
Before I try to explain why, let me say that I spent the first 15 years of my aviation career as an avionics bench/lab technician, systems installer and test/certification technician, and systems designer for airborne electronics. I do not profess to be an authority, or expert on any of the aforementioned.
But, I do understand the basics, and from working with aircraft, I do understand craftsmanship and build quality. Surely it's understood that el cheapo ham gear does not have to be up to the standard of the equipment used in and to maintain aircraft electronics. But that's the standard I'm used to, and that's the standard I prefer, or as close as I can get to it. The closer I can get within reason, all the better. I don't mind paying for it.
Sorry to hurt anyones feelings, but the MFJ-259B is of as poor build quality as lots of their other products. Of course if your standard of build quality is that of some of the home made, cobbled together, haphazard frankensteinish looking things you might see in QST, or ham/junkfest tables, then the MFJ-259B may be golden to you.
As far as accuracy, the MFJ-259B failed on the bench across its operating range. An Agilent 4291B was used as the reference. Years of troubleshooting avionics installed in aircraft, on the bench/lab during routine maintenance has taught me to always check the most basic things first (such as coaxial cabling, and connections in this case) when encountering any functional problems with this and similar equipment, test or otherwise. The problems encountered were in the unit, and not my cabling. Solder connections were solid, as were all other connections.I refuse to waste much time on a piece of junk such as this trying to make it right. What I make on the job in an hour and 15 minutes would pay for one MFJ-259B. I value my leisure time very much, and will not waste it doing things that are no fun for me. I find no joy repairing someone else's junk that was supposed to work correctly to begin with.
I replaced it with an AIM 4170. Problem solved.
Perhaps if a person is really cheap for whatever reason, and/or likes to tinker with things just for the fun of it, then the MFJ-259B is for you. Or, if you are new to electronics and like the challenge of buying, and repairing your own test equipment, then the MFJ-259 is for you.
I'm new to amateur radio, but I'm not new to commercial electronics. I may be an appliance operator to some folks, but I know how my appliances work, and I can repair most of them when necessary. I don't need to be an RF engineer in order to build basic antennas, and/or maintain home made or commercial made products for my station. I don't know everything, but I know the basics, and the basics with a little common sense have served me well, and have allowed me to teach myself many, many things.
You get what you pay for, and often times less. The MFJ-259B has re affirmed that for me.
73 de terry ae5eh
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N4KC
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Rating: 5/5
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May 16, 2008 14:54
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Apples to anvils comparison...again!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Guys, you simply cannot compare the 259B to the AIM 4170. The latter is north of $500 and still requires a computer to operate. That's a lot of stuff to haul to the backyard or up the tower!
I hear the 4170 is a fine instrument and I want one someday, but for the way I typically use an analyzer, the 259B does a fine job. And for half the cost!
Six months ago I was about to post a review of the 259B and give it a 3. When I wiggled the coax connector, the impedance and SWR jumped all over the place. I had to massage it to make sure there was a good connection before I could trust what I was seeing. Well, I say to myself, after buying and using a dozen MFJ products with no trouble whatsoever, maybe I finally had myself a dud.
When I got a chance to open it up and take a look, all appeared to be fine. Despite what others have reported, the soldering looked solid and professional. Continuity between the connector and the board was okay. The connector itself was tight.
I buttoned her back up and swapped patch cords. Same deal. Wiggle the connector, the readings bounced all over the place. Dang! But just before tearing back into the box (and posting that mediocre review), I tried a third patch cable. She worked fine.
Yes, two bad patch cables. Dadgum $3 jumpers on the bargain table at the hamfest!
Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
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