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| Reviews Summary for MFJ-842 Compact Cross-Needle SWR/Wattmeter 140-525 MHz |
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Reviews: 5
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Average rating: 2.0/5
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MSRP: $59.95
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Description: Compact UHF/VHF SWR/Wattmeter. Has huge 3" Cross-needle meter. Read forward/reflected power and SWR simultaneously. Perfect for mobile or portable operation. Two selectable power ranges, built-in meter light (+12 VDC). SO-239 Connectors. 3 1/4 W x 3 1/4 H x 3 1/4 D inches.
MFJ-842 covers 140 - 525 MHz, 15 or 150 Watts.
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Product is in production.
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More info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-842
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write your own review of the MFJ-842 Compact Cross-Needle SWR/Wattmeter 140-525 MHz.
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KE4SWC
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 25, 2011 19:50
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Works fine!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Went to HRO to buy a VHF/UHF SWR meter. They were out of any meters except this one. Josh at HRO said lots of folks have had good results with these, some had not. He said they work great out of the box or they don't. He said we could open it up and look at it. He offered to let me connect my HT to it and connect to an antenna they had on the roof with a known SWR to check. He said it should read 1.2:1.
I keyed it up and that's what it read. It also read just a tad below 5 watts on forward power which my HT was set to. We then placed a Bird wattmeter in place of the SWR meter and it indicated 5 watts. So I was convinced.
Upon hooking it up at home to a TM-742a mobile, I keyed it up on 50 watts into a dummy load and it read just below 50 watts and the reflected power needle barely moved. The dummy load is 1.15:1. I tested it on my homemade 2m j pole (the reason I bought the meter) and moved the feed point around on the j pole to the lowest reading: 1.2:1!!
I tested the j pole with a IC-746pro and it's SWR meter read the same. Good enough for me!
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N2OZO
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Rating: 1/5
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Jan 2, 2011 10:18
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Mitty Fine JUNK
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just puchased this unit to use a quick reference meter. The low scale is accurate but the high scale is so far off its not funny. Tried to calibrate per MFJ documentation, but the unit is so far out it CAN NOT calibrated.
The unit is going back to HRO tomorrow.
Don't waste your money !!!!!!!!!!
Spend the extra and buy a diamond.
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N3EAY
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Rating: 0/5
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Nov 2, 2008 01:24
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Don't waste time or money on this one
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Forward meter failed after 3rd use. Guess I should test more often as the third time I used it was over a year and put it past their "No Matter What" Warranty. It went into the trash. It is the last item I will purchase that has MFJ on the case.
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KI6FLL
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 3, 2008 12:01
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A compact meter that's great for checking mobile installations
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought this meter because I wanted a quick way to check power output and SWR on my mobile and HT VHF/UHF radios. I wanted something that was small/mobile and a step up in quality from the $20-30 meters that can commonly be found in the marketplace. After browsing various store fronts and eHam reviews, I decided on the MFJ-842.
This is a simple SWR/wattmeter with a frequency range of 140-525Mhz. The only external control on the meter is a Hi/Lo power switch on the front. Hi range is 150 watts max forward power and 50 watts max reflected power. Lo range is 15 watts forward and 5 watts reflected. The meter appears to have a quality movement, but there's no zero adjustment for the needles (although they read very near zero). You can connect it to a 12v power source to light up the face, but I've not used this feature yet.
The meter comes calibrated from the factory. If you have a reference power meter (I don't), you can re-calibrate it yourself using 4 trim pots inside the case. Adjustments are hi range fwd, hi range reflected, lo range fwd, and lo range reflected.
So far I've used this meter with 2 radios at 3 power settings using 2 antenna systems. Readings were pretty much what I expected; power output near what the radio manufactures claimed and SWR between 1.1 and 1.3. This unit is going to work just fine for my needs.
Only downside in my book is the lack of zero adjustments for the dual needles and, since it is primarily a meter for mobile use, I wish it came with a case.
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