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write your own review of the MFJ-259.
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PE1NPG
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 8, 2006 13:29
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Awsome
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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What a great tool! Bought it initinaly for tuning my buddipole quickly, it does, but its a great tool with much more possibilities. Should have bought it a few years ago. Yes, there are more accurate tools on the market, but this one fits me well!
73 de PE1NPG, Jean-Pierre
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KC7GNM
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 8, 2006 11:40
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Awesome piece of Equipment
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This little device has saved me so much time tuning antennas. No more do I need to use an SWR meter the old fashioned way. I have tuned up antennas within 5 min now vs. the 20-30 min using an swr meter. Whoever says MFJ makes nothing but junk has never used one of these.
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WA2MGB
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 8, 2006 17:56
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A must have for the shack!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I picked up this MFJ-259 used for 175.00 in mint condition. It may not be the most current MFJ analyzer, however, it works superbly! I was able to adjust my Butternut HF6-V in less than 30 minutes....and these antennas are notorious for requiring meticulous adjustment when first installed. A life saver. No issues. Acutally, a great product from MFJ.
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K6YE
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 18, 2005 08:24
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GREAT PRODUCT
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I borrowed my Dad's, K5LDH, unit to optimize my Force-12 C4XLD yagi. All of the bands were flat except 40 meters. Note well that I had added a remote relay box to switch additional inductance thereby enabling me to cover all of 40 meters. The 259 showed me low in the band. I shortened the director and reflector and voila, seamless from 7.0 to 7.3 MHz. I will now use the 259 to optimize my 160/80/40 sloper. I am not a big fan of MFJ but this box is a keeper. There are lots of used units out there. If you find one at a great price, buy it. You will not be sorry. (If your friends find out you have one, it will probably be loaned out often).
Tommy - K6YE
DX IS
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W8KI
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 9, 2005 14:46
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Dr Whizbang
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I also have one of the first originals and 'cept for it's thirst for battery life and the fact it HATES the cold, it's always been very accurate & repeatable. The insides are well soldered. The cheesy sheet metal screws are always a **pain** when installing or removing the batteries thus, after my second or third set of dead batteries, I now use the AC adapter/wallwart for 99% of my uses. For remote applications, the AA's are funished. Considering its usefullness with antenna and transmatch adjustments, my friends have faithfully nicknamed it "Dr. Whizbang". ;-)The nickname was appropriate and has since stuck.
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N4UE
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 31, 2005 12:59
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Works fer me!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I guess I'm one of the lucky ones when it comes to MFJ stuff. I have 9 pieces of their accessories and everyone works 100%.
Yes, my 259B does have an lust for batteries, but they are cheap.
Using the 259B produces a great chart for adjusting my 6 band 'fan' dipole, without transmitting. I haven't used the GDO portion (even though I have the coils), since I have 6 'vintage' GDOs that work FB.....
All in all, I am VERY pleased with the unit....
ron
N4UE
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N7TM
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 31, 2005 08:59
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Most used shack device
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had an MFJ-259 for probably nine years now. I bought it brand new. It's undoubtedly the most used piece of equipment in my shack, other than the radios themselves. In daily use, I use it to tune my external tuner without having to transmit. I've used it extensively in building antennas, tracking down problems with coax, and as a frequency counter. Normally, I use it plugged into my shack's 12v power. Last week, I tried to use it on internal battery power and it didn't work. I found that the alkaline batteries I had installed (from Costco) had leaked. The alkaline literally ate the metal connectors at the ends of the battery packs. I sent MFJ an email asking about ordering a couple of the plastic battery holders. MFJ responded to my email within a day and sent me two new battery holders gratis in the mail. That's great customer service! To me, the '259 has been invaluable and a great deal for the money.
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N0XAS
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 24, 2004 08:35
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Very useful tool.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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OK, maybe it's not the prettiest thing on the block. I have been using mine for about 7 years now, on antennas from 80 to 2 meters, with good results. I have changed the alkaline batteries twice, and re-soldered the coax connector to the PCB once.
I've used it to cut coax tuned stubs, adjust antennas, and nearly everything else you can do with it at one time or another. I also use it a lot in the shack to set up my antenna tuner without needing to transmit - OK, there is some RF from teh 259, but not enough to be concerned about.
Overall, I'd never give mine up except maybe for the newer one. I'm seriously thinking about getting the UHF analyzer as well.
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WB2EWB
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 23, 2004 06:31
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quality problems
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Dont get me wrong: this is a wonderful tool.. (look at the autek (sp?) too) but be forewarned: it can consume batteries and there are alot of them so keep a spare pack around (batteries seem to go dead just when you are building a new antenna!) The internal workmanship is downright poor. So be prepared to open it up and fix: so it has mostly been retightning of screws internally (who design these mechanicals??? ) Even the main capacitor came loose.. From time to time starting up in a high swr it seems to operate at teh second harmonic of the osc (turning off/on fixes it) The ergomonics are poor: really REALLY easy to accidently leave turned on.. Finally it is a large unit (Bigger than my portable radio!) so if you are operating portable be prepared for the bulk. If you play with antennas, you need something like this...but choose carefully.. (while pricy they are alot less expensive than lab grade equipment)
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K9LEO
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Rating: 1/5
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Sep 23, 2004 00:51
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MFJ-259
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My MFJ does not read accurate half the time. The Battery compartment that holds the batteries broke. It will not work at all when putting fully charged batteries in it. I have to use external power. Not happy.. I will never buy anything from MFJ again. They make to much JUNK in my oppinion.
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