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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
WD8OST Rating: 2001-07-11
drake mn 2700-no balun Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
just bought one on qrz swap-sell. rec. today put to work tuned it on all bands did the job. have drake mn 2000 but no 160m ten -tec 229 all band to hard for old man to tune. mn 2700 hard to find. very happy with it .hope it keeps working well? run no more than 800 watt max.
WA8OMQ Rating: 2001-06-14
Great Tuner, but buy in mint condition or suffer. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
When I bought an MN 2700 from an estate sale I figured, heck - what could go wrong with a big, passive network? Turns out, -plenty! These tuners are pretty sweet, but be sure you get one in excellent shape as these puppies were not designed and built with even the simplest repair in mind, and service is not available from Drake. The antenna selector switch is nonstandard, susceptible to damage from high power operation, and no longer available. (You could, with a struggle, bypass it or maybe avoid use of a damaged position).

Remember the stories about the automobile where you had to pull the engine to change a spark plug? This unit was designed by the same guy, I think. To replace a fixed ceramic capacitor (there are several banks of these HV caps switched-in to extend the range of the big variables) practically requires that the entire unit be disassembled down to kit form. To even tighten up the screws of the front panel lever switches (they screw into a subpanel behind the front panel) requires that the all knobs, the trim and front panel be removed as well as the unsoldering of some internal parts. If you had a new antenna switch, you'd think hard about installing it.

You had better have lots of time and be one competent technician before you go to the mat with this thing, so check it out thoroughly before you buy! I learned all this the hard way. Nevertheless, I now use mine with a stealth G5RV and it works great, matching lower-than-50-ohm impedances which my Johnson Matchbox could not, including 17 meters.
At their best, they are "5-stars"- attractive, compact, relatively easy to use (a vernier on the big dials and a lighted meter would have been nice) and very effective. The bypass switch is very handy. I really enjoy mine, but buy one in terrific shape or you'll be sorry.
K9RT Rating: 2000-11-06
Excellent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned at least one MN2700 since the early 1990's, and though I've tried the MBVA, Ten Tec 238 and other legal limit tuners, I always return to the 2700. Currently I have three and they are becoming scarce.
Main reasons for my choice: Nice big meter, easy for these old eyes to read. Only improvement would be if it were to be illuminated.
Second: It is one of only two tuners (so far) that I've used where you can bypass ALL the antennas direct or thru the tuner. The Ten Tec 238 allows this also as I recall, but it doesn't have as many antenna connections.
The B1000 balun works great on 450 ohm ladder line on an all band inverted vee.
I've used it all bands, including the WARC bands, where it tunes fine even though there is not a dedicated bandswitch position for them. Using legal limit power, never a groan or an arc.
If you want a relatively compact legal limit tuner with the above features, you can't go wrong in my opinion
I've settled on the 2700 until a better tuner crosses my path