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Reviews For: MFJ-490 Keyer-Paddle Combo

Category: Keyers & CW Keyboards

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Review Summary For : MFJ-490 Keyer-Paddle Combo
Reviews: 2MSRP: 199.95
Description:
Menu Driven Memory Keyer and Bencher Paddles
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-490
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0024
K8WRS Rating: 2018-03-03
Good, BUT? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have just had it a little while, bought it used, but two things stood out. First, I read one article about the manual speed control pot not working, guess what, mine was frozen solid but you can adjust it from the electrical controls, just not as precise.
Second the buttons to operate, as read about before, were of poor quality, especially for the price of the product.
It came with the Bencher Key which I always thought was too light for me as I sold the one I had but the ad never stated which key was in it as it was an estate item.
Overall if they used good quality buttons there would be no problem, it couldn't cost them much.
I like the design and features, as I to am just getting back into code after more years them most of the readers have lived.
The real plus is that it will never slip off your table as it is a real heavyweight.
MFJ, it could be a real +++ if you would just invest a few cents, just like your other stuff. Then you could shed the "Mighty Fine Junk" logo.
The one I found that I thought was great, it has no memory, is the Nye SS1-K paddle/keyer. Some joke about it, but Nye never made junk and it is smooth and the feel is excellent for me, they are just hard to find.
WR8Y Rating: 2003-01-15
What's the matter, MFJ? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have always like bencher paddles, and had an MFJ keyer until I dropped it on the floor!

I liked the appearance and features of the 490 and thought it would meet my needs of general CW use and half-serious contesting (just getting started with CW contesting.)

The first unit from HRO had no memory when powered down at all and the MEM 2 button didn't work. HRO happily sent me another unit.

The second unit works perfectly so far. I have heard about RF troubles with a lot of keyers, so I tried to make this one mess up before the 10 day HRO trial period. With 125 watts of RF into a dipole 12 feet from the desk, I had RF in everything in the house and shack!!!!! But, I could not make the MFJ act up.

I admit I'v not owned it all that long, but I think this one's a winner. I know there are other keyers in this price class, but I like the appearance and small, compact size of a keyer/paddle combo.

I would suggest to MFJ they think about better pushbuttons for the memories, and add a switch to the back to switch between Grid-block / Solid state keying. (THink I'll do that one on my own.)

I titled my review "What's the matter, MFJ?" because I like their products, but it seems there are some quality control problems here. I really think the product probably deserves a 4.5 or 5.0, it's just the experience of the first 'dud' that is still with me.

Mark
wr8y@arrl.net