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Reviews For: MFJ-969

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : MFJ-969
Reviews: 115MSRP: 199.95
Description:
Covers 160M to 6M, 300W
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-969
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001153.5
W5ONV Rating: 2004-01-02
Bad dummy load Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this tuner recently,tunes most antennas well.I do not like the way the roller inductor turns thou.Very tight,you must use 2 hands while turning it,one to hold the unit with and one hand to turn the tight knob.using lube and grease does not help at all for me.
Also,I noticed that I was getting weird/irratic readings while using the dummy load.The resistance of the dummy load was 122 Ohms at the ant. output jack.I opened up the brand new unit and found one of the clips holding the ceramic resistor in place was loose and not making good contact to the body of the resistor.I cleaned up the contact points and remounted the large ceramic resistor.Works good now and is 50 ohms at the output now. Note: If you have one of these units I suggest you look inside the unit before using it just to be safe.73,Jim
N2KEN Rating: 2003-12-07
Works well, stiff roller inductor spinner knob Time Owned: more than 12 months.
MFJ-969 Tuner (Deluxe Versa Tuner II)

This tuner is a surprisingly good performer on all bands from 6 to 40 meters. I have very limited experience with it on 80 and 160. I've also used it on 60 meters and it tunes there just fine in my shack. If you get one at a reasonable price used, it is a good value and will do the job well. However, there are some considerations.

As I've mentioned in my review of the MFJ-986 tuner, there are potential quality control issues that should be considered. I own two 969 tuners which I bought used and both had several poor solder joints. Coincidentally, so did my older MFJ-986 tuner. My MFJ-269 analyzer had QC problems due to poor solder joints and needed factory warranty servicing. Is this merely a coincidence? Poor quality control seems to be a production issue that MFJ has become associated with. Not a good reputation to have.

One of the 969s (the first one I bought in 2001) had a solder joint failure at the SO-239 connector for the transmitter. Upon inspection it was due to a poorly heated joint (cold solder) with only a minimal amount of solder present. Routine use had caused the joint to wiggle and fail. An easy fix in my case, but some users might have damaged an expensive rig or had to send the unit for repair. I recommend that you carefully inspect newly purchased MFJ equipment to assure it is constructed properly (Do your on QC). My second 969 had similar, but less dramatic solder joint weaknesses. If you buy used equipment, always take it apart and inspect it. I've found some interesting stuff such as loose connections and cold solder joints regardless of manufacturer, but MFJ equipment needs special attention.

The MFJ-969 is a 300 Watt tuner that uses a conventional T network with variable capacitors for both the antenna and transmitter. A real plus is that it also tunes 6 meters. This makes it very useful for those who have a 100W rig like the Icom 706 with 6 meter capability. This feature makes great sense. Also, the large dual needle power/SWR meter is very easy to read and has very attractive look. This adds to the utility of the 969 and other tuners that have this very practical meter.

The roller inductor has the newer MFJ "air core" design and appears somewhat cheaply constructed. On one unit the copper contact at the rear of the inductor's center shaft had insufficient pressure and caused an erratic match until cleaned and bent to give it better RF contact. The other one was fine. The dimple-type spinner knob and roller inductor mechanism has a stiff, choppy and toy-like feel. It is not possible to spin the inductor quickly without moving the entire tuner. One hand needs to hold the tuner in place while the other spins the knob. Placing something heavy (i.e., Icom 706) on top of the tuner to add ballast also works to keep it in place. Inside, the spinner mechanism is constructed of several small plastic gears. Turning the knob is somewhat stiff and it resists easy spinning. I'm not a mechanical engineer, but the gear ratio seems to be like peddling a bicycle in high gear going up a hill. No can do . . . This has a very annoying and unacceptable feel. This is unlike my older MFJ-986 tuner that has a very smooth and agile weighted roller inductor knob with pulley/belt drive. What a difference! The newer MFJ tuners all seem to have this redesigned (improved?) drive mechanism that requires substantial force to spin it. This is a big step backwards and makes the tuning process uncomfortable and displeasing. When used side by side (old 986 and 969) there is a stark contrast in ease of roller inductor use. I absolutely prefer the roller mechanism feel of the older-series MFJ tuners.

Otherwise, the tuner works quite well. I've cautiously pushed it significantly past its rated capacity. I've frequently used it on 17 and 20 meter SSB at up to 600 Watts PEP with my Ameritron AL-811H amp and TGM two element hybrid mini quad antenna. I've never experienced arcing, heating or difficulty except that the meter was pegged past the 300W mark (probably not too good for the mechanism). My antenna mismatch was not extreme and arcing could occur if trying to over-stress it into a gross mismatch. Use caution if you experiment like this and assure that arcing is not occurring and that SWR remains acceptable. Moreover, virtually any antenna at my home QTH, at field day, at special event sites, or experimenting could all be matched to 1.0:1. It always tunes easily, except for the roller inductor stiffness. It also has a built-in 100W dummy load that is useful with low power tuning. The front panel is very nicely configured and it looks very pleasing on the table. The unit is only about 2/3 the size of a full power tuner, so it takes less tabletop space.

This tuner would almost rate a 5 if the tuner had a more acceptable feel to the roller inductor. As it is, this is a design weakness that I find unacceptable. Maybe a 4 is a bit too high, but there is no 3 1/2 rating. So, my bountiful rating reflects that it matches antennas quite well and handles 300+ Watts nicely. Also, the QC needs to be improved with this and other MFJ products. Since I bought these two units at a very reasonable price, I live with it and accept the two handed tuning ritual. 73, N2KEN




KC8DEJ Rating: 2003-10-14
If not for the feel of the inductor... it would have been a 5 Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Got mine new at a hamfest for $169.00 out the door. I really like the nice appearance. It tunes my hustler 5BTV very well using my IC-706MKIIG at 100 watts. It has an excellent peak detection circuit that works very well for me in SSB mode. But... Honestly... The roller inductor set up is lacking! Mine was hard to move and felt very "gritty"! I opened it to take a look and found that the gear mesh was WAY to tight. For those who don't know... when two gears come together, you should be able to rock the gear back and fourth VERY slightly so they won't bind when moved. This can be adjusted by the screws that hold counter in place. I then used some teflon grease on the moving parts of the inductor. Much better!!! A shame it came out of the box that way! Hey... it only cost $169.00. Having said that, I would have rether paid $210.00 for it and seen ball bearings, a counter wieght and higher quality gears that were adjusted properly. To be fair... The tunner does look and work very well otherwise.
N0EW Rating: 2003-07-22
Good Tuner for the Money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
MFJ-969, Versa Tuner II

I have two of these (and one with the tapped inductor vs. roller - the roller is far nicer to use, unless mobile). They work well. I have tuned up regular antennas without trouble, but I have also tuned up the following: metal folding chair dipole, painting easel dipole, moving dolly vertical (chicken wire ground plane), shopping cart dipole, loadlock vertical, and dog kennel all, on 10-Meteres; I have tuned the loadlock as a sloper and vertical with a chain link fence as the ground plane on 20-meters, and with it horizontal to a basketball hoop ground plane (this didn't work very well but easily tuned up); May 2003 fellow club members and myself tuned up a 24-foot vertical ladder with a chicken wire ground plane, A-frame vertical (bent ladder atop another ladder as ground plane), and ladder dipole on 6M, 20M and 40-Meters. I may be forgetting some of the strange things tuned up as antennas, but you get the idea.

Contacts with these "strange antennas" has been pretty good, depending upon band openings. I've contacted all of the American continents, Africa, Asia, and Europe. I've not contacted Antarticia or Austrailia with one. Signal reports have been generally good (see www.n0ew.org for more info).

This may not be "proper" but is how I've tuned them this past year without incident...

I go to very low power output, switch to RTTY and spin the roller inductor listening for maximum noise. Then I preselect the two capacitors (labeled "transmitter" and "antenna") to a value I think may be about right. (After a while you get a feel for this, but in the beginning you could just set them both at 5, or use the table of examples in the manual.) They I key up and rotate the roller inductor for minimum reflected power on the tuner meter. I unkey and will next start slowing, and in small increments, rotate the capacitors. I key up and move one of the capacitors until the needle shows a lower reflected energy and then I switch to the other capacitor and do the same thing. If you were able to get them somewhat close to their proper setting this goes quickly. I then increase the power to about 25% and key up. If properly tuned the needles should not change dramically. If it is a bad tune they'll start going nuts! I make small adjustments here, and then re-key at about 45-50% of power and should see a nice up swing of the forward power needle while the reflected sits there quietly, either not reacting at all or just a little bit.

I have found that often I am rotating the two capacitors in opposite directions to get the final tuning accomplished.

This may not be the best way to tune up but it has been working for me. It is easier after you get a feel for it. One big problem is turning the dials too fast. Some of the proper settings are TINY changes in the dials, and spinning them too fast might result in your never seeing the "dip" in the needle. (This seems less true of the roller inductor when trying to just find the "general area" - but listening for maximum noise (static) accomplishes the same thing with out running power through the tuner.)

Compared to the SGC-237

The MFJ-969 works. I have found them superior to my SGC-237, which despite repeated assurances from the manufacturer to the contray will not tune up my random-loop above my house (30-40 feet height and strung between three trees). I have also been unable to get the SGC to tune up some portable L's where I use a pair of fishing poles to string it up about 15 feet and out another 60 to 100 feet. The SGC does sometimes work, but when it won't work, you are done - it won't work. I've found much more success with the MFJ-969, and it is certainly more versitile. However, when the SGC-237 does work, it allows changing of bands much faster (although you'll get faster with a manual tuner over time).

Bad things about the 969?

Well, it is cheaply constructed. I bought mine used and neither of the counters for my roller inductors work (they spin around, but lose track of where they have been so one cannot return to the same location twice). They also don't cost $600 or $800, which is why I say "for the money" they are a good tuner. I understand Palimar makes a very good tuner if one cares to spend that kind of money.

Bottom line...

I recommend purchasing a MFJ-969 Versa Tuner II. They work well but are a little "flimsey" in their materials and construction, but a fair value for their price range ($100 to $200, depending upon new, used, sale, demo, etc).
KC4IVG Rating: 2003-06-18
Great Tuner! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It wont load up my Miracle Baby 2 inch 440 mhz antenna on 160 meters.....but it will on 75 meters!....This thing will load the proverbial coathanger almost anywhere!.

Bought it a week ago from R&L Electronincs and its a pleasure to operate....Easy to use and tune.

I run a 160 meter flat top fed with open wire for MARS from 1 to 30 mhz and I can tune anywhere.

Its smoooooth!
W7CSD Rating: 2003-03-31
Great Tuner for ALMOST any antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I thought I would throw in my 2 cents worth.

I have owned this tuner for a couple of years now and have had nothing but excellent service from it. My results are not based upon scientific study but actual operating experiences. The only problems I have had with the tuner is when one of the PEM nuts came off when I was removing the cover to inspect the unit. The other problem has to do with the roller inductor becoming dirty and intermittently losing contact. The tuner will work fine if I don’t try to tune an antenna that is too far off resonance. The excessive voltage produced by the miss-match caused contact problems in the roller. Cleaning the roller helped prevent the intermittent contact problem, also so did a closer matching antenna.

I should have known better, no tuner in the world is going to make a silk purse out of a sows ear, in other words; the tuner is there only to make the transmitter happy not increase your antenna system efficiency, that only come with properly constructed antennas.

Would I buy another one? Yes, in a heart beat. The only thing I am looking for is something as good for mobile or portable work (my tuner is bigger than the radio).
W0EKS Rating: 2003-03-24
disappointing Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased the MFJ-969 in 2001 as a replacement for the extremely disappointing MFJ-949, which was intended to be an upgrade for my trusty MFJ-941C (a wonderful old tuner, but an inconvenient antenna switch location on the back). Upon receiving the 969, I found the variable inductor knob extremely hard to turn. I also noticed the antenna selector switch to have intermittant contact in at least two positions. I sent the unit to MFJ for warranty repair, mentioning both problems. MFJ did indeed repair the inductor knob problem by replacing the counter (plus I added some Tri-Flow lubricant to the inductor), but they never even addressed the antenna selector issue. Out of pure disgust, I let the 969 sit in a box for over a year without any use. When I finally decided to do some cleaning out of my closet, I ordered a replacement antenna selector switch from MFJ and installed it - it worked thankfully. Now I can at least sell it at a hamfest with a clean conscience. I understand that I cannot expect too much from an economy product, but it should at least function to be of any value at all. This is one of the few products I know of which is worth more used than new!
K6TBR Rating: 2003-02-20
It Works For Me! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
No loose hardware, but after re-arranging my desk and reconnecting the 969, The forward power needle wouldn't register. I cracked it open and proceeded to look around. I found suspicious solder joints at the PC board that service the meter, but everything else seemed fine. I put it back together and have had a great time tuning my tri-band attic dipole to the bands it wasn't designed for (30-80M) without complaint! Well worth the money from my modest experience.
KQ6IK Rating: 2002-12-17
Works Good Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have used the MFJ-969 to tune most of my antennas. It seems capable of tuning almost anything I connect to it to a perfect SWR. I have made well over 10,000 QSOs through the MFJ-969 so far and have NEVER had any kind of problems. Everything works as it should. Great product for the price!
AA5RS Rating: 2002-12-06
I tossed mine out Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Everyone told me to save my money and buy a better (non MFJ) tuner...but did I listen? No...

Anyway, I never got it to work right, and I couldn't find anyone to sell it to - so I tossed it in the trash. I have to remember to listen to my friends.

Greg AA5RS