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Reviews For: MFJ-16010 200W Random Wire Tuner

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : MFJ-16010 200W Random Wire Tuner
Reviews: 32MSRP: 49.95
Description:
1.8-30MHz variable L-network random wire antenna tuner
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-16010
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00324.4
LNXAUTHOR Rating: 2022-08-21
easily upgraded Time Owned: more than 12 months.
you can find these tuners at very reasonable prices... if you find an old one with the rivets holding in the UHF connectors, drill them out and replace with nuts and bolts...

this tuner works comfortably up to 100W (dunno if i'd push 200W through one)... it is robust and almost indestructible... it is also lightweight, but even better has room inside for a simple $5 modification to upgrade its features:

qrpkits offers a $5 mini SWR indicator, which consists of a 1" x 1.5" pcb, switch, LED, resistors, capacitor and diode... using this kit you can add an SWR indicator to your tuner to help you easily and safely match impedance for your rig (i mostly run QRP rigs, so this is a good feature)

install the indicator in-line with the antenna connection inside the tuner... i drilled two holes: one for the switch in the rear and the other for the LED in the front of the tuner...

to use the upgrade with this tuner:

1. make sure switch is in 'operate' mode (more noise)
2. adjust tuner controls for best receive
3. flip switch to tune mode
4. send 5W max carrier (AM, CW, etc.)
5. adjust tuner to extinguish the LED
6. flip switch to operate mode

i really like my MFJ 16010... i have purchased a number of them at various prices, upgraded and fixed them, then sent them back into the wild in better condition than received... i figure i'm doing a service for the next generation of hams... this model will work almost forever!
WB7VTY Rating: 2019-03-03
Simple and Works Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I dont think I have ever given a MFJ product a 5 before ha ha. It worked 100% and didnt have a QC issue right out of the box. I use this with my FT817 when portable. With a 58 foot piece of wire for an antenna thrown up in some tree limbs and a 29 foot counterpoise thrown on the ground, it will tune 160 meters through 6. Its not supposed to do 6 but it will get you on the air. Its easy to tune and the sweet spot for low SWR on all bands for me was easy to find and not extremely narrow. I have never used it with more than 5 watts so I cant speak to what happens at higher powers but this little tuner makes a QRP all band antenna as simple as it can possibly get, and I have no problem making contacts with it even at 5 watts. I have also tried it with a 35 foot wire which was intended only for 40, 30 and 20, but it tuned it on 80 through 6. Because I wanted to easily add a counterpoise I drilled a hole in the back and added a binding post for that purpose / ground. I wish it had a built in SWR meter but Im going to add a LED bridge type SWR indicator to it and solve that minor issue since I only use it QRP. If you are trying to come up with a super simple all band antenna system, this is it. This tuner and 58 feet of wire... done. I would absolutely buy this tuner again. Any questions please feel free to email me at wb7vty@gmail.com.
K4NA Rating: 2017-04-05
Solid Unit Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I hve wkd for brief periods of time in the mountains of western NC for years. I've been carrying my K3 with a 40 ft fiberglass collapsible pole. Put MFJ 16010 on backporch of cabin, run a 148 ft inverted L #20 wire fm tuner to top of pole then rest out horizontal to a tree. I also use several counterpoise wires off antenna tuner chassis at base.This little tuner tunes every ham band with flat SWR at 100w. Works great! For low power portable operation, u cudn't ask for more in an L network tuner.
WA6MOW Rating: 2016-06-26
It works! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this for a while and really never put it to use. This weekend I went out in the field and operated QRP using an HB-1B. On its internal battery it puts out about three watts. I hung a 45 ft wire in a pine tree and put this little tuner to use. To my surprise it worked amazingly well. I was able to get the swr zeroed out quickly. I made numerous contacts on 40 and 20. I was able to work the east coast. The band conditions were poor. I will make sure this tuner is with me whenever I operate portable. I have always enjoyed MFJ products and have found them to be a good value.
LB6BG Rating: 2015-11-28
There is always a way Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am often travelling around with a FT-875, visiting friends or staying at a motel. With the MFJ-16010 I have always found a way to get qso's in the log, mainly with indoor wires. This morning I worked N5DX on 40m CW at the first attempt. 50 watts CW and about 7 meter wire through the room. Nice to have :-)
K5TTE Rating: 2014-06-07
Stood the test of time Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought one at Quement Electronics back
in 1983. It has served well in a variety of
random wire set-ups.
There have been but a few instances of wires
difficult to match. If I cut the wire for a minimum
quarter wavelength on the lowest band,
I could get a good match , 80 through 10m.
A decent counterpoise seems to keep
away the stray RF.

As an aside, I've been a happy MFJ
customer with my limited purchases
over the past 35 years. This little box
often made life a little simpler on HF.

KD0NFY Rating: 2013-07-19
not great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I really wanted to like this tuner because of its small size. But it's not nearly as good for tuning random wires as the MFJ 901B. The matching range isn't as wide and it seems like the 901B has less loss because received signals are hotter when it's tuned.

F4FGB Rating: 2013-04-27
My best friend/P Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hello, i use it since 2 years ago, juste before a used ldgZ-100 which was capricious, now no matters, no questions before start in Portable activities, i use with wire near 10m long in trees, it give 1.1 maxi 1.4 ROS 40m to 10m, wire so short for use on 80m but it doing the job also. I have do DX with it during my last /p worked HS0 on 10mhz at 30w niice surprise. 73 Romain
KJ4NWZ Rating: 2011-12-19
Great ATU Bang for My Buck! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My purchase of the MFJ-16010 random wire antenna tuner arrived over the weekend and I pressed it into service yesterday. With my Yaesu FT-857D, a FT-MTR meter to monitor SWR and a 50' random wire terminated with a banana plug I was able to work a few QSOs from a local park with 100w power. I had previously tried to use the LDG Z100+ with a random wire without success. Not bad for the $70 I paid for the MFJ-16010.
WB6ZRP Rating: 2011-03-31
Good little tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It will tune most length wires to within 3:1, then the auto tuner in modern radios will tune the rest out to 1:1. Many times it will tune a wire to 1:1. Install a small SPDT switch in the back to switch the capacitor to each side of the inductor and you don't have to unscrew the conectors all the time to make it work on different impedences. L network tuners are great for random wires like this little gem.