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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
F8COD Rating: 2005-12-09
Not bad once adjusted Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Hi,
I use this decoder while portable with my kx1, It fits nicely in my "portable bag".It helps having more enjoyable and more relaxed qso at faster speed, else I'm sticking to 10-12wpm and it's painfull to send at this speed for me, and I don't like to feel the other guy has to wait for ages to get the complete message. Don't blame me, I'm working my speed HI ! It just feels better than to stay in front of the computer doing my exercises, it allows me to have real contacts and monitor my sending, so I know I don't have a bad fist and no stress decoding or sending.
What I did is re-wire the serial jack that I didn't use to "bridge" the audio in, I cut the track on the board to isolate the plug from the serial out of the circuit. I plug the audio-in of the unit to the headphone plug of the kx1 and my headphone to the "former" serial jack of the mfj. Then I adjusted the pll setting to decode perfectly the kx1 sidetone at 600hz, looked for a on air cw signal and adjusted the input level to decode it properly without being triggered by the band noise.
So far it works good, even in average conditions.
If it doesn't decode properly, I play a little bit with the rf gain and the bandpass filter of the kx1 and get good results. It really helps me to get into cw, maybe the lazy way, but I find I can head copy more and more and confirm it by reading the mfj display, and it's nice to see that you send proper code, so I find it's a good way to be active on cw. I still have a lot to do with my cw skills, but I'm active anyway HI !

73 deF8COD/QRP
K0KK Rating: 2005-08-10
Great learning tool Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I'm giving this a 5 because I gave it a 2 in December of 2001, and I know feel that was too low. I agree that, contrary to MFJ's advertising hype, it's not realistic to expect to use it on the air as a substitute for cw skills. However, it's got three other uses that make this worthwhile for any cw op: (1) You can monitor your own sending to become aware of spacing problems, then work to correct them. Few send absolutely perfect code, and most hams simply aren't aware of their defects in sending. (2) You can see how fast the operator you're copying is sending. This is at least interesting, if not important for tracking your progress. (3) Occassionaly, when you miss a word in copying, you can look down at the dispaly and see what it was. This doesn't happen often for me, so I placed this reason last. I keep my unit wired to the audio and DC so it's always monitoring.

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Earlier 2-star review posted by K0KK on 2001-12-07

If it's a strong clean signal on a quiet band, with careful adjustment of audio level you can get perfect copy. If the signal is near the noise level, even if you can copy perfectly by ear, the reader probably won't get anything. Most situations are somewhere in between, meaning sporadic copy. It apparently can't differentiate between a single-tone signal and overall audio noise of the same amplitude. Also, there appears to be no automatic gain control on the input, making input level touchy. Still, I'll give MFJ credit for at least trying to produce products that stimulate interest in CW.
NT4Z Rating: 2005-08-07
It works fair Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased the reader about a year ago and when I first used it I was very disatisfied. All I got was E's. I have tried to learn CW and it has been very difficult for me to hear it well. I am using the MFJ tutor for that. Anyway, I got on the air recently and decided to try the reader again. This time it worked well as long as I could find someone who was sending clear code. It isn't perfect by any means but it did read some of the code. If you are expecting miracles you might try something else. As to comparing it with other readers, I cannot as I have not used others. Even the instructions for this reader tells you to not expect perfection. I am satisfied but I am cautious to give any higher rating as others may misinterpret.
WA4JM Rating: 2004-07-12
It's a Toy! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
All right guys, what did you expect? I works as promised. You want better performance, master the code.
PA1AP Rating: 2004-06-23
decodes as designed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The lack of audio peak filtering makes the decoder sensitive for "noise". Using the gear filters (TS-2000) all is well. Decoding works and besides sloppy code it works well. I am considering to add simple peak filter (L&C) in front of the audio, to make the decoding a bit more robust under noisy conditions.
The only problem I have is that the 9volt battery does not fit in the box.

72, onno
KC8VSB Rating: 2004-02-26
Performs Well Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought the MFJ-461 and was suprised how well it worked! It doesn't copy 100% but is fairly accurate. I like the fact that it displays the code speed in WPM in the corner of the readout.

I find the MFJ-461 very useful in contests or answering CQs when the other operator sends faster than I can copy. I don't hook it up to the radio with a cable, I just hold the microphone part of the reader to my speaker.

My only disapointment is that while the MFJ-461 copies most signals, there are some that are the wrong tone for it to hear. Usually you have to tune the signal in until you have the right tone and the LED lights up in unison with the code. You will also have to hold its microphone right up to your speaker unless the signal is extremely strong.
If this code reader starts going crazy (example: eeeeeeeeeeeeee 900 wpm), I've found it helpful to check the battery. Not that the battery is necessarily dead, but sometimes there is a bad connection to the contacts. You can fix this by rubbing a little water on the battery contacts.

All in all, a good little gadget to have in the shack.

73,
Joseph
KE7MU Rating: 2004-02-11
Nice Tool to improve your CW contacts in quality and quantity Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a very nice tool to improve the quality and quantity of cw contacts. It will improve your fist if you always monitor yourself (some hams really need this function ). Just tune the reader passband to your rigs sidetone, works for me.

This unit doesn't work as well as CWget, but it isn't a $1,000 laptop either. Remember SNR (signal to noise ratio) is extreamly important to the CW readers ability to detect an audio frequecy just above the noise threshold. If the CW is sloppy or the audio tone is distorted by interference or drops below the threshold, the reader will not print accuratly "GIGO" Garbage In Garbage Out!

Always use the direct connection to the reader. If you have problems with this reader than inhance your rigs selectivity and SNR, and don't expect it to discriminate intelligence from noise better than your brain, and the unit will work.

This is my opinion, it is worth $75 not using my laptop in the mobil or field.
M0NKD Rating: 2003-08-05
Sensitive to RX audio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've had one of these gadgets for a while and use-it to copy CW that I find is too fast for me. Also when I was learning the code from the GB2CW sessions on top band on Monday evenings in the UK I was convinced that John was miss-sending some of the characters. The little MFJ unit however proved my ignorance as John's CW was perfect! I agree with a previous posting that the microphone is 'deaf' and also note that the audio characteristics of the radio speaker make a huge difference to how well this works. On a Yaesu FT817 for instance it works really well, but on the extension speaker of a Yaesu 1000 Mk V it's very very poor! Wiring it in is therefore almost a must.
VE3EGA Rating: 2003-05-31
Works when figured out! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have built and operated decoders in the past and the 461 was purchased at Dayton (2003) so I could feel good about buying a new toy :)

My Set up: Wired into Audio of RX, Serial Out to PC (I use COMMIT or Hyperterminal)...

My observations: The unit needs to be set up with your RX (and TX sidetone) so that the PLL will lock at center of your prefered listening tone.
Audio Level control just below threshold.

PROS: Works FB down to S3 if set up correctly as above. A neat station accessory to show visitors outbound and incoming CW.

Cons: Serial Port didnt work - problem was the 2N3904 was floating of it's PAD - MFJ Quality Control needs a talking to, as there was a 'passed sticker on the back! - MFJ Tech Support for this product new less than I did - I fixed it myself - probably voided the ''Famous MFJ Warranty' - go figure!!

Audio (MIC) input is quiet DEAF!

Conclusion: Neat product, will keep it and will buy MFJ stuff again...... :)
W6YNS Rating: 2003-05-27
Good for ideal conditions Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this reader a few days ago from Ham Radio Outlet, because I want to improve my code speed and copy down characters that I miss. The reader has advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of the reader are:

1. It will let you know what character you are sending if you are trying to send your callsign, being that is sitting on top or near your keyer.

2. The reader is relatively small and lightweight so you don't have to lift weights.

Disadvantages of the reader is:

1. The signal has to be clear to get an accurate reading, no QRM from atmospheric disturbances or interence do to the gray line propagation. If you have two people sending code at the same time forget it! The reader is going to need a straight jacket or jump out the window.

2. The reader will copy if people have good sending without the sloppy fists. If the person is trying to send the letter C it will read NN or TETE.

3. You to hold the reader with one hand and copy the code with the other. The reader needs to come with a stand to hold upright. The reader should come with a little remote micrphone for mounting onto the speaker.

4. The reader will indicate that the code is being sent at 500 WPM instead of 5 WPM. ( Due to Atmospheric Conditions)

In conclusion the item comes in handy for your sending practice. Just don't expect accurate readings if it is near your transceiver or receiver. Well 73's