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Reviews For: MFJ-4230MV

Category: Power Supplies

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Review Summary For : MFJ-4230MV
Reviews: 32MSRP: 89.95
Description:
30 amp switching power supply
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15323.9
AD0YO Rating: 2022-10-16
RF quiet and lightweight Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this power supply to use with my ICOM IC-7300 when operating portable in my motorhome. It’s small size and weight was essential. I compared the noise on my 7300 waterfall with this power supply and a linear supply. No difference!
Be careful to check the voltage setting before powering up.
AH7I Rating: 2020-09-15
RFI on 80m and 160m Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I first reviewed this in 2014 when I purchased it to use with my new TenTec Eagle. Both are still going strong. I use a battery on 160 and 80 because there is noise from the supply on those bands.

My original review was "needs help" I think that's 2 stars. I'm upgrading to "good" 4 stars. Why?

Compared to other SMPS options I've tried, S5-S7 RFI on 80 and 160 is not that bad. RFI has drifted away from where I usually operate! Go figure. It's not given me a bit of trouble except when I spilled water in it. I called MFJ and they emailed a schematic. I had it back on line with fewer than $5 spent on parts. High side switching transistors had shorted.

I have the MVP model. It has "power poles". I move things around a lot and it's very convenient to be able to plug and unplug.

------2014 review follows-----
My first "modern" SMPS for ham stuff.
Purchased Fall 2014.
MFJ-4230MVP

It's like the 4230MV but with power poles on the back.

1. Power poles were defective. Plastic warped..
MFJ kindly sent me some replacements so I would not be without a PS. Swap took about 10 min.

2. Noise. It blows. I just got my antenna back up for 80m and have been listening there and on 160.The MVP makes S5 to S7 RFI on 160m and 80m in a receiver that is not connected to it!

Heath HP-13 did not do this. FT101 built-in DC supply did not do this. My laptop, "pig in a python" supply makes a little noise but it has to be close to the antenna.

So, a rating of 2 "needs help" and I'll review again when it has had some help.

N4UE Rating: 2020-03-20
I'm impressed! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just a quick update. The DC PS I use in my shop has 'issues' when not being used for long periods. It will recover using TLC but 'faults' way too easily. It is a commercial PS designed to provide 0-30 VDC at a max of 3A. Has a million parts inside!
Since I recently purchased a nice Icom PS-55 for the shack, I moved the MFJ to the shop. Yes, it's only good to 16 VDC, but I just ordered an imported PS that will go to 60 VDC at 5A. Between the 2, this should be all I will ever need.

I did a LOT of looking for birdies and noise on the MFJ and I can happily say, it's NOISE FREE and just works perfectly. Very surprised AND happy!! ha ha


ron
N4UE




I recently purchased this PS from HRO. It was made in Taiwan, and looks very well built. I have detected NO birdies and the fan is dead quiet.
The meter is easy to read and it powers my 'new' FT-920 to 100W output easily.
I have a LOT of MFJ products and have only had one product (old manual antenna tuner) that had a slight problem.

I have several Astron linear supplies, but I carefully read every switching PS review on here, before choosing this one. Very, very pleased.

ron
N4UE
N8VZ Rating: 2019-12-30
Nice Quiet Power Supply, Tiny Footprint Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had this power supply for a short period of time, but so far it has performed flawlessly. It's very quiet, as others have noticed. MVP version has Anderson Power Poles on the back, which I prefer. Its footprint is very small and you can fit it in almost anywhere in your shack. My unit, purchased from DXEngineering, was made in ROC (Taiwan), not mainland China, as others have reported. I suspect that the reviewers having problems may have units assembled in mainland China, where I think the QC may not be as good. Perhaps that's something to check on before purchase.
K6SDW Rating: 2019-11-09
Credit where due Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I'm giving MFJ an attaboy for doing what was right. I bought new the MFJ-4230MVP and when plugged in and powering my KX3 I was disappointed to find serious birdies on the 40 meter band.....really nasty stuff!!!

Well, long story short I emailed MFJ service and they shipped brand new replacement at the MFJ expense and included a pre-paid RMA to return the defective unit.

No birdies and power supply working as it should. Good job MFJ!

73, k6sdw
KM4QLB Rating: 2019-10-02
Compact, reliable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had the MFJ-4230MVP (the "P" is the version with Powerpole connectors on the back) for more than three years. It has been 100% reliable. I am sensitive to fan noise and the fan in this power supply seems quiet.

My oscilloscope reveals that it consistently starts cleanly with no voltage spikes. Regulation is just about spot-on at 13.84V with the knob in the 13.8V detent position. That was today on my MFJ-4230MVP that's more than three years old.

As to the Powerpole feature on the "P" version, I have only one minor complaint: The two red/black pairs are interlocked and stacked one atop the other without space between them. To connect two devices to them, you must first interlock the Powerpoles of the devices you will be powering. (While you can plug them in without doing that, it would force them to not connect squarely, possibly compromising current carrying capacity.)


----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KM4QLB on 2016-03-10

I've got the MFJ-4230MVP version with the Powerpole connectors (otherwise identical to the MFJ-4230MV).

When first turned on, the fan spins up and then throttles down or off (it's silent to my ears). I've been using it on both a Kenwood TM-281A (65 watt RF out)and a Yaesu FT-2900R (75 watt RF out) and it has performed flawlessly. I can see no sign of RFI in the 2 meter band (when scanning with an SDR and a nearby antenna).

The wide output voltage range of 4-16VDC makes it suitable for for many single supply electronics projects.
K1WCC Rating: 2019-09-05
No complaints Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
What a wide spectrum of reviews for this supply! I bought mine exactly a year ago and have used it intermittently since then, with no problems. It's quiet, the fan comes on for a couple of seconds when you turn it on, and it's stable. I use it now on a daily basis with my Yaesu FT-2980 (80 watts FM) and it's rock solid. I have a couple of Samlex 1223's, these are excellent supplies but a bigger footprint than the 4230. This unit is compact and fits in an Apache case perfectly with the 2980. External construction is well done. Who knows what evil may lurk inside, but so far, it's been great.
WB2SNJ Rating: 2019-06-19
Not A Good Buy Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Well, I really did expect to get more than 6 months out of this power supply. I purchased it late November, 2018. It went into service the beginning of that December on an Icom IC-7000. February, 2019, it became the power supply for a new IC-7300. All good so far. Early May, 2019, I began to have power loss on transmitting. The radio would cycle quickly on and off. The only way to stop it was to turn off the power supply because the radio power button would not function. After letting the setup sit for a few minutes and re-powering the rig, all would be fine for some period of time. Ham friends suggested RF problems or the radio was malfunctioning. However, I decided to try the radio on battery power and all was fine. I then went to a back-up foreign made power supply and it too was no problem. The MFJ 4230MV had gone bad in 6 months. I am lucky I did not damage a new radio as others have mentioned.
On a call to MFJ I got the standard, “send it to us and we will check out.” Well, that means paying shipping both ways and more money spent. I have decided to write this purchase off as a bad buy and advise others not to take a chance on it as I did. I bought a new power supply from another company.
N4CAG Rating: 2018-12-13
Great for international travel Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I recently used this PS to power my Icom 7300 while operating PY4/ in Brazil. It has worked great for me. The form factor and weight is great for international travel, switching it to 230 is very easy, and using a USA -> EU style plug converter made it super easy.
WG4R Rating: 2018-12-05
Use With Caution Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought two of these power supplies at the Charlotte Hamfest about a year ago. I have had a 50% failure rate. When one of the two units was powered up it took out everything connected to it, well below the 35 Amp limit. In checking the fuse, which is hard to get to, it had also blown. I replaced the fuse, ($5 at Mouser), plugged it in with NO load, and it blew the fuse and tripped my UPS with such a malfunction that the UPS had to be manually reset. The lights on the 4230MV never did light. It shorted out that fast. I have replaced all of my MFJ 12V power supplies with others that I can trust and have had no such problem. Be very careful in using this supply. Personally, I would never leave a 4230MV running unattended or power your expensive equipment with a 4230MV.