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Reviews For: MFJ-461 Morse Code Reader

Category: Decoders, multi-mode

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Review Summary For : MFJ-461 Morse Code Reader
Reviews: 59MSRP: 79.95
Description:
Place this tiny pocket size MFJ Morse Code Reader near your receiver's speaker. Then watch Morse code signals turn into solid text messages as they scroll across an LCD display. No cables to hook-up, no computer, no interface, no other equipment needed.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-461
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00593.2
G4VRR Rating: 2022-05-14
Plastic Lemon Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It's (another) lemon. It needs help.

I have owned this item it seems like forever (at least 25 years I think?) and it has never worked. I periodically get fired up to get to grips with it but it always ends in tears. As we all know, it's the usual plastic garbage, but hey it's what it does (or should do) that counts isn't it? I have on occasion managed to get it to display truncated strings of more correct than incorrect text, but that's about it. Usually it's a string of "E"s and "T"s. Yes the battery once installed strains the lid (even with the foam removed- what were they thinking of?) I have rated it "needs help" because I'm convinced there's a sweet spot in there somewhere but it has eluded me for this past quarter of a century, so I suspect that operator error is part of the issue.

You know it would help a great deal if the two trim pots were visible on the display side because I reckon watching the display and trying to adjust two recessed interactive trimmers on the back is 9/10ths of the problem. That said, even if you can get it to pretend to play ball, you'll need to move it to and from the loudspeaker to compensate for different volumes of CW notes because no way will you want to adjust the sensitivity trimmer. Jeez it wasn't inexpensive either.

This is why MFJ gets such bad reports- you give them your best shot and you're hard-earned, but three strikes and they're out. This was a requested birthday present from 'er indoors. I'm minded to give it another go now- we'll see eh?

Never again folks unless that Gorsky fella's young neighbour walks on the moon ...
WB0KWJ Rating: 2022-05-13
Barely works with typical, off-air CW Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The MFJ-461 is a good idea. It's a handheld CW decoder with a built-in microphone along with a direct audio input. The idea is that the operator can set the device near a speaker and decode CW. Who needs yet another interconnection cable in the ham shack? Even the tiny display is sufficiently clear for older eyes.

Everything is in favor of the 461--except that it does a very poor job decoding anything but almost-perfect CW. I tested the device with computer-generated CW. Things went well. Off air, unless the operator was sending essentially perfect code and I had a strong signal without interference, the displayed output was more garbled than useable. Maybe this is OK for a rusty or beginning CW operator who just needs some hints about what's coming in rather than full copy. But, most users are likely to find the device a disappointment, especially considering the cost.

Connecting directly to audio helps a little bit. Better audio filtering would help, if the 461 were to have it, as evidenced by improved performance when the 461 is installed after a sharp, dedicated CW filter. But, if the operator is going to wire the device into the shack audio, the better solution would be to use a dedicated computer-based decoder. If the portability of the 461 is desired, there are several of free and low cost phone-based apps that work as well or better than the 461.
SWMAN Rating: 2022-05-12
Ok for me Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have one of these little items and it works ok for me, not the greatest but it does work. That’s all, it just works but not perfect. Would I buy another one if this one dies, probably not.
K7TEJ Rating: 2019-12-29
Does not work Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My wife got this for me for Christmas thinking it will help me learn CW. First of. getting the battery installed took herculean effort as the compartment is too small. next the adjustments you need to make to calibrate it need to be done with a small screwdriver. the tactile feel (or lack of it) made it difficult to know the screws even moved. That really is moot as adjusting them through their entire range produce no results. for what she paid, adjustments should not be so difficult and they should work. Unlike other reviewers who got it to work with some modifications, I'm not willing to bother. I returned it to HRO the next day and bought something else.

Ironically I have several MFJ products and have never run into the "Mighty Fine Junk" issue until now
Don't waste your money
VK6IS Rating: 2019-09-09
Terrible Time Owned: more than 12 months.
it's very finicky to set up. those little adjust screws are difficult to set .. it has to be spot on,
or it won't work, at all. then there is that battery cover issue. it was a great idea, but no ..
N4UE Rating: 2019-09-08
Make a few '[mods'... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had one of these for MANY years. In fact, just today, I took the plastic off the display.
Look, this is, what it is.
Here's how I made mine better...…
First, I made a 'stand' to hold it at about a 45 degree angle.
Second, I put a pot inline with the audio 'in' cable.
Third. I put my radio (7300 in this case) into CW mode.
Fourth, and MOST importantly, you need to find the right combination of audio pitch AND level to just illuminate the red tracking LED.
If you're trying to use this on a pile-up or with a lot of lightning crashes, you will be disappointed.
Otherwise, it's not bad!

BTW, I still have the original battery from a decade ago! ha ha

ron
N4UE

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4UE on 2002-04-04

Come on people! Get real, you are not buying a dedicated modem here. After reading all the complaints, I had to put in my 2 cents worth. I also have the MFJ tutor and have been very happy, so I thought $80 isn't the end of the world, if it didn't work I'd send it back. It works perfectly. I hard wired it to the 756 PRO and it reads at 80%+. You have to tune carefully and some have mentioned that it won't copy at the pitch they are used to. READ THE DIRECTIONS!It just so happens I prefer the setting MFJ picked. Everyone is different, that's why they made the tone adjustable. Just as the receiver is tuned to my prefered pitch, it starts decoding. However, it unlocks above and below MY prefered setting.
Frankly, I think today's hams are too spoiled by DSP and digital displays. If I had something like this 20 years ago, I would have been estatic!

(yeah, I'm 56 yrs old)what of it?)
ron
proud owner of BOTH a Collins Serial #29 75A-4
and a Japan purchased 756PRO
N5IIA Rating: 2018-08-21
It works just fine. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Mine just came in the mail today. I picked it up mainly for portable operation, and to augment my pencil and paper/copy in my head. Will it decode 100% accurately, 100% of the time? Of course not. It does a very respectable job though. As long as you set the input level and decode tone frequency properly, it does a decent job. Appliance operators and folks who don't know code will probably be disappointed though. It is a tool to assist, rather than a magic box that does all the work for you. Yes the battery takes a little work to get in, and yes the battery cover does not sit flush with the case on mine. Hey, it's MFJ. I didn't expect perfection. For the price, it is a handy little device.
N8KAN Rating: 2015-06-09
Not for appliance operators. No miracle. Just tech. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If you have the time and patience to set it up correctly, which requires not only reading but comprehending the instructions, the 461 works fine.
I only use it with a cable to the audio input, using a Y-splitter for it and the outboard speaker. I set the 461's audio level just barely below maximum, which allows using a lower speaker volume. This can result in audio overload of the 461 if volume is cranked up for noisy areas. Keep a tiny screwdriver handy.
The trick is to tune the PLL for the center of the sidetone on the rig you are using. I used W1AW's CW practice sessions, slowly (very slowly) turning the PLL control back and forth, noting the two points where the displayed content turned to gibberish. This process takes most of the setup time, since the 461 has to restabilize to recover from gibberish mode. I then set the control halfway between those two points.
Yes, the holes were not perfectly aligned with the pots. After two minutes of subjecting the case to careful and gradual X-Acto blade action, the holes are no longer circular but control access is fine. There was no need to open the case for this.
My home station is subject to horrific QRN and QRM. I keep the 461 running by using heavy filtering, chaining an analog SCAF to a DSP. Using very narrow bandwidth on the DSP, e.g. 60 Hz on the Timewave 599zx, the sidetone sounds odd but the 461's decoding is much more reliable. When using a borrowed cubical quad on Field Day, the quad's noise immunity makes filters unnecessary, in which case the 461 alone provides copy as clear as the sender makes it.
Found the LCD dificult to read, so I replaced the display with a Powertip PC1602G-P2 16x2 Character LCD Display (4 of em on ebay for $20 - others are for robotics kits). This made necessary some slight enlarging of the display opening in the case front (more X-Acto duty). It has a green LED backlight intended for 4.2VDC, so I put a 1/8 watt 1K resistor in series with the 9V supply. With the tiny resistor resting at the edge of the display, I found case fit was improved by scraping off a tiny bit of plastic from the inside of the case front where the resistor ends up. The illumination is low enough to minimize the load on the battery, but perfectly readable in all light conditions at any angle. The characters are slightly smaller than the original display, mainly narrower, which presents no problems in reading it. Had to be careful with the ribbon cable. Between desoldering from the original display and reinstalling in the new one, I accidentally broke off a couple of the wire ends, and had to re-strip the cable (lightly score across with X-Acto & straightedge, slit either side of wire, pull off with needle nose) and more carefully attach. There was plenty of cable to allow for the 1/8-inch or so shorter run.
Yes, the ears and brain are far better instruments. Since mine have yet to get up to speed, I like to use the 461 for the 40 wpm whizkidz on Field Day.
The performance of my 461 is better than my AEA MBA Reader, though the MBA's blue fluorescent display is truly beautiful.
K3SFK Rating: 2015-02-08
Second try works better! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
2/8/2015: I tried to use this code reader several times but to no avail. Results were terrible. And yes, the 9volt battery compartment is too small. I put it away for several months.
Last week I purchased a special screw driver to more readily make the difficult adjustments and took more time to understand the directions. After some effort and patience, I easily participated in an Emcomm code net at 16-25 wpm using the code reader. It works well enough that I can fill in the few missing letters and understand the QSO. Yes, the volume on the speaker must be turned up to 'medium' and the code tone must be regulated to light up the red light on the MFJ unit. It simply works and I am thankful for it since my code is rusty and no Emcomm net is sending at 5-8 wpm in our unit. Lastly, I tried hooking the cable from the transceiver directly into the MFJ reader, but instead of working better, it did not seem to work as well as the speaker. Summary: use a screw driver that fits the unit perfectly (Sears?) and take time to read-follow the MFJ instructions carefully.
WU6X Rating: 2014-12-07
Poor Value/Cost Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
For the price, this little box should perform way better. I tuned it with a signal generator to match my radio CW side tone so I could "spot" receive CW signals, and it still provided only intermittent decode. Even with the sensitivity all the way up, it must be placed 1-inch away from the speaker with volume set uncomfortably loud. Battery compartment too small for standard 9v. Sorry MFJ ... this box needs a design upgrade. It may work well on the test bench, but not in practical application.