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Reviews For: Drake MN-2700 with accy B-1000 Balun

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : Drake MN-2700 with accy B-1000 Balun
Reviews: 23MSRP: 270.00
Description:
Drake MN-2700 with optional accessory B-1000 Balun. Quality as usual from RL Drake. No complaints. I prefer it over the roller inductor tuners (fast QSY). Accurate wattmeter/SWR bridge and ability to match a wide variety of antennas. Once common at Hamfests and in the Yellow Sheets, they are now "locked" in the custody of their current owners who will probably never part with them. I saw this coming, so I acquired a mint one with B-1000 Balun for my long term collection. Unsung hero. Havent seen one on Ebay in over 6 months. Optional B-1000 Balun known to easily command $100.
Product is not in production
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# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00234.7
HK3PJ Rating: 2017-04-04
Not for 2 Kw. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Very nice tuner. When I used with the new ACOM 2100, ( 2 KW PEP ) the rotatory switch S 102 ( reactive range ) contact burned. The spark was between the switch and the metal screw fixing it.
I replaced by a nylon screw.
It worked very well the last 15 years with 1 KW.
K5YZS Rating: 2012-05-02
Some Troubles Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought the MN-2700 with B-1000 before 1980. Over the years I had arcing trouble with the
antenna select switch, as my Alpha-89 would arc
the switch -- took quite a while to find what was
wrong. The ceramic switch wafer as original, came with a grounding ring for the unused antennas and only the selected antenna was un-grounded. Over the years, the wafer became worn
and the detent would not always "set perfectly"
on its index position. Thus, some times the grounding ring would be too close to the "used antenna" position and would arc. It took me a couple of days to get all the wiring removed from
the original wafer and replaced with a ceramic wafer without a grounding ring. Problem solved.
Then I did arc and burn the circuit board of the B-1000 and had to clean and rewire board. Then mounted the B-1000 off of the rear panel on standoffs and that stopped that arcing. Today its
still going well. 73 Jim, retired engineer, K5YZS
N7WR Rating: 2011-09-26
Good Tuner Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Only need it to tune my OCFD on portions of 160 and 80 but it works fine for that purpose. It is easy to tune and looks good in my station console. Bought mine used but in good condition. Added LED lights to the meter to aid my tired old eyes.
HL2KV Rating: 2009-06-08
It is very good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I used one in conjunction with an ICOM IC-7400 transceiver and a Drake amp. It gave me zero SWR on 80-10.
I bought mn-2700 without b-1000 balun.
It is very good.
WA4JKW Rating: 2009-04-29
Outstanding Tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned my MN-2700 with the B-1000 balun since new in 1978. It has traveled the world with me and still not an issue. It was even hit by lightning several times in a well grounded installation and sustained no damage. I have tuned long wires, open wire dipoles, homebrew verticals, and even a window screen and aluminum frame in a hotel for 20m operations at low power. I've pumped 1800 watts into a dummy load though it and legal limit for thousands of hours. I feel it is the best radio equipment investment I ever made. Get one if you can.
WD5CCW Rating: 2008-05-24
Big Tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was given a complete Drake setup, with the MN-2700 included. I decided to put everything together and try it all out to write this review. The MN-2700 tunes well and with the big meter, makes it easy to see. I have yet to try it with the L7 amplifier, but just barefoot so far, it is very smooth.
W4VD Rating: 2006-12-31
Bad Experience Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bouht one of these off of ebay and trust me, I really wanted this tuner to work, however after only a short time (maybe a couple of weeks), one of the caps blew with only 1KW going thru it to a Windom (only 2.5 to 1.0 or LESS untuned so it wasn't asking too much IMHO). I tried locating a cap to replace it and after a while I sold it as-is for parts.

Not a pleasant experience, but it was nice the short time it worked,
TI2TL Rating: 2006-12-21
Superb Difficult to get a better tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well if you are looking for a top noch tuner this is the one for you. I would see no reason to sell it or change it in any way. I have it and it can tune about anything you feed it. The looks are very good and the meter is very precise.
If I could give it a higher score I would. I can recomend this tuner over the top of the line tuners that are in production nowdays with no hesitation. If you can get one buy it. They are very expensive considering their age but this comes for a reason. Quality is expensive and in this one quality is at the top.
K0RS Rating: 2005-08-09
MN-2700: a bit overrated Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I am not quite as enthusiastic about the 2700 as many of the respondants reviewing it. At its best it embodies the qualities that made the Drake name famous, high performance and high quality. However, a couple of issues keep it from rating a solid 5 for me.

The first problem is with performance. This unit suffers from a problem common to all switched inductance tuners: namely it isn't particularly happy making frequency excursions too far from the those dictated by its factory fixed coil taps. Mine tunes acceptably well on 12m, but it just doesn't like 17 or 30m much. Your mileage may vary depending on what type of antenna you are trying to match, but there is no way that this tuner can be as versatile as one equipped with a roller inductor. I wouldn't buy this tuner *assuming* it will work well on the WARC bands. Additionally, the fixed padding capacitors that are switched in parallel with the variables are a bit awkward. This peculiar arrangment makes hunting for that SWR dip a bit more difficult, but once your settings have been discovered they can be logged for quick QSYs. It just takes some getting used to. Another ergonomic irritant is lack of dual metering. Not a fatal flaw, just makes tune up a bit more tedious.

My second issue is cost. No fault of the tuner or manufacturer, but it seems that buyers on the popular auction sites have decided that this tuner is now a "collectors item", and prices have risen to match the mindset. Given that the balun was originally an accessory item and not standard equipment, a fully equipped MN-2700 can be a pretty expensive affair. If you need open wire capability, better to find a 2700 with the balun already installed. The baluns are extemely rare by themselves. As one other reviewer noted, the balun alone can command (well) over $100...if you can find one. Of course, there is nothing to stop you from using an accessory balun, other than that can be kind of a clunky add-on.

If the capabilites of this tuner are within your requirements, and you are OK with its funky 70's retro styling, it rates a 5 (or very nearly so). And, of course, if you are completing a Drake 7 line, then you need this unit. But if you are looking for a good all around tuner for general use, you can buy more flexibility for the money.
KK9H Rating: 2005-05-07
Solid and easy to use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my MN2700 for a number of years and have been very happy with it. I have used it when needed on every band from 160 to 10 meters, including the WARC bands. I have always been able to easily find the correct tune for the band and antenna I am using. I have never had a problem when using it with my linear running on any band. The meter is very accurate and agrees with my Bird watt meter on both power ranges. Normally I use it to operate in the SSB portions of 80 and 40 meters since my antenna for those bands is tuned for the CW section of each band. I have only used the B-1000 balun a couple times over the years at Field Day and it has worked just fine with ladder line antennas. The MN2700 is a solid, reliable antenna tuner and I openly recommend it if you can find one.