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write your own review of the RigExpert AA-200.
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VE2YMM
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 27, 2009 11:27
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Nice and easy tool to use !
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I was looking for good and autonomous tool to set my antennas. When antennas are installed, it is not already easy to set... After reading this reviews on eHam about the AA-200, I decided to buy one via the web site (http://www.rigexpert.net/). It was easy and I got the analyzer after one week. ... I love it. It is really easy to use and gives me immediate information I need and no need mental calculus ;-) Everything is on the screen. This tools gives in fact more. You can verify the quality of your cable or check short circuited cables (in HF). If you make your own antennas, this tool definitively help. I've tried a few antenna and it was a dream to play with. The only point is the AA-200 do not support 300 ohms impedance...
This is a really good buy, a must to have!
This is a small video of use (in french) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LWat6HQDME
73,
Yves - ve2ymm.com
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AD5X
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 12, 2009 11:49
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Next Generation Antenna Analyzer
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After reading and re-reading the August 2008 QST review on the RigExpert AA-200, I decided it was finally time for me to upgrade from my 10-year old MFJ-259B antenna analyzer. Since Array Solutions (www.arraysolutions.com) is offering an introductory discount on the AA-200 and they are close by, I drove to their facility and picked one up. And all I can say is that I made the right choice. The AA-200 is extremely easy to use due to a very simple menu system – just read the manual once and you’ll have very little reason to look at it again. Besides giving you digital readouts of SWR and impedance/reactance (including sign), the AA-200 also provides a bargraph display for ease in nulling SWR. Swept graphical displays of SWR or impedance are also available, and you can save these displays and transfer them to your computer for later analysis. The AA-200 also gives you simultaneous multi-band SWR bargraph viewing capability (up to five bands) which is very handy if you are trying to adjust a multi-band antenna. The USB interface for firmware upgrades and computer-data transfers is a definite plus for me as none of my three computers have an RS232 port. And updating the firmware is easy - just follow the steps outlined in the AA-200 FAQs on the Array Solutions website. Bottom line – This is a modern antenna analyzer that is flexible and easy to use. And because it is firmware upgradeable, it should stay state-of-the-art for a long time.
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GM6TVR
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 12, 2008 12:47
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Just the job....................
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Returned recently from A92, HF and VHF beams not working as they should, HF beam less than one year old, VHF beam only weeks old, ordered AA-200, identified the problems and was quickly back on the road, loose bolt on the terminating stub on the HF beam, water in the co-ax on the VHF beam. Rescued many lengths of co-ax from the garage from a 5 year 9G operation, tested them all, some were fine, some had to be condemned, the AA-200 is truly a fine piece of kit, if you are considering an antenna analyzer, you will be delighted with this one. I like the sweep fascility which shows the resonant ups and downs on the antenna, found a few surprises there too. This item would have saved me hours of heartache in the past, great service from the UK dealer also. SWR down = blood pressure down. Best wishes, John - www.johnblack.org
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VK3CCR
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 30, 2008 03:12
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A Top Unit (but)
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have been using my AA-200 for four months and love it. It has saved me so much time adjusting antennas and is accurate to boot. I use it to sweep ferrite chokes and coax stubs. What did I do without it?
Well now I'm finding out, as it died while doing an antenna sweep a few days ago. It appeared the test port was disconnected from the analyzer which otherwise worked and a call to the supplier showed that this was a known, and was becoming a fairly common fault, as it had been discovered that the AA-200 was very sensitive to static electricity. I am waiting on its return but expect no trouble except for the cost of international postage. Now I plan to learn the best static grounding methods for wire antennas.
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KK6MS
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 24, 2008 09:30
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Leader of the pack
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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If I had to own only two pieces of test equipment, they would be a decent multimeter and an antenna analyzer. Whether you are building an antenna, setting up for field day, or troubleshooting your station, an analyzer is absolutely indispensable.
For the last couple of years I have been borrowing an analyzer whenever I needed one. That may have annoyed some of my friends, but it did give me a feeling for what I liked and didn't like about the different models. All of them worked pretty well, and any analyzer is probably better than none. But here is why I picked the AA-200:
1. The rechargeable battery is awesome. This makes the AA-200 extremely portable. Those other analyzers from MFJ eat batteries like they are going out style.
2. The sweep function is worth the extra money you pay for this model. It give you a graph of your SWR curve over a programmable frequency range. This is probably the function I use the most, as it instantly tells me what the tuning looks like over an entire band and where I have to make any adjustments.
3. Another great feature you get for the price is the ability download your results to your computer. There you can do more analysis, and keep the data for future comparisons. This is invaluable to track the performance of your antenna systems over time.
Of course, the AA-200 does all the stuff that the other analyzers do as well. Feed line measurements, capacitor and inductor measurement, etc. But the added features listed above make it the clear winner in my mind. Pay the little bit extra and you will get a lot in return.
73,
John, WA6L
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K2GW
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 16, 2008 13:08
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Current Gold Standard
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought my AA-200 at Dayton in May and have been very impressed with it over the past six months. It makes tuning and measuring antennas a breeze with beautiful curve plots displayed right on the unit. You can typically plot the curve for an antenna in less than ten seconds!
I've downloaded the stored curve data for all of the antennas at my home shack and at our Red Cross chapter to my PC for comparison to see if things change over time. Very slick!
It works much better and quicker than the MFJ's or Auteks I've used before, and the rechargeable batteries and carrying case are included!
RigExpert customer service is superb, unlike Autek's, and manufacturing quality control is great, unlike MFJ's.
You won't be disappointed with this unit.
73
Gary, K2GW
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G0MJW
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 22, 2008 06:26
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Does what it claims
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have recently been working on antennas for GB3RAL and at home. I have been borrowing an MFJ analyser, or using my N2PK VNA. The VNA is excellent but not ideally suited to field work and limited to 60MHz. The MFJ was OK but limited to a spot frequency, which frequently drifted.
I decided to try the AA-200 as it is similar in price yet more capable than the MFJ equivalent - which I had found useful.
I have been putting it through several tests tuning HF mobile antennas and measuring VHF antennas and HF dipoles. Once I had got used to the interface I found it to be very easy to use. It did not take long for me to exhaust my stock of antennas to tune and test.
There are even shortcuts pre-programmed for most of the amateur bands, excepting 4m - handy when sweeping a multi-band antenna - as is the mutliSWR feature. Dedicated keys allow you to move up or down in frequency and to widen or narrow the sweep width.
The SWR2Air feature is also likely to be useful.
I would recommend it, but because of the cost, for casual use it may be better to share one amongst a club.
Limitations
It only goes to 200MHz. There is a 500MHz version but that does not work below 5MHz.
There is no supplied information on the data interface, you can't easily write your own software to control it.
Beware of driver issues if you already have a USB-Serial adapter installed. Only the most recent drivers work properly.
Don't expect to use this unit as a frequency standard - that is not the intention and a simple crystal oscillator is used which while stable is not very accurate, it is good enough for analysing antennas.
For low VSWR the results seem accurate, for VSWR above 10:1 the indication is poor, but that is not a big problem - a 10:1 VSWR is a poorly matched antenna. I get the impression accuracy is poorer at higher frequencies.
Like all units that use un-tuned broadband detectors, the measurements will be upset by very strong signals. A high-pass filter might be a good idea to avoid local AM broadcast interference to HF measurements if you are near a transmitter. I had no trouble with this.
The plastic case is unlikely to survive a drop from a tower, or even a table. It also may suffer from being stepped on, thrown about or being used as a hammer.
Mike
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KN1R
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 19, 2008 13:57
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Great Test Tool!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Received my analyzer today and used it to tune my 6BTV vertical. This is a great tool. Easy to use and great frequency resolution.
Well worth the extra money you have to fork out to get one.
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KF4LYU
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 25, 2008 12:54
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EXCELLENT !!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This analyzer is awsome.
I really love the extremely long battery life provided by the rechargeable battery that comes with this unit.
the MULTI SWR Mode function and accuracy are really a few of the reasons I actually decided to purchase this analyzer over a few others that I was considering,,,and I am really glad that I did choose this unit over the others.
the graphs are also very nice and makes it a snap to find the resonance of an antenna.
I also like the fact that the units firmware is upgradable via your computer with the supplied usb cord.
I havent used the software provided with the unit yet so I cannot comment on it,,but I am sure it will work flawlessly also.
this analyzer is capable of doing more than I will probably ever use it for, but I am glad that the featuress are avalable if I ever do need them in the future.
but if anyone is looking to purchase an analyzer, then I would very much suggest you buy you one of these jewels,,you wont be dissatisfied.
the only complaint that I have with the unit is that it dosent have a battery strength indicator,,but maybe this is something that will be added in a future firmware update,,other than that,,I cannot find any fault in the unit.
despite the one little issue I have with the mentioned above,,I'm still gonna give it a 5 ,,,I feel all the many pros with this unit are too many to give it a lesser score.
73's
Daniel
KF4LYU
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M1BEP
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 17, 2008 07:17
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RigExpert AA-200, Fantastic.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I came across a Radcom review of the RigExpert AA-200. After the experience I had with the 259Z I was a bit hesitant about buying another analyser. I purchased my AA-200 from RadioWorld UK.
I am amazed on how well it performs on all the functions I have used so far. I’m only a beginner and I have found building homebrew traps and experimenting with antennas so easy with the AA-200. All the readings from the traps are very stable and repeatable. It can continuously check the SWR on all five bands at once on my Cobweb Antenna, which is a very handy function to have.
This is only a very small amount of what the AA-200 is capable of and the build quality is excellent.
It has a smooth, easy to keep clean keypad, and comes with an over the shoulder carrying case with a see through front. It also comes with a power supply/charger and its own Ni-MH battery - battery life is fantastic.
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A USB cable to connect the AA-200 to the PC, software and drivers are also included. The firmware can be upgraded through the PC.
I cannot praise the RigExpert AA-200 enough at this time.
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