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write your own review of the MFJ-269.
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VE3LLL
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Rating: 4/5
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May 31, 2007 06:57
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Get one that works and it's great!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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No question, MFJ's infamous quality un-control has been seen in this product too. I'd heard several stories, so when I bought mine from a dealer at Dayton I extracted a promise that they'd have a replacement on hand the next day. Sure enough, mine had an antenna connector that was only occasionally connected to the inner workings, if you held it a certain way! It went back the next day, and I gave the replacement a pretty rough ride, thumping it on the counter, twisting knobs to their limits on both ends, roughing up the connectors, and even trying it out on several nearby antennas.
It survived, and has been a terrific tool in the three years since. Quick and easy to use, more versatile than many people know (it doesn't just do VSWR), not too bad on batteries (which are a bit of a pain to replace) and, yes, reliable.
Further, I've had the opportunity to compare its readings with those of a $4,000 handheld analyzer and a $40,000 network analyzer and it stood up very well, producing the same or very nearly the same results as those tools.
So my advice is do NOT buy one online, but if you can pick one up in a local store and give it a bit of a ride before you leave, you may be very glad you bought this indispensable tool.
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N0FPE
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Rating: 3/5
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May 6, 2007 10:57
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Ok
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Works ok. Just be careful of the UHF switch. AND watch using this thing is a strong near field RF envelope. Any RF above a few MICRO watts in to the antenna port with take out the zero bias diodes and that is the end of operations! $70 plus shipping repair at MFJ.
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KK7SS
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 30, 2007 06:53
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No Problems
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my MFJ-269 Pro for over 2 years, I've never had any problems or casue for complaint.
I'm a satisfied customer.
The results agree with my AA-908.
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WA4DFE
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Rating: 2/5
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Mar 30, 2007 06:04
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Hoping it gets better!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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New MFJ-269 arrived Wednesday and ended up sending it back to MFJ on Thursday. I had read all the posted warnings and still bought one for the cadet hamshack here at VMI. I checked the battery jumper, installed new batteries and made sure the UHF button wasn't down and powered it up. Numerous tries resulted in numerous results - few that were successful in being able to use the device. I saw previously reported displays like "VOLT LOW" and "VOLT OK 27 V" and when the battey voltage came up correctly, the meters were very unstable as well as the display readings. The tech support guy was very cordial and checked his stock of new units and agreed to ship one out as soon as the defective one arrived. I have used a friend's MFJ-269 and it worked well so I know it has the potiential to fulfill our needs. I agree with the previous reviews concerning MFJ's Quality Control (or lack thereof). The weather just broke here in VA and I really wanted to get up on the roof and do some antenna work.
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KT4WO
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Rating: 0/5
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Mar 29, 2007 22:13
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RUN, RUN FAST!!!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Where to Start?!?!....First one came in from HRO and the UHF switch didnt work.....
Second one came in two weeks later....
It was DOA out of the box!!..so... I opened it up just to see the "Quality"(or lack there of!) and found that the Neg. wire from the internal battery pack had NEVER been soldered!!
Now for operation... Checked SWR on Three different Dummy Loads with Three different coax jumpers(and direct on one)... 1.7:1 to 2:1 was the lowest I could get....Same on all my antennas.
ohhh.. almost forgot... the Band Switch is intermittent...
ALL this and more... for $330.00 BUCKS!!!!
MFJ has NO Quality Control!!!
RUN,,, RUN FAST!!!
KT4WO
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N4MJG
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 10, 2007 07:41
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Not Bad
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had mine long before i got into the ham,last 2 times i had to sent my out for repair.if i remember right it would not power up or something wasn't working right !so i hope that last time i have to sent out and maybe that will stay working as long i can.like they say mighty fine junk.to me i don't say it i just it not too bad if they fix right like it sould !
73
Jackie
KG4ORX
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KI4SYX
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Rating: 2/5
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Mar 10, 2007 04:32
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Bad engineering
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The first unit I purchased was already broken. The replacement seems to be working fine, but before you buy one you should know that it has several basic design flaws.
Firstly, there is a flaw where if you turn the unit on with the UHF button depressed, it will fry the unit. As others have mentioned, a note about this appears in the manual numerous times (it doesn't say it will fry the unit, but that's what it does). However, that's just ridiculous.
Secondly, the unit apparently has no sort of protection on the input circuit. The designer could have easily put a gas discharge tube to discharge high voltages from static build-up and a 100K bleeder resistor to bleed off static charge. However, this device apparently has neither, so you have to be very careful to short the antenna leads before connecting.
Thirdly, the RF connector is not attached to the chassis, so I have concerns that eventually all the screwing and unscrewing of the connector will cause it to detach from the PCB.
Fourthly, I have read (but not experienced this myself) that nearby strong AM stations can destroy the unit as well.
Finally, changing the batteries requires removing 8 screws. You also have to set an internal jumper which is not very clearly labeled on the PCB.
I am an electrical engineer, and I have to say were this my design I would be ashamed to sell them. The basic function appears to work OK, but solid engineering means you can't forget the details. Having already received one unit that was fried, I feel like it is just a matter of time until I slip up and fry this one. I have had to glue a protective ring around the UHF button so that it doesn't inadvertently get turned on, and I placed labels on the device to warn me to check the state of the button and to short the antenna leads before connecting a device.
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N0FPE
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Rating: 2/5
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Jan 4, 2007 14:28
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A waste of my money
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had the 269 for abt 4 years. It worked ok until recently. Abt 3 years ago the N connector was starting to get loose. I opened the unit up to find the connector is only attached to the curcuit board not the case. I replaced the connector with a chassis mount type and stopped this problem. The most recent problem is that the meter will NEVER zero. All the other functions seem to be ok but the meter sits at 2.5:1 all the time. This happened while it was sitting in a Pelican hard case with no use over 6 months. (I have a Bird now) I have shipped it back to MFJ for repair and most likely will sell it off once it gets back in working condition. A total waste of money, buy a Bird and some slugs, you will be better off.
Dan/NØFPE
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NN8E
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Rating: 1/5
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Jan 4, 2007 11:50
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Very poor quality. Buy another brand.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've owned mine for 3 years. Have successfully used it twice. Have wanted to use it much more. Beefs: Doesn't hold calibration. I had to send it back in the warranty period because it went way way out of cal. Read 50 ohm dummy loads as almost 80! Took 6 weeks to get cal'd. Went out of cal again in 6 mos. with NO use!
Latest problem when I went to use it is the internal freq counter quit so when I tune I can't tell where I'm at. I got MFJ to send me the schematics and I'll repair it myself, I hope.
Overall fit and finish is poor. This is the 1st and last piece of MFJ stuff I'll ever spend my hard earned dollars on. I'll stick with REAL test equipment.
Great concept. Poor execution. Sorry for the harsh review but this item wasn't cheap. Do yourself a favor and stay away from it.
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K5AGO
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 17, 2006 22:02
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Take care when replacing the AA batteries...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had a lot of successes with the MFJ-269 on HF, VHF and UHF. One design issue deals with the power switch. It is easy to accidentally power the unit up while it is in storage, rendering it inoperative the next time you need it. This month’s QST recommends gluing a round grommet around the power switch to protect it. More importantly is an issue with the back cover of the unit that must be removed to service the AA battery pack. My 269 has some insulation material on one side of the inside of the back. This is apparently to keep the battery pack from touching (shorting to) the rear of the chassis when assembled. Unfortunately, the rear cover can be applied either correctly or incorrectly, and when attached backwards the battery pack will short out because the insulation is no longer positioned correctly. I smoked 10 AA cells today and afterwards could see where the pack had shorted to the back of the unit. I have since added insulation to the entire back cover. My MFJ-269 is at least 2 years old, and MFJ may have corrected this issue by now.
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