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Reviews For: MFJ-941E

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : MFJ-941E
Reviews: 56MSRP: 119.95
Description:
300 Watt antenna tuner covering from 1.8-30 MHz
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-941E
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00564
OH5HZW Rating: 2005-02-25
Best tuner I ever use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It can tune almost everything!It´s tune easyly my MFJ´s G5RV antenna to all bands.Great job MFJ!
W9RPE Rating: 2005-02-22
Problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had this one for more than a few years. Tunes well, but keeps burning out the sensing diodes. I replace them at least twice a year. Keeping it, but just got the 962D. So far it seems ok. Like I've said before...It's a quality control crapshoot when you buy MFJ products. My experience indicates a 50/50 chance of getting a dud.
K1OWA Rating: 2003-12-04
So far? ==> Wow!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
For several months, I've been running an Icom IC-718 to a G5RV without a tuner. Yesterday afternoon, I was in a rag chew on 75m and was being told my S/S was +9 and that I should get a tuner. I told them I had one on order. Well, my doorbell rang, and it was this tuner being delivered by FEDEX ($69.95 - used). Within 5 minutes, I had it hooked up and was tuned to ~1.5 SWR (I agree with the previous post about the meter markings being kind of small) and getting S/S +20 reports from the same rag chewers. So far ==> Wow!!!
LNXAUTHOR Rating: 2003-10-02
OK if you don't need glasses Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
- i tried to like the MFJ-941E i purchased... the fit, finish and knobs were all fine... the price is right for the features...

-but honestly, i just could not read the smallish meter, and the even smaller (nearly agate [6 pt]) font size of the numbers on the meter...

- tried getting good matches on a windom that was resonant on 20 and 40, but results were confusing...

- i liked the antenna switching and built-in balun, but in the end i traded it in for LDG AT11MP (which, btw, has a meter about the same size - but the meter has a magnified lens! much, much easier to read)...
K6AAQ Rating: 2003-05-28
works great with random wire Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this tuner because it will work with coax,balanced line or a random wire. It tunes my random wire easily and I was able to contact Australia on 20 meters. The manual is available online, the price is decent and the unit works as described. I recommend counterpoises on the ground if running a random wire though it will work without them.
KZ6D Rating: 2003-03-31
"Very pleased with my 941E..." Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I recently had the pleasure of pruchasing my very first BRAND NEW hf transceiver (a Yaesu FT-840)& I just couldn't bear the thought of using this shiny new radio with the junk-box tuner I built from scratch & had been keeping on life-support for years. I've had good experiences with MFJ's products in the past so I went down to HRO in Anaheim to see what they had in stock. Of all the tuners they had, the 941E seemed the best suited to my needs (built-in 4:1 balun, multiple antenna switching, built-in SWR/power meter).

After several months of use, I can now say with confidence that I made a good choice. The unit does everything that it's manufacturer claims it's capable of (& then some). For years, I've of used a seperate tuner & SWR meter... the convenience and ease of use of having the two integrated into a single chasis cannot be overstated. The cross-needle configuration is also a welcome feature for those of us who tire of tedious re-calibrating every time our frequency or power changes.

I'd never ventured into the world of balanced feeds prior to this purchace. The 941E made it a breeze (& I finally found out what I'd been missing all this time!).

The only down-side I can report is that the "Antenna Selector" & "Inductor" knobs do take a fair amount of effort to twist. Not THAT big of a deal really, but the fact is that this tuner is really light & tends to "walk" all over my desk as I'm manipulating the controls! Also... a GOOD earth ground appears to be essential to avoid interaction with one's hand while knob-turning (not exactly a criticism... just a fact).

That's my opinion! I'd recommend the MFJ-941E to anybody who's in the market for a nicely priced full-function tuner that carries MFJ's reputation for quality.
AG4RC Rating: 2003-03-26
Awesome Product! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My review of this product is (actual) performance expectations based on manufacturer specifications outlined in the user manual.

I purchased a “used” black-faced MFJ 941E Versa Tuner II from Ebay for $72.00 shipped to my door. Fortunately the item was exactly as seller advertised. Immediately upon wining the auction I visited MFJ’s web site and had a printed copy of the manual within minutes!

The MFJ tuner was purchased to replace my existing (separate) tuner and SWR meter.

I anxiously connected the tuner between my 10-meter rig and cubical quad antenna and it performed EXACTLY as outlined in the manual!

Recently I purchased my first HF rig, a used Kenwood TS-130, and built a home brew (Home Depot Special) 125 foot long zig-zag doublet dipole strung between two trees & up 40 feet high.

Again the tuner performed EXACTLY as outlined in the manual! I can tune and operate 80 meters through 10 meters. Some bands work more efficient than others but that’s to be expected.

The only problem I had was the 12-volt incandescent bulb that illuminates the meter was burned-out. I replaced it with an over-sized “white” LED I found at a local electronics supply store. For $3.55 (LED & bias resistor) I’ll probably never have to replace the bulb again. . .

Bottom line I’m 100% satisfied with the expected performance of this product therefore I give it a 5/5 rating.

73 – AG4RC
W0EKS Rating: 2003-03-24
good enough Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the MFJ-941E new this year. It has proven to be an acceptable performer. I didn't encounter any loose screws or intermittant switches, just one missing rubber foot which MFJ promptly mailed to me after contacting them. The only other issue (which is why I can't give it a "5" rating) is that I experienced arcing when trying to "top hat" my dipole on 160 meters. It turns out that the variable capacitor labeled "transmitter" had a warped plate and was too near an adjacent plate. I was able to correct the problem by carefully bending the warped plate to a spacing in keeping with the rest of the capacitor plates, remembering of course to power-off the tranceiver before attempting this. Now it works well and I expect it will give me many years of good service. I can recommend this unit provided you first remove the cover and look carefully for any abnormalities before putting power to it, as with any MFJ tuner made in the last 5 to 7 years.
KB9ERU Rating: 2003-02-08
Not Bad Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased a used black face model for about $40, and heeded the notices from others about opening it up and tightening the inductor rotary switch. After reassembly, all went well. I have tuned dipoles, and verticals without much trouble. No real complaints here, but then, I didn't buy it off the shelf. If I bought a new one and had to open it up I would be giving it a 2 or 3.
It is in use at the KB9ERU shack as the main tuner, with no problems. Buying one on the used market for a modest price will not disappoint you.
I built my own dummy load for it, got the idea from http://www.qrpp-i.com/kit_60-Watt_Dummy_Load.htm.
Didn't order the kit, I decided to get the parts locally and save on shipping charges.
Hope this helps in any decision making :)
73's and CU on the bands!
NZ5L Rating: 2002-10-07
Does the job Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is an update on my brief review of last March. Some time and attention payed to the 160 Meter antenna lowered the SWR at the antenna to less than 2:1, the 941-E easily matches to 1:1 over a 90Khz bandwidth at full (barefoot) power of 100 W. On the upper bands, it has not failed to provide a good match on my wire antennas, some of which (multi-band designs) run up to a 5:1 SWR. The results have been very good, this tuner is a fine, versatile product that works absolutely as advertised.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by NZ5L on 2002-03-29

I have the black front model, and find it tunes my wire antennas just fine. No quality problems have surfaced. On 160 Meters, it is only able to take 50W, but that is not an unusual thing for this class of tuner. Overall, a good product, works as advertised. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.