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Reviews For: MFJ-989C

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : MFJ-989C
Reviews: 144MSRP: 360
Description:
Handles 1500 watts PEP SSB output power
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-989C
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001442.7
N8PG Rating: 2002-01-29
MFJ-989-C..JUNK.... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
For a tuner that cost as much as the MFJ-989c its junk..Its a 3kw tuner.. hi.. hi. It will not even handle one hundred watts with out arking let alone three kw..as fare as I see it mfj shude refund everyones money...My tuner is less then one year old and its back to MFJ for the third time.. I dont see how mfj CAN SELL junk LIKE THIS. Its just a shame... SHAME ON YOU.. MFJ...
AC5XP Rating: 2002-01-28
Calling this junk is the understatement of the year Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
MFJ is a perfect example of the slogan "You get what you pay for". I have to give them credit for actually having the guts to produce products targeted for hams, most other companies would not dare to do so for such a critical but tight-wadded crowd.
Having said this, that is still not an excuse to literally sell junk, regardless whether this is for an audience of hobbyists or whomever.
The MFJ-989C tuner is an excellent example to make such a case. In all fairness, I had the older version of the MFJ-989C with the rounded edges and the nylon(!!) roller inductor core, but reading the reviews below it looks like things did not improve much since.
The facts: When it arrived in the mail, the roller inductor axles had bent because the weight of the plastic coilformer in combination with UPS slamming the box down too hard (and a poor shipping box) which made the axle bent.
I was able to repair this by taking the inductor apart. Maybe I should have sent it back right there...
However, when that was fixed again, I decided to test it using my open-wire fed dipole and my Ten-Tec Titan linear. The tuner (as MFJ states) could handle 3000 W so my meager 1500 watts from the Titan should be no problem.
I must say I was quite baffled when smoke literally started to come out of the tuner case after tuning up.
Opening the box revealed that the nickel (!!) straps which connect the roller inductor to the other components had burned up and had set the fiberglass(!!) insulators on the inductor on fire.
Also, the plastic core had gotten so hot from the dielectric losses that it literally had sagged.
Someone who understands RF would never have made stupid mistakes like this: Nickel straps (poor conductor, should have been silver plated), and a coil carrier using plastic with bad RF characteristics (high dielectric losses), that's asking for trouble.
I had a new plastic core made from PTFE at the place where I used to work in those days, and replaced the nickel straps with silver wire, AND I placed new insulator material which holds the threaded spacers. But this meant I basically rebuilt the roller inductor from scratch.
But still it could not handle even a 1000 watts, the currents associated with 1kW+ power levels are just too high for such a flimsy roller inductor.
I cannot believe a company actually advertises a product for 3 kW where it probably could not even do 500 watts.
I won't bore you with the poorly designed belt-driven counter on the inductor(it never came back to zero after a full "in" and "out" cycle) and the cracking of the ceramic insulators because no paper washers were used to prevent excessive forces when tightning the nuts that held it together.
Shame on you, MFJ!
ON4CCP Rating: 2002-01-28
Yes, but... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First of all, it works...

but :
- it's not a cheap product, so you expect a quality tuner
- at arrival, one screw was missing (this tells something about the MFJ quality control)
- the capacitor was so hard to turn, that the I couldn't do it by hand. After two years, it's getting better

When reading the manual, MFJ is protecting itself when they talk about power. I should not dare to use the full indicated power (with 500 W never had problems). I think there are better tuners on the market...
73s, ON4CCP.


AG0H Rating: 2002-01-28
A Good Tuner Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought the 989C in June of last year. I had read the reviews prior to buying it. I was fully aware of the warnings about 'mighty fine junk' when hearing stories of flimsy workmanship, set screws on shafts which were hitting capacitor plates, and...... I also took into account the reviews of amateurs who had little or no problems and decided to buy the tuner. When it arrived, I opened the case and peered inside while operating the controls to identify any problems. There were none. The only fault I could fine was that the case would not sit completely flat (one corner pad was approx. 1/32 of an inch off the surface of the table when all three other pads were touching. I've used the tuner quite a bit since then and it has worked good on all bands. It's not a $600. tuner so I wasn't expecting more than what I got. I would recommend this tuner to anyone who wants/needs the matching & power capabilities it affords.
KC4KGU Rating: 2002-01-27
What a piece of junk! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
When I pay $360 for someones "top shelf" tuner, I don't expect to have to assemble the piece of s$!# when it arrives.

Why I hate the 989c:

(1) Arrived in "kit form" as described in multiple previous reviews.
(2) The roller inductor feels like there is sand in it. (I verified that there isn't.)
(3) Who decided that it was a good idea to put the ground lug directly beside the open-wire antenna terminals? That is an accident waiting to happen.
(4) The "peak reading" meter is even more of a joke than the "accuracy" of the meters. +/- 40% is probably giving them more credit than is due. The peak setting appears to simply switch in a capacitor to slow the needle decay.
(5) The variable capacitors should be vernier reduction drive for the price.
(6) The antenna selector switch sticks when rotating clockwise from coax-direct-2 to the dummy load. At the position it is sticking, it is because a screw on the selector is making contact with one of the variable capacitor plates.
(7) Like another reviewer, I've made contacts (500mi+) working MFJ989c internal dummy load to MFJ989c internal dummy load. Beyond that, it's supposedly a 3KW PEP tuner. Whats with the 300w dummy load?!
(8) The counter on the roller inductor is not lighted and not centered in the window.

If you're thinking about purchasing one of these tuners, call me. I'm good in the callbook. I'll sell you mine at a discount. I'm no longer using it.

John (kc4kgu)
W6PMR Rating: 2002-01-23
No problems ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
All the bad reviews and I have never had any problems with my 989.
I use it all the time with about 400-500 watts out and it seems to tune my inverted "V" on every band (I do not run 160).
No rattling parts, no "leaking" dummy load, all switches work, and have worked and I used a Bird to re-calibrate the meters and after a year or so I checked them again and they still read close enough. I guess I got THE one good one.
KE5GK Rating: 2001-12-15
Better Tuners Out There Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have owned many of the MFJ tuners. The 941 series worked reasonably well for me.The 969 was a joke.

The 989 was a bit better. I never tried anything above 100 watts through it.

The feel of the unit left me thinking I was testing a high school science project. At low power, I never got the smoke or sparks previously described. The SWR and Watt Meter reading were far from accurate. I even sent mine back for repair. No difference upon return.

I have no experience with quality high power tuners; however, I now own the Ten Tec 238 (solid as a rock) and the LDG AT-11MP Auto Tuner(fastest way to surf the bands)

K9US Rating: 2001-12-15
junk Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After just 2 days, I have sent the unit back.

Below is the list of problems:

1. The tuner would not sit flat on my desk. It would rock like a table with uneven legs.

2. The antenna switch was binding and was very hard to operate.

3. They used round head screws instead of set-screws for one of the couplers and the screw heads would hit one of the tuning capacitors when you operated the antenna switch.

4. The rotor inductor had a very cheep feel and the turns counter made noise like sand was in the counter.

5. I adjusted the SWR on my 80 meter dipole to 1:1. When I turned on my amp (1500W) the RF pickup board in the tuner started to burn. When I opened the unit, smoke just poured out. It seemed to work ok with 100W but it sure can't handle high power.

I purchased the unit from Texas Towers. They said they would give me full credit. Thank you Texas Towers! I have ordered the Ameritron ATR-30.
W9PMZ Rating: 2001-10-14
Good Unit Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had the MFJ-989C for 2 years now. I use it to tune a Butternut HF2V across the 80M band, using a Drake C Line with a L-4B. So far I have had no major problems. So far no arc'ing (of any kind), or intermittent operation on the roller inductor.

Question, how much power is the dummy loaded rated for? My L-4B has seemed to, over time increase the SWR of the dummy load in the tuner. Guess I need to buy a good Heathkit Cantenna.....

3 minor problems:

a) Replace the DC coaxial plug for the meter lamp, it's junky and will fall apart.
b) The calibration of the watt meters aren't that good, don't rely on them.
c) Again, what is the power rating on the dummy load?

Areas for improvement:

a) New meter plug.
b) The metal housing needs to be stonger.
c) Bigger knobs on the capacitor's to match the roller inductor.
N0ODK Rating: 2001-10-14
ok if rebuilt Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought the tuner used and it worked great for the longest time. After awhile it started having some problems like not a good connection in roller inductor. My friend and I rebuilt a little to cure problem and no problems since.
I do throw 400 watts at it once in a while and works well. I would like to buy another 986 or 989C used. For the money, if checked out before used and slightly modified, it is a good tuner.
Know several people that own them, only one had major problem with it.
Mike
n0odk
73