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Reviews For: MFJ-297

Category: Microphones for ham radio

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Review Summary For : MFJ-297
Reviews: 18MSRP: $70
Description:
Desk mike
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00183.2
N1IER Rating: 2008-08-20
Not worth the money Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Well when it comes to this microphone you truly do “get what you pay for”. I originally bought this for my FT-857D and I was getting reports of hum on my audio. I replaced the MFJ cable with a home-made shielded cable and the hum reports stopped. 1st lesson learned, the MFJ cable was poorly made. Then I moved up to the FT-950 and started getting reports of feedback on my signal. Listening to the output I heard what I would describe as high speed fan noise/whistle and when I put my hand over the mic it hummed like crazy. Well turned off all of the fans in the room, double checked the wiring and checked the radio settings but the noise was still there. I wired up the old MC-50 and everything sounds great now. 2nd lesson learned, this microphone was a bad choice. Save yourself the headache and spend the extra money to get a quality microphone, it’s worth it.
VK2FTNY Rating: 2008-04-13
you get what you pay for Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this mic for over 2yrs and in that time it has been out of service for about 18mths.Build quality is typical MFJ in recent years,very cheap and in the words of another reviewer cheesy.At around the 3mth mark the ptt micro switch started to fail and so had to lock the button to transmit each and everytime.Audio out of the electret condenser is ok, clean and clear but is definatly on the tinny side.As the old saying goes you get what you pay for,And id be saving a few extra pennys and look elsewhere.
KB4WEC Rating: 2007-12-21
Very good value Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm very pleased with the mike, only have had it about two weeks, but have received nonething but outstanding audio reports. Using the mike on a Icom 703. Seems that some of the other reviews were poor due to selecting the wrong cable . The general comments about the quality of MFJ products seems to me to be unfair. I have never had a issue with anything from them, and own several tuners, and a 9440 ssb 40 meter rig that is a great performer.
WD8LQT Rating: 2007-02-11
Poor on all accounts. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased an MFJ-297 and two associated cables at the Orlando Hamfest. The rigs I planned to use the mircophone on include my old Yaesu FT767GX as well as an Icom 706 MKIIG. The reason I purchased this microphone was because of its so-called flexibility (switch out cables and flip a switch to work on a different rig). First experience on the Yaesu was squealing and distorted audio on SSB. Distorted audio with a distinct hum on FM. Well, then I thought I would try it with the 706. Once again, distorted audio (sounded like I was in a can) along with a distinct hum). I purchased the microphone new from R&L and am in hopes they will refund my money. Take it from me, you truly get what you pay for and if you think it's a great bargain.....put it back on the shelf.
N2RFY Rating: 2006-04-22
Not Good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought one of these mics new from AES to use with my Yaesu FT 840. The mic was "cheesy", poorly built, cheap made and just didn't impress me right out of the box. When connected to my FT 840, it would not work. Constant PTT, and loss of panel functions on the rig. I called AES, they said it needed a special cable for the FT 840, they sent me the new cable, mic still was not working right. I had PTT now, but still lost some of the panel functions, and the buttons on the mic itself did not work. Packed it up and sent it back for refund. I since picked up a used Yaesu MD 100AX in mint condition, works great, all functions work properly, great unsolicted audio reports. Much happier.
KI4HWC Rating: 2006-02-26
Don't push that hard!!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
the Mic is OK. had problems with gain. 5 buttons gave way. Wouldn't buy again
K1RTO Rating: 2004-09-01
Very nice mic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this mic for several years now. I've used it with an FT-840 and IC-706MKIIG as well as my 2M rig IC-2100. Had great reports on the audio quality. Not all buttons work with my rig, but the important ones do. PTT and PTT Lock. requires 2 AA batteries. Mine lasted several years, just replaced them. I feel more confident about my audio with this than the supplied hand mics.
WV4I Rating: 2003-07-16
Check cable wiring! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Actually the mike works reasonably well. Audio reports are good, and it has an FM/SSB selector for softer or hotter audio, if you will. The problem lies with the mike to radio cable, RJ-11 to something, which is ordered separately. In my case, I needed the model MFJ-5397Y for my FT-990's 8 pin mike connector. What I got was a cable in a package labeled as such, but wired for who knows what. Only one pin out of 8 was wired correctly. One of the miswired pins was sending 8vdc to the freq up line of radio! Transmit was locked, etc.. Nothing was damaged by the 8vdc, but many radios not as tough as the FT-990 would have taken serious offense!
Moral of the story with MFJ seems to always be the same. Assume you will have to finish building and/or troubleshoot, and compare/consider the hassle/cost factor when making purchase decision. Had same problems with their MFJ-434 Voice Keyer, which now works fine. It's too bad MFJ apparently chooses to allow such poor QC to continue. They really have provided the ham ranks with many innovative, useful products over the years.