| AA4UC |
Rating:      |
2020-02-10 | |
| Replacement Tuner Much Better |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just received my MFJ-939Y in the mail from HRO and the first thing I notice taking it out of the box is the sound of several lose parts rattling around in the enclosure. Back it goes! I will update this review after I get the new one assuming it also doesn't have blatantly obvious quality control issues.
Update 2/10/2020... Replacement arrived and no issues with this tuner so far. Tunes my loop on 160-10 meters in a couple of seconds. Works much faster than similar LDG units. Frankly I'm shocked! |
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| G8FXC |
Rating:     |
2019-08-11 | |
| Pretty Good! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
It would be silly to deny that MFJ sometimes have quality control problems, but when they get it right they do produce some nice products at good prices. I run an IC-7300 at home and have been getting along on a combination of a manual MFJ VersaTuner plus the built-in auto tuner in the radio. But I was getting fed up with slow, manual tuning and decided to try an auto-tuner. I was tempted by the MFJ-929, but ended up going with the 939 to save some money.
It arrived in good condition and I plugged it up to the 7300, keeping the VersaTuner in the feed chain to the antenna for SWR metering and antenna switching. I connected a fairly short random wire via a cheap unun and hit the "tune" button. It found a reasonable match quite quickly, though not as fast as the adverts suggest.
My first day of operation was a bit frustrating - when it got a match, it was very good, but it often seemed to lose the match and go through a retune which could take quite a long time. Eventually, I admitted defeat, read the manual, understood how it really works and it has been reliable ever since. Unlike the 929, this tuner only has three buttons and has to cram a lot of functionality into them - you really do have to RTFM before you try to use it!
Two points - my shack it on the upper floor of our house and the RF ground is long. I use an MFJ 931 Artificial Ground to make it look shorter - and that is critical to the 939. It does not seem to matter so much on the higher bands, but if I tune up on 80m and transmit without the ground resonated, all hell breaks lose! As soon as I hit the ATU with a hundred watts, it goes into repeated tuning cycles. Provided the artificial ground is resonated first, the 939 is able to get a close to perfect match that holds indefinitely.
I've seen questions on the net as to whether of not these MFJ auto-tuners can operate on 6m - the spec is only up to 30MHz. I can confirm that the 939 is able to resonate most things on 6m, but it does lose some functionality. It contains instrumentation including a frequency counter and an antenna analyser which drive the IntelliTuner function and reduce the tuning time. It seems to be this instrumentation that is only rated up to 30MHz. On 6m, the tuner reverts to a basic "dumb" tuner - every time you hit the "tune" button, it goes through a full search looking for a match - which can take several seconds. Further, since the frequency counter cannot measure the carrier frequency on 6m, it is unable to store the solution in memory, so it will always go through the full tune cycle. Even so, it is still pretty impressive - this morning my 939 has allowed me to have a QSO on 80m, another on 40m and a couple on 20 followed by pinging up the 6m repeater in the next town - all on about forty feet of wire running from the shack window to the tree in the corner of the garden! |
|
| AB5IE |
Rating:     |
2019-05-24 | |
| Instructions somewhat vague and operation is a little funny ... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bought the pre-configured "A" version with the cable for my Alinco DX-SR8, which I use for rag-chewing on 40 and 75 meters. I operate mostly QRP/weak signal using Elecraft KX-2s and Yaesu FT-817/818s ... so higher power communication not my usual quest.
The MFJ-939A actually out tunes on 75/80 meters, (with a Hustler 6-BTV as my load), my manual MFJ tuners, the LDG tuner with FT-817/818s and the internal tuner on KX-2s (which will normally tune everything from a wet rope to a nail). That is, matches with less than an SWR of 1.5:1. I can't get that close on the other tuners. There are some frequencies that are an especially peculiar load, and the tuner has to "scratch it's head" for a while ...
Main complaint is the fuzzy and "hit or miss" instructions. And, I don't like setting parameters by how long you press a button. I'd rather MFJ include some more buttons to toggle between tuner bypass, tuner on and "sticky mode", etc. ...
At only $149.00 street price, this is a good value and despite it's quirks, I'd recommend it, as it really does a good job, (usually), matching your transmitter to challenging loads.
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|
| G6ATJ |
Rating:      |
2019-04-12 | |
| Fantastic simple matchinging |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
%%%%I had the mfj948 manual tuner which i burnt out after connecting to an endfed via 9:1 unun! Minimum swr at ANY frequency was 8:1 (as expected).
I bought the 939 and connected and hey presto! It works so quickly and tunes all bands 80 - 6 including warc with VERY low swr ( <1.5 ). I love it! I do like a manual tuner....something very satisfying about turning two var. caps to get that needle down to near 0, but auto tuner saves so much time when chasing DX.
Ic7300 + 939i + endfed longwire: A winner!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by G6ATJ on 2019-04-12
I had the mfj948 manual tuner which i burnt out after connecting to an endfed via 9:1 unun!
Warily, I bought the 939 and connected and hey presto! It works and tunes all bands with VERY low swr ( <1.5 ). I love it!
Ic7300 + 939i + endfed longwire. |
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| W6UXB |
Rating:     |
2019-04-01 | |
| For MFJ tuners its pretty good |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I have had mine for awhile now, I use it with a radio that the tuner does not support so I have to hit the tune button while keying the rig, not as bad as it sounds it tunes very fast but will stop at a 1.5 SWR you can hit the tune button again and it probably will go down to 1.3 SWR and when you hit the tune again it toggles between the 2 settings, my antenna is better than that across most of the bands I use so only use it when I get on my resonant edges! |
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| K6ERF |
Rating:      |
2019-03-31 | |
| Efficient Tuner |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I use this tuner with the Icom IC-7000 & IC-7300.
I have previously used the LDG IT-100 tuner which is good and reliable. This MFJ-939 loads extremely fast on all my antennas, about 10 times the speed of the LDG. The loading is just about instantaneous. Several antennas that the LDG could not match are easily matched with this tuner. Overall I'm very pleased with the performance. |
|
| KD5JZN |
Rating:     |
2017-11-20 | |
| Good for the price |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I've run the MFJ939 with my TS2000 for about a year now. The tuner works just fine 90% of the time. It will match my OCF Windom within a second or two , with the rare occasion that an end of my antenna is touching the metal roof. Otherwise the tuner works flawlessly with either the TS2000 or the IC706MK2G{ once I reset the internal jumpers}.
Is it, or do I expect it to be perfect for the $150 price? Of course not, you do have to approach this hobby with a slice of common sense and realize that you get what you pay for. Overall. this tuner preforms well for the price... |
|
| WD8U |
Rating:      |
2017-07-20 | |
| MFJ great service |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I got a new IC-7100 and wanted an automatic tuner for it. So I bought a mfj 939I..
Had some problems with it...but after a few emails
with there support (Richard) got another one to me Fast! It works great with the IC7100..
They stand behind there products and provided me with a Fast solution,, with out effort on my part.. I am very satisfied with there service and product,,,The MFJ-939I tunes fast and has a wide swr range. |
|
| K8DXX |
Rating:      |
2017-06-28 | |
| Provided Excellent Service During 5 Month Florida Vacation |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is a follow-up to my 2016 review. My MFJ 939I (Icom) has provided flawless service through two field Days and a 5 month Florida vacation. It just plugs into the radio. Press the TUNE button and it either goes into service and/or tunes the current load. Want to retune to get a better match? Press and hold the TUNE button for 2 seconds and it makes another attempt. In virtually all cases, it achieves a 1.3:1 or better match on each band/frequency I tried.
While in Florida, it successfully handled a DK9SQ portable wire loop from 40 - 10 meters. At best, the loop presents a 4.5:1 mismatch, worse on most bands. The only anomaly I noticed was under some circumstances, the green power light would flash on and off during transmissions. This may have had to do with being within 20 feet of the radiating antenna. Usually, retuning would make the harmless flashing light go away.
The durability of this tuner also seems good. While I carried my IC-7300 in after most operating sessions, I usually left the tuner and MFJ Mighty Lite ACPS out on the screen porch. Both undoubtedly took some wind blown rain and other abuse but suffered no functional or cosmetic effects.
For $150, you can't beat it with a stick. I continue to have good luck with a wide range of MFJ/Ameritron products. Hats of to Martin Jue and his crew!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K8DXX on 2016-06-19
Purchased the MFJ 939I for use with my Icom 7300. The instructions were apparently written for the general, non-brand specific 939 series of tuners. They clearly mention removing Jumper 4 for Icom rigs but did not mention the '7300 specifically. An email to MFJ was returned in less than 12 hours saying that my tuner, labeled on the bottom for "Icom" was preconfigured with jumper 4 disabled and would work with the IC 7300. A quick look inside the case verified jumper disabled. I was also impressed by the craftsmanship.
I own two portable antennas to be matched. The DK9SQ is a portable 64 foot wire loop held upright by light fiberglass poles. The best SWR it presents is 4.5:1 on 20 meters. The '7300's tuner wouldn't even try. The '939I gave under 1.3:1 readings on 40 - 10. The second antenna is an MFJ 2289 "big ear" portable dipole for 40 - 10. It can function as a 40 meter OCF dipole if you deploy the 40 meter loading coil. For this test, I set it up as a simple 20 meter dipole (no coil). It matched the 20 meter dipole on all bands 80 - 10. With the dipole sitting about 12 feet above ground, I worked Europe and South America on 20 & 17 meters.
I have not played with the "Sticky Tune" and other more advanced features. I used the '7300's TUNER button to turn it on, off or to retune a current setting. With the tuner's power button depressed or "on", the unit clicks when the 7300's power is turned on. Pressing the TUNER button quickly brings the tuner on or off line. Depressing the TUNER button for 2 seconds tunes/retunes. Simple as that.
In all of the above, I was operating with a 4 foot ground rod about 6 feet of wire away. I was also within 25 feet of the antennas; an RF rich environment which didn't seem to bother the radio or tuner. Think we're ready for Field Day. |
|
| K3JLS |
Rating:   |
2017-06-27 | |
| STILL Won't Work with FT-450D |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I read the older reviews on this tuner that stated it wouldn't work seamlessly with the FT-450D. So, I called MFJ and they reassured me that a firmware fix had been applied to correct this problem. I ordered the tuner.
When it arrived, I connected it up per the instructions. While it would tune manually (sticky tune), I would not work when the FT-450's tune button was depressed.
I called MFJ and asked about the option jumpers to be installed within the case. This unit came factory fresh with just one jumper placed on the JP2 'Y' punching. This was right, per the on-line instructions. The instructions also called for a jumper on JP4, but there was no push on jumper there, if that indeed was the proper location, nor was a spare push on jumper provided.
The fellow with whom I spoke was not that helpful and offered to have someone call me back 'later'. I told him that I wasn't interested and that I would return the unit and leave a negative reply on eHam to which he replied 'OK'.
I told him it was hardly 'OK'. |
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