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Reviews For: MFJ-259B

Category: Antenna Analyzers

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Review Summary For : MFJ-259B
Reviews: 238MSRP: 259.95
Description:
HF/VHF Antenna Analyser
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-259B
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
152384.2
KM6EG Rating: 2009-07-08
Good value for the cost. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have to give it a 5 as it worked right out of the box and does what's advertised. Very handy to have, especially with the integral freq counter. I have not tried the built-in battery feature because I just plug in to my QRP battery. Had similar good luck with my MFJ-209, now 10 years old.
KI6NQT Rating: 2009-04-09
no problems at all Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Works perfectly from get go. Makes my job a whole lot easier.
NO7AZ Rating: 2009-04-04
Typical MFJ quality... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Out of the box, it goes into oscillation between 14.06 and 14.3Mhz (indicates 47Mhz), this is 20 METERS! Ahhh, typical MFJ BS.

I dissasembled the unit, which appeared to have been opened several times already (new in box from AES, and they don't play games), found the stage that was bad, added some coupling capacitance, and back in business.

I also had to repair the on/off switch, and solder the PL259 connector to the board. Seems MFJ had tried to fix this one at the factory, couldn't, and shipped it anyway.

Now it works like it should.
FORMER_K0PD Rating: 2009-03-11
Works OK Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my 259B now for a few yrs and functional wise there has been no problems out side of the battery holders.I saw right away when i bought mine(used) that the battery holders were not going to last so removed them and bought replacements at Radio Shack that were of far superior quality and have had not one problem with them.I traded and sold a lot radios and such but this is one piece of equipment that i've no plans of giving up.
K4ZJ Rating: 2009-03-11
Lacking Quality Control Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased an MFJ-259B fully aware of MFJ's spotty quality control. I could not get a reading at any frequency on a multi-band vertical. I read the reviews and determined the most frequent failure is bad solder joints, most often at the SO-239 connector. I re-soldered this connection and everything works fine now. I will post a review later once I have used the analyzer a bit more.
K6TTE Rating: 2009-01-27
DOA Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Mine was of typical MFJ quality, i.e., inoperative junk.

The Palstar is a superior unit.
W5JET Rating: 2009-01-27
Outstanding Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I love this thing.. I can't imagine trying to tune an antenna without it. I've had this analyzer four or five years.

The only drawback that I've had is that my old recharable batteries don't last very long. Therefore I usually use a 12 vdc power supply and a long power cord.

Cheers!

KF6GOM Rating: 2009-01-21
great tool for the shack Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
picked on up for a low price.i replaced the battery
holder with a 12volt rechargeable . now i can make my own antennas with accuracy and time saving.works great with mobile setups on HF.Will Buy another one when this one dies?? built very well and soldering connections well soldered...great job at MFJ on this product.....KA6HAV
N4ABA Rating: 2009-01-02
Great analysis tool for homebrewers Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I was wandering thru the reviews and decided to post one for a piece of gear that has given excellent service for years...the MFJ 259B. Tho some MFJ products do deserve the invectives hurled at them, the 259B is one exception. As I take care of my equipment, I've never had to replace a part on it (oh...do use a "hail mary" strap on it if you're on a tower....almost lost it that way). I built a battery pack to fit inside it (and marked the charger to ensure I don't blow up things with the wrong charger) and it has run for the past 3-4 years without a hitch. Not as well built as my Bird 4410....but a bunch cheaper! Any budding homebrewer would be wise to add one of these to their RF toolkit....tho I do recommend buying a new one...a used one may have been abused and out of calibration. Of course, YMMV.
N2XWV Rating: 2009-01-02
great piece of test equipment Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my 259b for years, it works as good as the day i bought it!, it is a piece of test equipment, you have to take care not to bang it too much or drop it, these complaints about the breaking is from the user not mfj, if you take care of it it will give you good service for years, and as far as batterys, load it up with rechargable nicads and ccharge it with the right voltage trnsformer and it will last and last.
what a great product, Thank you MFJ for all the affordable fine products!!,73 john