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Reviews For: MFJ 94-Series

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

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Review Summary For : MFJ 94-Series
Reviews: 75MSRP: 239.95
Description:
SSB Travel Radio (CW optional)
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/index.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00754.4
AD5VM Rating: 2011-09-09
Thanks MFJ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
WM8E said:
'I thought in fairness to MFJ I should after all these years compliment them on this radio'

I couldn't agree more, for all the quarks with MFJ QC issues, we forget to recognize all the good things they make. The 94 series is a prime example. I own the 9420, 9440 and 9475. All three are the newer models with the small mic and external speaker jack. All are awesome rigs but the 9475 power output fluctuates from four watts at the band edges to about eight watts in the band center. I don't know if this is typical or not.
My 9400 radios are more fun to use than any of my other QRP radios, I think it's because of the spartan nature of the radio itself... Just because a radio has many features and knobs, doesn't make it fun. Imagine a QRP version of an IC-7700. See my point?
Thanks again MFJ.



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Earlier 5-star review posted by AD5VM on 2008-03-09

Paid $165 dollars for a pristine used one with CW board installed.
Very low current drain, great audio reports, seems to pack WAY more of a punch than my FT-817 and uses half as much juice on Rx. I use it with the Par EndFedz 20 meter end fed dipole.
Talk about a winning combo.

This radio has been around for over 10 years. I think it's time for an update.

Dear MFJ,
10/20/40 meters (one radio)(perfect companion for the Par Endfedz QRP 10/20/40 meter antenna)
Same 10 watts output
Same rx current drain (or close to it)
Same TX compressor
Same size enclosure (new black faceplate)
Add keyer and 500Hz audio filter to CW board
Add headphone jack to rig
Change to standard 8 pin mic connector
Keep the price under $400 fully loaded.

AD5VM
WM8E Rating: 2011-08-24
nice product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my 9440 about 8 years. It has been with me to Canada and dozens of camping and biking trips here in WV. It has spent many winters in the unheated conditions of my log cabin and has never failed to do the job. It is out in my garage now hooked up to a dipole and ready to go. I own a bunch of QRP rigs all good but this is my longest running one. A plus is its built in speaker its already assembled and ready to go.I thought in fairness to MFJ I should after all these years compliment them on this radio.
W3OWL Rating: 2011-03-23
Fun QRP Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I must agree, this little thing is a blast to play with. My 9420 is one of the newer models with the fine tuning knob on front, and the headphone jack in rear panel. Receiver is especially good for such a simple rig. Mine operates at the full 10-12 watts SSB, and I have no trouble making contacts all over the globe just using a 10M-40M dipole. The smallish analog VFO dial is pretty touchy, and there is a little drifting until everything warms up. But this is just like the old days, right? That's what makes it fun. The only thing I would really like is a digital frequency read-out.
KE9PP Rating: 2011-03-22
Fun Llittle QRP Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just had to tell someone about my latest QRP SSB DX contact with my MFJ 9420 radio.

I have my 9420 turned down to 5 Watts output and the antenna is nothing to speak of either, just a 1/2 size G5RV at about 15 feet above ground and one leg of which sits between my house and the neighbor's.

I was listening one evening on 20 Meters around 9PM CDT when I heard the ONLY signal on the band. It was UB0A from Achinsk Russia. I gave him a call and he came right back to me on the first try. He was working DX Stateside and only wanted to exchange basic information so the contact was brief.

When we signed, I eagerly looked him up on QRZ.com and, lo and behold, he is in Asiatic Russia, just North of Mongolia and Kazakhstan!

I LOVE using my MFJ 9420 (and the 9440 I have also)!!!

It simply goes to show what you can accomplish with just 5 watts when conditions are right.

If you haven't tried SSB QRP you might find, just as I do, that EVERY contact gives the same thrill as one's first Novice contact!

It's like shining a hand-held flashlight into the sky and having someone else see it 5,000 miles away!

73,
Bob
VK5JNL Rating: 2010-09-09
They Got it right Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
DO NOT let anyone tell you otherwise. MFJ got it right when they built these little rigs. They are built like an outside dunny, the reception is superb, the transmitted audio is awesome. My first contact with my 9440 was New York City. Not impressed? OK, but I live in rural South Australia! I've worked all over the Pacific region in the last few days (All Asia Contest)on 10 watts. I like it so much I've bought the 20 meter version. Why are you just sitting there? Go and buy one!
Kind regards
Norm VK5GI
VE4DS Rating: 2010-07-16
Get one !works great ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased my first 9420 July 15,2010.Returned it July 16 no audio out.Paul at AES Milwaukee checked the replacement for me.Sounded great in the store.
I went out to my mobile Ham Shack/Peterbilt 18 wheeler powered it up hooked up the coax from my Outbacker Stealth Plus antenna.Then as I checked the band there was "M0JWK" calling CQ NA !This is Ve4DS /W9 QRP .He came right back to me!I called AES back to let them know its working!What a thrill!I own lots of rigs this made my day!Wish it was a kit!73 de Ve4DS mobile !
N7NET Rating: 2010-03-14
I have owned a 9420 since 1999 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have it throttled back to four watts output. With a hamstick a thousand miles is a walk in the park. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.
KE1MI Rating: 2009-06-23
Great Rig Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I had a MFJ 9420 about 10 years ago, and have regreted parting with it. I ran it into a 20 meter dipole at about 30 feet, and worked all over Europe and the US with this 10 watt rig! Very simple, excellent receiver, and If I could hear em I could work em. (Pileups were tough though) Placed well in a couple QRPARCI contests with it too. Guess new price is tough to digest, that being my only complaint. Wiil get another, and would like to try the 40 meter version. Not your typical"mighty fine junk". You will not be didapointed!
KB9WWL Rating: 2009-05-31
9420 - an update Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this radio for the better part of 8 years now and decided to see how it fared on digital modes, especially PSK31. To that end, I added the CW adapter board, and after clipping a resistor and capacitor off said board and building a sound card interface cable, I am thrilled to report that this radio works acceptably on 20m PSK31.

Sure, the analog readout is a little off and yes, the radio does drift a tiny bit after warmup... but with 1W average power output (as indicated by my wattmeter) and an indoor random wire, I worked six states last weekend.
KK5R Rating: 2008-11-20
I'm loving it... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got the 9440 at a hamfest in Gray, TN. It was still in the box and there was not sign that it had ever been used. I used a B&W folded dipole and made a bunch of 300-500 mile contacts but got another rig and this sidetracked me for while.

The 9440 output was only 5W but I discovered that this was intentional for being puristically a QRP rig. However, I am not strictly planning to use the 9440 for QRP in the classical sense, I have an HW-8 for that. However, since getting the 9440, I have not used the HW-8. Therefore, I wanted to milk more power from the radio and wondered why I was not getting more power from it.

Going through some of the setups for the radio, I noticed that the power supply setting called for 10.2V and it was running around 8V. Setting R64 to 10.2V on my digital VM brought up the power to 12-14 Watts! I also found that R6, the AGC voltage level needed to be reset.

The power runs 12W at the high end, rises to 14W in center of freq spread and on the CW portion, it now runs 10W at 7 MHz and rises to 12W at top end.

Am I satisfied with it? Of course! I compare it with my Swan 500CX and I consistently hear more stations than with the Swan although the Swan cuts out more adjacent SW Broadcast sidebands. However, comparing the Swan with the 9440 is not really fair since it is in a different category.

I have had at various times the HW-7, HW-8, Tentec 505 and probably a few others that I no longer remember and the 9440 is as good as any of them in receiver sensitivity and simple usability. No continual tweaking, just turn it on, set the frequency and grab the microphone.

My only thought now is to wonder how the 75M and 20M rigs work! If I find a good, used 9420, I will be hard to resist bringing it home.