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Reviews For: Mini60

Category: Antenna Analyzers

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Review Summary For : Mini60
Reviews: 12MSRP: 130
Description:
A pocket-size derivative of the SARK-100, 1-60MHz digital antenna analyzer with built-in rechargeable lithium battery.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00123.3
KK5DR Rating: 2018-04-26
Cheap junk! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered one direct from the manufacturer in China.
What I got, was not shipping damaged, it was defective, inoperable, useless junk.
The rectangle power ON-OFF switch, was never installed. The rectangle hole, where a switch “should have been”, was instead, occupied by a bare loop of wire, attach at both ends to the circuit board.
All the screws are stripped, and falling out.
All the push-button caps fall out.
No battery, even through the add stated there is an internal battery included.
The only reason I did not rate it a big fat ZERO, it looks ok when it isn’t falling apart.
Cheap junk, a total waste of $$$!
G4VRR Rating: 2018-03-02
Good Kit Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Mine is the variant "Mini60s". I cannot establish what difference the "s" suffix makes. Mine came from Germany for £92.99 all inclusive. (the UK is within the EEC for now, so no tax) and has an incorporated Li-Ion rechargeable battery and Bluetooth connectivity. The Bluetooth works fine using an inexpensive Chinese Bluetooth dongle hanging from the rear apron of my 2015 ICOM IC-7200 together with the DH1KLM Android app. (once I had managed to pair the two together...)

After a short period of use, the beeper developed a rasping sound but it doesn't affect the functionality of the device in any way. The analyser always starts up on 20 metres and this is a little annoying- it would be better to remember the last used band.

The battery charge seems to last well beyond a reasonable period. The unit feels very substantial with respect to perceived build quality. I would recommend the item based upon my experience, but it is very inexpensive compared to the competition and I reckon that any prospective purchaser needs to possess a reasonable mindset towards Chinese kit; there always has to be a small but significant failure rate quid-pro-quo with it.

The only real functional shortcoming is the lack of ability to indicate positive or negative values on complex impedance, but if that is something that means anything to you, then you'll know what to do to overcome the limitation.
NO9E Rating: 2017-11-02
Small with USB charging Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My unit was bought on ebay from ecdesign2015 and has bluetooth and Li-ion battery. Very small and convenient charging from USB port.

The unit works fine but some options are cryptic; for details read a manual for SARK100. One interesting option is band SCAN, where the device automatically determines 2:1 bandwidth and SWR and frequency at the lowest SWR.

For graphing, I installed the DH1KLM app on Android. It works fine.

Small size and USB charging make this analyzer a choice for portable applications up to 6m.

The design of SARK100 or mini60 has limitations due to old design (same as in MFJ-259); see "A short review of antenna and network analyzers" by RigExpert. I found it pretty accurate for SWR measurements. Less so for capacitances although I did not do a calibration.

I have 4 antenna analyzers. VNWA3e is very accurate (after calibration), has 2 ports, and goes up to 1.3 GHz but requires a computer. Requires a time-intensive recalibration after system changes. AA230PRo is pretty good and easy to use but expensive and heavy; new ZOOM models are lighter and possibly more accurate. FA-VA4 (after OLS calibration) is smaller, accurate and inexpensive but goes up to 100 MHz only and manipulating it with 3 buttons takes time. Mini60 is half the size of FA-VA4, inexpensive, good enough for SWR alone and does not run out of battery. AA230PRO is most used. VNWA3 is used when nothing else works (2 port, high frequency). FA-VA4 when high accuracy is important. Mini60 when portable and only SWR is of interest.
KE0NAZ Rating: 2017-07-08
Best for the price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got one from Ebay for about $90.00 to the front door. It seems well made . Pocket size around the size of a flip phone and a little more heft.
Its rechargeable also. Mine lasts quite a while on a good charge .
PRO's ( for me )
SIZE - very small
BLUETOOTH for Androids (more on that later)
RECHARGABLE (also more on that later)
SIMPLE operation.
WORKS without the cool graphics on a Android device. Its OPTIONAL .


CONS -
SOFTWARE :
The normal (linked by seller)does not work on a lot of Android devices. The seller gave me several references which did not work. They were very helpful. I tried several. Most are Chinese meant for Chinese users. AFTER a lot of trial and error I found this one - " Mini60-DH1KLM-05.17apk " . Its from a European user who had same issues. He also has PC versions listed. The website " die-jetzis.de " has a walk thru that's a great asset also. Lots a videos on Youtube too.

NO CHARGER included. Small issue but for price it could have been included. I use my OEM Yaesu FT817 DC adapter. It has a USB option.

ACCURACY ; my radio likes it by its own simple SWR meter . UNSURE of fine/overall accuracy as I have no way to test it, hence the rating I gave it as good. If my radio likes it (SWR wise ) then Im good, since I use it for field use. I cold tune the antenna then use radio to check the outcome which has been favorable to my use. I use Yaesu FT817/897 for QRP or portable stations , not mobile. Long wire end fed antennas & loops. And for that its great.

I would buy it again.

James - KE0NAZ
WT4W Rating: 2017-06-01
In need of serious QC and customer support Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just received a Mini60 antenna analyzer. As has been well documented this unit comes with no software, no battery, no power supply, and no manual. After much searching I found the following video which is very helpful, and contains a link to android software which is pretty straightforward. https://youtu.be/UA5cvPCZT6Q

After I got the software running I did some scans and got extremely wonky results. I connected a resistor and scanned that, again the numbers were crazy. I finally discovered that if I put pressure in a certain direction
on the SO-239 connector that I could get good results, anything else and it didn't work. SO..... I have a unit which is faulty right out of the box.

I'm going to attempt a repair, with a little luck I'll have a functioning unit. At this point I really wish I'd have ponied up for a quality antenna analyzer.... when you pay over $100 for something there's no excuse for it to be in need of repair from the moment you get it. (I already know my chances of getting customer support from China.)

K8JHR Rating: 2015-12-20
Complete Dud Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Product failed. It appears this device cannot operate without a functioning battery. A wall-wart power supply, alone, will not revive it. I purchased multiple replacement batteries on eBay and they all failed within a month of installation. So, for me, product is a complete dud, total failure.

When it worked, it seemed to be accurate (as compared to an MFJ-259B and RigExpert AA-230) and it would make a good, small unit in the field or up the tower, but not if it won't work beyond a week or so.

So... almost a bargain... but not. Anyone who wants to play with mine can buy it CHEAP. Maybe you can keep it alive long enough to use it more than a few days.

Just MY take... your mileage may vary. / K8JHR /

KC3DFS Rating: 2015-11-24
Fair, and lacks durability Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased my unit about 8 months ago, and immediately, the blue tooth did not work. The seller from China did not respond to my emails.

The ability to graph swrs and R and Z was fantastic...initially. The usb is not soldered on well and detached.

What is left? A pretty well functioning AA but without the nice bells and whistles it was suppose to have.

I may buy another, but if I find a used MFJ at a Hamfest, would rather spend a little more for that.
KI6GOT Rating: 2015-08-06
Fantastic low cost analyzer! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This unit is small, accurate, low cost, and includes many functions. I'm very impressed by the size and effectiveness of this analyzer. I purchased a bluetooth enabled version on eBay and it works fantastic with my windows and android devices.

The only issue i've encountered is that a working bundle of software seems to be difficult to find. I was able to find a working download by entering "mini60 data.zip" into a google search which lead me to the following link:
http://uploadingit.com/file/view/97nusbbxxywvvwjn/mini60%20data.zip

If you're looking for a well working cheap analyzer with plotting capability (through a computing device) then do buy this analyzer.
KD7RDZI2 Rating: 2015-08-06
Funtastic! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Have a look to www.qrz.com/db/DL9YDW for the MiniMess60-V33 graphical interface. No command line needed anymore. I can tune a tuner without transmitting a single watt. I estimated correctly the loss a coaxial cable at a given frequency and coax length. I did tune homemade RF filters and antennas. This unit is simple to use and I use this thing everyday. No fault found. This is the most useful addition to the shack.
KG5EAO Rating: 2015-08-05
Overall a good value Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased the Mini60 (A SARK100 clone) from an online auction site mainly because I needed an analyzer for HF antenna building and I didn't have much of a budget. I have used this for about 8 months now and have found it to be a great value and very handy for portable/field use.

When ordered you get only the device. As others have mentioned there are no manuals, drivers etc. included with the purchase. The operation of the Mini60 is exactly the same as the Sark100. You can readily find the manual as well as the software to connect to a PC with a web search.

I usually charge the Mini60 through the USB port although it has a port for a 12V charger (user supplied which I have not used). Battery life seems good as I have yet to drain it while in field use. One caution though: The unit goes into a sleep mode after about a minute without touching any controls. It will appear off but is still drawing some power which can drain the battery if the power switch is not turned to the off position.


The Mini60 is about the size of a pack of cigarettes which is really nice for field work. It has several modes including SWR, Impedance,complex impedance, capacitance and inductance. Frequency range is between 1MHz and 60 MHz and is step selectable.

I find the ability to connect the Mini60 to a PC in order to collect data over a frequency sweep to be the most useful feature of the Mini60 aside from its size. The software available for the SARK100 is a DOS command line program. I am using Windows 7 so when I connect the Mini60 to a PC USB drivers are automatically installed and a serial COM port is created. The command line is a bit clunky but does work and the results can be plotted on the Zplots spreadsheet.

Now here are some issues that should be known:
1.) USB chipset used may not be OEM FTDI. Newest drivers loaded by Windows 7 will not work. This is a common problem with devices that use third-party FTDI chipsets. The fix is to find and load older drivers for the this chipset. I don't know if this is true of all Mini60's produced but is true of mine.
2.) Sleep mode vs Power switch issue mentioned above
3.) DOS mode program is clunky but does work.


I should note that a quick search on previously mentioned auction website will yield a third-party windows based software interface for the Mini60 that is very reasonably priced. It is well worth looking at for the Mini60 as it comes with usable drivers and simplifies use on Windows.

Overall, this unit works as advertised but does require a little effort to gather support materials for. I have found it to be very useful for working with antenna building and with setting up for portable/field use. At roughly half the cost of a new competitive analyzer, it is a good value for the budget conscious.